That feeling whenever you finally have a glass of prosecco in hand, the late-spring warmth in your shoulders, and your family members all in the identical place…that’s the sensation only the primary night of your wedding weekend in Italy can provide you with. It’s your welcome party, the event that sets the mood for the remainder of your wedding – but how do you propose this so it’s greater than only a dinner and way, way lower than a complete second wedding?
Luckily, Italy makes this easy for you. These are 5 ideas for a marriage welcome party in Italy which can be unforgettable, authentic and impressive without trying too hard. Higher yet, these ideas are based on events that real Elegante by Michelle J couples have hosted in previous years so we know they work.
3 Insider Secrets For Your Wedding Welcome Party
There may be a little bit of an art to a terrific wedding welcome party in Italy, and we’ve helped our couples host lots of them – so we’re going to allow you to in on 3 of our wedding planner’s secrets to extending the celebrations in style.
-
Take note the aim(s) of your welcome party.
Remembering why you’re doing it will keep you targeted and can help you create a celebration that feels welcoming, curated and healthful. It’s a chance to spend more time together with your family members outside of the wonderful whirlwind of the marriage day, helps guests feel at home in a brand new place, and works wonders for calming your pre-wedding jitters.
-
Select your welcome party venue well
Location really is all the things, and you alter the entire atmosphere by hosting your welcome party in other places. Selecting to throw your event at the identical venue as your wedding (handy if everyone seems to be staying on site) can feel more relaxed and informal and allows people to drift out and in, whereas hosting at a unique venue feels more ‘eventful’ – but does incur extra hire costs.
You’ll find all the situation inspiration you would like in our 5 welcome party ideas below!
-
Make your welcome party feel like a part of your wedding
How much you select to style your welcome party is entirely as much as you – for a few of our couples, we create entire design briefs and provides it its own distinct personality, whereas for others we simply make it feel as if it’s related to the marriage with subtle decor elements. Either way, be sure that your wedding party appears like a part of your wedding relatively than like a wholly separate event. Your wedding planner can enable you to strike this balance.
5 Ideas For a Wedding Welcome Party in Italy
Whether you fall in love with one among these ideas completely, use it as inspiration for your individual event, or are dreaming of something completely different, we recommend hosting a welcome party that indirectly appears like it belongs to the country you’re marrying in. Certainly one of our top planning suggestions for destination weddings is to attempt to embrace the place – in case your welcome party appears like it could possibly be picked up and put anywhere, why marry in Italy in the primary place?
Welcome party idea 1: An experiential Italian grocery store
We are able to probably safely assume that a part of the explanation you fell in love with Italy and desired to host your wedding there was for the food, so what higher option to introduce your guests to your wedding than with a welcome party that feels similar to strolling around an al fresco grocery store?
That’s exactly what we did for A&A within the centre of Florence, transforming a hidden gem courtyard right into a foodie’s paradise. Designed to create a relaxed atmosphere and permit guests to wander, linger and eat at a leisurely pace, market-style stalls were spread across the gardens featuring one of the best of Italian grazing – cheeses, meats, fresh vegetables, breads, huge bowls of freshly cooked pasta and hand crafted pizza, all being served and replenished throughout the evening.
We added live music and beautifully styled tables for guests to collect at, and all of it took place inside walking distance of where the guests were staying – the proper mix of low-lift for family members and wow factor to set the tone.
This sort of event works in many various places, from city centres to countryside villas. Because we curate all the things from the bottom up, working with our unbelievable local caterers and stylists, all you would like is space and a vision.
Welcome party idea 2: An elegant pool party
Pool parties aren’t only for ‘hangover brunches’, and in case your venue has a ravishing area with unbelievable views, it might almost be rude not to utilize it! If plenty of your guests are staying on-site this one is sort of effortless for them – all they should do is dress and step outside – but remember that it’s harder to maintain things a complete surprise this manner.
T&M’s White Party took place by the pool at their Tuscan wedding, and as you possibly can probably imagine there was a dress code – which the couple themselves took advantage of and appeared as a vision in pink! The pool area at their venue has incredible views of the Italian countryside beyond, so we kept the styling deliberately easy apart from a disco ball, which we’re sure you’ll agree is never a nasty idea.
The evening proceeded with music, dancing and eating across the pool, with guests celebrating between a ravishing sunset over the hills and the glowy face of the honey-walled villa behind. It was the proper balance of favor and elegance for the US-based guests’ taste, and rustic Italian charm for a very experiential evening.
Pool parties can really be designed in so many various ways, and while they do work well for fun, informal post-wedding events we also love them for welcome parties. The vibe could be very different – elegant and elevated, so in case your venue has a pool we recommend considering it when on the lookout for ideas to your wedding welcome party in Italy.
Welcome party idea 3: Live, interactive cooking stations
Forgive us for including one more food-based welcome party idea, but we know that a well-fed guest is a joyful guest – especially in Italy! This time, we would like to introduce you to an idea from N&M’s Viareggio wedding which featured live cooking stations.
The Italians are known for being charming, hospitable people, they usually can really placed on a charismatic, exciting show with food that takes your guests’ experience to a different level. It’s one thing to scoop a pile of fresh, perfectly al dente pasta onto your plate, but to observe or not it’s cooked inside a wheel of parmesan by a real master of his craft is something else entirely.
In addition to pasta making, you possibly can have stations for fresh mozzarella pulling, wood-fired pizzas, and build-your-own-dish bars – it’s a very authentic, unforgettable experience to your family members.
Our catering contacts in Italy are truly second to none, and whether you’re on the lookout for the country’s premium wedding chefs or want hearty, rustic dishes at a mid-range price point, we all know someone who can utterly delight.
GET IN TOUCH TO START PLANNING YOUR ITALIAN DESTINATION WEDDING.
Welcome party idea 4: A house-from-home garden soiree
A few of our couples are lucky enough to have family living of their destination country, but whether you’re on this fortuitous position or not, a garden soiree can still be a beautiful selection to your welcome party in Italy. If you might have or select a venue with wonderful grounds and the weather is nice, take advantage of those balmy European evenings with drinks and canapes in a relaxed environment.
For these sorts of events, we love the thought of an Aperol spritz bar like a fun vintage Fiat 500, with a little bit of mixologist’s flair and a playful design – an actual talking point and photo opportunity for guests!
If you wish to host at a family-owned venue, your wedding planner goes to be invaluable in ensuring all the things is about up well and doesn’t cause disruption to your family members’ home. This feature isn’t for everybody, and if you happen to love the thought of a garden party we’ve got many, many options around Italy that don’t involve taking on anyone’s space.
Welcome party idea 5: Rooftop bar at sunset
Last but actually not least on our list of welcome party ideas in Italy is a very good old knees up at a rooftop bar, which is ideal if you happen to’re based in a city comparable to Rome or Florence. These are really easy for everybody to get to, and if you happen to select the proper spot you’ll have fabulous views, a magical sunset and a very exclusive feeling.
We’ve hosted many a rooftop bar welcome party with Elegante by Michelle J couples over time – in various Italian cities with landmark views, on Spanish coastlines, on charming Greek islands…it’s a firm favourite and we totally understand why.
Should you decide to go this route, be sure that everyone has loads of access to drinks, nibbles and great music!
Practical suggestions to your welcome party in Italy
Hosting and designing your wedding welcome party is one thing, but ensuring it stays fun for everybody requires a little bit of planning. Remember these practical suggestions and you possibly can’t go incorrect:
- Plan your start and end times rigorously. Your welcome party shouldn’t go on for hours or too late into the night, since it’s purported to be only a flavour of what’s to come back. Fresh guests are fun guests, so don’t exhaust everyone on night 1.
- Consider how everyone will get there. Should you’re hosting in a city centre or on-site at your wedding venue, people will make their very own way there with ease. Should you select a unique venue entirely, as some couples do, it might be considered courteous to placed on transport for them.
- Welcome bags are on no account essential, but Elegante couples love them so we’d be remiss not to say them. Designing a thoughtful welcome pack to your family members is a meaningful extra touch that’s all the time so appreciated. We have now a guide to creating great wedding welcome bags that your guests will actually love, and that aren’t just full of meaningless (and expensive) trinkets.
- Feed everyone! Welcome parties are generally hosted within the evenings, and guests will expect to eat. Should you don’t provide some form of food options, people won’t loaf around. Expect to incur catering costs together with your welcome party, especially in Italy! We work with top caterers comparable to Le Bon Ton and Galateo.
For more of our advice on throwing essentially the most unforgettable wedding welcome party in Italy (or anywhere else for that matter), you’ll wish to visit our dedicated guide.
Your wedding planner is a useful asset when planning your welcome party, so we highly recommend asking them to be involved in your wedding design as a complete – not only the marriage day itself. That is the way you get the very best out of each event, the way you ensure it appears like one wedding relatively than separate, disjointed events, and the way you give your guests one of the best possible experience. Confer with us about your destination wedding in Italy or wider Mediterranean Europe to access our 10+ years’ experience, network of unbelievable suppliers in your location, and warm approach.
