Designing the perfect Italian wedding timeline means considering several aspects – which a part of the country to get married in, what time of 12 months, and the right way to structure your itinerary to get the very best of this beautiful place in your individual way. We’re making a gift of all of this, plus 3 sample itineraries you need to use to encourage your individual wedding in Italy, based on what we all know works and our couples have loved.
Elegante by Michelle J has 10+ years of experience planning luxury destination weddings in Italy, working with English-speaking couples from the UK and US.
One of the best time of 12 months to get married in Italy (by area) and the way it affects your wedding timeline:
One of the best time of 12 months to get married in Italy is usually what we call the ‘shoulder season’ – early summer to mid-autumn. From late May through to June, September and early October, Italy delights with mostly warm, nice weather (not too hot or too rainy), fewer tourists than in the height summer months, and more alternative and suppleness on your stay.
While Italy generally has a Mediterranean climate, there are variations in what you’ll be able to expect in several parts of the country:
Tuscany, for instance, often delivers on beautiful warm weather for a very good portion of the 12 months, but does also see rainfall – we at all times tell our couples that that is why it’s so lush and green, and in the event you decide to marry there in April or early May, rain is an actual potential risk.
Take a have a look at this wedding we planned in Figline Valdarno, a four-day celebration for US-based couple Taylor and Matt and their international guests – despite contending with rainy Tuscan skies, two of their events took place al fresco and we still made all of their wedding dreams come true.
In case you love the thought of a marriage within the Northern Lakes of Italy, be prepared that afternoon thunderstorms are usually not unusual and the weather can change quickly. For a Lake Como alternative with a lower cost tag and fewer risk of inclement weather, read our ‘hidden Italy’ blog.
The further south in Italy you go, the more stable the weather – which is why Sicily is such a beautiful alternative, just about all 12 months round.
But what does this need to do together with your timeline?
Understanding likely weather patterns in your chosen region at the suitable time of 12 months matters for you and your guests. In case you do go for a mid-summer wedding (and plenty of couples do!) we might have to plan for extra opportunities for refreshments throughout the day, distribute fans, or arrange shady spots, in addition to holding your ceremony much later within the day than you’d within the UK or US.
More on that in our sample Italian wedding itineraries shortly…
Selecting where in Italy to get married on your perfect timeline:
There are three major reasons your alternative of location and your Italian wedding timeline are so closely related, and it is best to keep all of those in mind when finding and falling in love together with your venue.
- Comfort and ease on your guests. The concept of getting married in the course of the Italian countryside may be very romantic in theory, but can present some challenges. If the situation of your wedding is just too removed from major airport hubs, your family members may find it tricky to get there – at best, this makes their trip more complicated and tiring (and sometimes expensive) than vital, and at worst they could simply determine to not attend.
Planning tip: select a marriage venue or location base that’s not more than 1.5 hours away from major airport hubs like Florence, Rome, Pisa or Milan.
- Pre- and post-wedding events. Your Italian wedding timeline doesn’t begin and end on the marriage day – you’ll likely also wish to host events either side too. Welcome and farewell parties work best after they’re easy to get to, and don’t require an excessive amount of in the way in which of additional logistics for you and your guests. Select your location with this in mind, attempting to keep back-and-forth travel to your events to a minimum radius.
- Venue flexibility. Lots of the ‘Instagram famous’ wedding venues in Italy look idyllic, but we love introducing our couples to lesser known hidden gems. Among the best venues are those owned by passionate local people, who’re thrilled to work with us and permit us to get creative with the space. This provides us so far more flexibility with what we create, and your wedding day timeline may be completely tailored to you – not what your venue’s events manager ‘often does’.
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Sample Timelines & Itineraries for Italian Weddings – Select Your Vibe
- Quintessential Tuscan Countryside Charm
- Chic City Style
- Italian Island Escape
Quintessential Tuscan Countryside Charm Wedding Itinerary & Timeline:
Possible locations: countryside surrounding Florence, within the region of Prato, Arezzo, Lucca, or Chianti
Ideal time of 12 months: end of May, June, early September
Days: 3
Timeline:
Day 1 – Guest Arrival, Welcome Party with Live Cooking Stations.
Afternoon: Guest arrival into Tuscany, via considered one of its easily accessible international airports similar to Florence or Pisa. Check in, either to accommodation on-site at your wedding venue (common in rural areas of the country) or to considered one of several advisable hotels.
Read our guide to assembling thoughtful welcome bags on your guests, to greet them with on arrival.
Evening: Welcome party on-site at your wedding venue. Begin around 7pm, benefiting from the balmy early summer evening by hosting your guests in considered one of the outdoor spaces. Enjoy a classic Tuscan experience with aperitivo-style drinks, live cooking stations with traditional food, and a laid-back atmosphere.
Finish no later than 11pm to permit everyone to get a very good night’s sleep and are available fresh to your wedding the next day.
Day 2 – Wedding.
Morning: After a leisurely breakfast, spend the morning together with your wedding parties preparing. Unlike at weddings within the UK or US, you’ll be able to often start this process a bit later since your ceremony will likely be later within the afternoon – we frequently have glad brides after we tell them their hair and makeup doesn’t have to begin until 10am!
Early afternoon: By around 1-2pm you need to be ready, on time to do ‘first look’ photos in the event you want them. Your guests will probably begin to reach around an hour later, greeted by a welcome drink, before getting seated on your ceremony.
Mid afternoon: Wedding ceremonies in Tuscany often happen round 4-5pm for our couples. By this time within the day, the aggressive heat is subsiding and the sunshine is gorgeous – perfect on your outdoor ceremony within the olive grove, on the lawns with a rolling countryside backdrop, or in your venue’s courtyard with dappled light and many shade.
Late afternoon: After your ceremony, you’ll often go to a few of your venue’s most beautiful spots to have photos together with your family, or simply as a pair. During this time your guests will enjoy their aperitivo hour, with a fun collection of drinks on the bar and Italian-style canapes.
Early evening: Because the sun starts to dip lower within the sky, you and your guests will likely be invited to dinner – an al fresco dining experience with incredible views, and a few of the very best wedding food you’ve ever tasted. In true Italian style, you’ll have a starter, pasta course, meat/fish (or each!) course and dessert, served hospitably by considered one of the country’s improbable catering teams.
Ending the night: When you’ve dined, the sun has set, and the vibe is high, you’ll be ready to bop (unless this can be a Jewish wedding celebration, through which case you’ll have been dancing throughout dinner already!). Your entertainers will begin to ramp up the atmosphere, and also you’ll move to your officially designated party space. Some Italian wedding venues situated within the countryside have noise restrictions, so it’s possible you’ll go inside to proceed the fun – others let you dance under the celebs until the early hours, at all times something price checking before you sign on the dotted line!
Carriages: One among the beautiful things about staying on-site at your wedding venue is that you just don’t have far to go to fall into bed at the tip of the night. Whether your finish time is midnight or much later, you’ll head off with full hearts and sore feet, and your guests will likely be transported back to their local hotels ready for yet another round of fun tomorrow.
Day 3 – Farewell Pool Party.
For this Italian wedding itinerary, we’re keeping guest movement to a minimum which implies your farewell party can be going down at your wedding venue. This time, we’re taking on its pool space for a soothing, low-effort strategy to round off the weekend. We’re considering freshly cooked pizzas, refreshing homemade drinks, and faces hidden behind sunglasses, a drop-in, sneak-out event that keeps things flexible for guests and fun for you.
In case you love this classic Tuscan countryside wedding itinerary, you’ll love these past Elegante by Michelle J weddings:
Chic Italian City Style Wedding Itinerary & Timeline:
Possible locations: in or simply outside of Florence or Rome
Ideal time of 12 months: June, early July, September
Days: 4
Timeline:
Day 1 – Guest Arrival, Rooftop Welcome Drinks.
Guest arrival is simple again, and this time everyone seems to be staying conveniently in town. That’s why your rooftop welcome party venue is ideal, since it’s inside walking distance for many of your family members. Staying in town makes it easy for them to loosen up quickly into the experience, and what higher strategy to kick things off than with a city skyline view and an Aperol in hand?
Florence and Rome each have an enormous range of gorgeous rooftops to pick from, and you’ll be able to hire them exclusively on your wedding party and serve drinks, snacks and music while the sun sets over iconic landmarks just like the Duomo or Colosseum.
Timings stay roughly the identical as in itinerary 1, starting around 7 and ending not an excessive amount of later than 11 – you don’t wish to tire everyone out on night 1.
Read our 5 ideas for welcome parties in Italy to get inspired.
Day 2 – Non-Event Day, Explore the City
On this sample itinerary we’ll use the instance of a Jewish wedding, of which we plan many annually. Welcome parties often happen on Friday evenings, after which Saturday is observed as a ‘rest’ day. Whether you’re strictly religious, Jew-ish, or none of those apply and also you identical to the thought of an additional day in your wedding timeline, Saturday may be used to explore and luxuriate in your surroundings.
Some couples wish to offer planned trips, tours or activities here, similar to wine tasting experiences, guided city walks, or Fiat 500 excursions, but you may additionally select to depart it completely open. Hosting your wedding in considered one of Italy’s gorgeous cities, it really seems a shame to not embrace it – this extra day makes the entire experience feel more relaxed, and who doesn’t wish to extend the celebrations just that bit longer?
Day 3 – Wedding, Barely Outside of City
Selecting a marriage venue that’s barely outside of town (preferably one which overlooks it!) gives you the very best of each worlds – you are feeling directly faraway from the bustle, but well connected. Take a have a look at this past Elegante by Michelle J weddings for some lovely examples of this:
Morning: You’ll spend your morning in much the identical way as in itinerary 1, but you’ll likely be preparing in your hotel in town before being transported to your wedding venue. For that reason, select your hotel room fastidiously to make sure it’s sufficiently big for every thing that should occur, has enough natural light for hair and makeup, and is conveniently situated.
Mid-late afternoon: Your guests will arrive at your wedding venue and get settled on your ceremony, and within the meantime you’ll arrive through a secret entrance with time for last hair and makeup touch-ups on-site. Again, your ceremony will happen around 5pm, and the cityscape will come alive in the sunshine as you say your vows.
The remainder of the day’s timeline pans out similarly to itinerary 1, with a drinks reception before sitting down for dinner and dancing the night away. All of those elements may be tailored to make them exactly what you wish, whether you swap live cooking stations for a build-your-own pasta bar, or offer a mini ‘drinks and dolce’ experience rather than aperitivo.
Planning tip: Whatever you select, I at all times recommend to my couples that you are attempting to embrace the proven fact that you might be in Italy – don’t try to duplicate the marriage you’d have had at home, since you won’t get the very best out of it. For this reason choosing Italian food and drinks styles really does provide you with and your guests the very best experience – it’s inside your caterers’ wheelhouse, the ingredients are fresh, and it’s an authentic strategy to have fun.
Day 4 – City-Centre Oasis for a Brunch
Post-wedding events must be laid-back enough that your guests can loosen up after a high-energy weekend, and just structured enough without being rigid. Something like a buffet brunch in a fairly courtyard, hidden gem restaurant or unexpected city-centre oasis ticks all of the boxes – and serving something easy, done rather well, is strictly the suitable strategy to go. Luckily, that is what Italy is known for.
Italian Coastal Escape Wedding Itinerary & Timeline:
Possible locations: Sicily or the Tuscan coastline
Ideal time of 12 months: May-September
Days: 3
Timeline:
Day 1 – Guest Arrival, Welcome Party with a View.
Moderately than the Amalfi Coast, I often recommend that couples have a look at Sicily or the coastline of Tuscany – you’ll get far more on your money, logistically it’s much simpler, and absolutely beautiful in addition. Arriving into major airports similar to Catania (Sicily) or Pisa (Tuscany) makes travel easy, and also you and your guests can stay in hotels only a stone’s throw from the beach or tucked away right into a quaint little town.
For an ideal wedding welcome party in coastal Italy, consider an enthralling bar within the rambling streets of the old town or one with sea views, immersing your guests within the place and making them feel right at home from the off. When in Sicily, enjoy their traditional bites similar to granita and cannoli, and in the event you’re by the ocean you’ll be able to at all times make the very best of the fresh seafood available. A bit flavour of the realm is at all times a winning idea for a welcome party.
Day 2 – Wedding at a Water View Venue
In case you select Sicily on your wedding, you’re really spoilt for alternative on the subject of venues with incredible sea views, gorgeous terraces for dining, and rugged, mountainous backdrops. In coastal Tuscany, you’ll be able to either host your wedding by the ocean or enjoy considered one of its lesser-known lakes, a few of which rival the famous Northern icons of Garda and Como.
In case you love the thought of a coastal or Italian island wedding, take a have a look at these celebrations we planned:
The flow of your day might involve your ceremony and reception going down at one chosen venue, or separating them out if you would like to benefit from the several landscape types in these beautiful areas. Sicily especially really spoils visitors with coastline, volcanic scenery, and little towns you’ll absolutely fall for (and recognise, in the event you’re a White Lotus fan).
Day 3 – Farewell at a Beach Club
What higher strategy to round off a coastal Italian wedding itinerary than at a beach club? Host your farewell party by exclusively hiring the place (or a piece of it), allowing your guests to recline on a cabana with a refreshment in hand, dip their toes within the sea, and absorb some sun. A lot of these venues let you be a bit more adventurous together with your menu, often offering options that aren’t necessarily classically Italian – how about mini burgers or sushi boats, for instance.
Common Italian Wedding Timeline Mistakes:
- Underestimating travel logistics or distances between locations/venues
- Selecting a time of 12 months that is just too hot or too wet, and hoping to host outdoor events
- Not leaving enough respiratory room within the itinerary for guests to benefit from the place
- Forgetting to consider transporting guests between elements of the marriage
- Picking a venue without considering how every thing else flows around it
Putting together your perfect Italian wedding itinerary and timeline advantages from the assistance of an experienced planner, helping to mix the very best of the country, the unique personality that only your wedding could have, and making every thing feel easy and enjoyable for you and your family members.
To benefit from our 10+ years of wedding planning in Italy and design your dream celebrations, whether that’s a Sicilian soiree or a celebration in Puglia, get in contact – we’d love to speak.
With because of:
La Palagina | Villa Orlando | Tenuta di Artimino | Villa Mon Repos | Villa di Maiano | Villa Miani | Le Bon Ton | Galateo
