Italy is the first European destination in the world for those who decide to marry abroad. Newlyweds choose to marry in luxury locations, such as hotels, villas, restaurants or magnificent farmhouse, which are extremely famous in Italy.
Usually, the event lasts more days (from three to 5 ) and a lot of couples decide to stay in Italy also for their honeymoon. Differently from the symbolic ceremony, which has no legal value, the civil ceremony makes you immediately husband and wife. Usually, in Italy, the civil ceremony takes place in a town hall. If it is located in magnificent cities such as Florence, Venice, Mantua, Siena or Bologna, it will offer you extraordinary spaces wonderfully decorated. The choice is not always restricted to city halls: there are numerous municipalities which offer ancient villas with gorgeous gardens, which give you the possiblity to arrange a perfect wedding surrounded by the warmth of the Italian summer.
Some examples?
Villa Reale di Monza with its Neoclassic style or the Teatro della Concordia, in Monte Castello di Vibio, in the province of Perugia, which is the smallest theatre in Italy. An original location is the splendid sala del Maggior Consiglio inside the Palazzo dei Priori (Volterra), the most ancient town hall in Tuscany or the columned external terrace of the Mole Antonelliana in Turin or even the house where Romeo and Juliet swore eternal love in Verona.
These all are spectacular locations offered by some Italian cities.
Wedding ceremony on the Italian beaches
The Italian peninsula is surrounded by sunny and golden beaches or little inlets with cliffs overlooking the blue sea. For a few years it is possible to have a civil marriage on some of these beautiful beaches and enjoy the Italian warmth. The best periods to organise a wedding on the beach are spring and autumn, when the temperatures are not excessively hot or cold. If you prefer to celebrate your wedding during the summer, it is suggested to think about your wedding during the sunset. The sunset would give you the opportunity of an astonishing background during your “yes”.
Even if Italy is literally surrounded by many wonderful beaches, it is not possible to organise a wedding with legal value in each of them. That is the reason why it is important to contact a wedding planner, who will deal with the research of the beaches having the approval fromthe local authorities.
A wonderful golden beach with extra-fine sand or rocks with a stunning viewgive your wedding that perfect atmosphere which will make everything truly emotional. Think about a beach surrounded by the typical Mediterranean vegetation, lighted by the sun that reflects on the sea,giving you a natural performance of lights and colours. You can live a fairy-tale in your own reality, where your emotions will meet your deepest desires.
The civil ritual in Italy
Compared to the religious ritual, the civil one is shorter and lasts about 20/30 minutes. It may seem less romantic than the religious one, but we can as sureit isn’t true. We took part in tearful civil rituals.
The motivations that bring someone opting for civil marriage are numerous and personal. However, here are some tips and suggestions, in order to understand if it is the right ritual for you.
Who celebrate the civil marriage
Often the civil marriage is considered cold and impersonal, mostly when the one who celebrates it is the major of a city.
Things have changed thanks to the President of the Republic decree number 396/2000.
The first article explains that civil marriage may be celebrated by every Italian citizen, which must be over 18 and must benefit of civil and political rights. Thanks to this decree you can choose someone you know to celebrate your marriage, a friend, for example.
So that even the coldest marriage has the opportunity to become a romantic and emotional ceremony. Is there something better than having a loved person in front of you, contributing to become wife and husband?
Obviously, the normal ritual must be respected, involving the reading of the articles of law.
The ceremony
The wife cannot arrive too much late, differently from the religious ritual, where it is a tradition and it seems to bode well. The celebrant, the major, the alderman or your dearest friendstart with a short welcome speech for the bride, the groom and the guests, then the ritual begins. He reads the articles of the civil code regarding the conjugal norms (articles 143, 144, 147). After the articles, there’s the classic question “Will you marry this woman/man…?” with the answer of the man and the woman. we arrive than tothe exchange of wedding rings, the signature on the register from the bride, the groom and the witnesses.
The ceremony ends with awishing words.
Considering the fact that the civil ritual is a simple ceremony, it is possible to add readings and songs (or live music, for example) without any restrictions.
A good idea could be to ask your friends to read something special for you, such as love poetry, a significant sentence important for you or your love song. Everything is up to you!
The couple is allowed to prepare special vows to read or play during the ritual. In this case, the civil marriage is more flexible than the other rituals. You would have the possibility to personalize your vows.
The exit of the spouses
As for the Catholic marriage, also in the civil marriage the bride and the groom walk out of the ceremony place, with the guests. Wedding Party is on!
The city hall decoration for a civil marriage
We do not follow any rule to define the setting up of a civil ceremony because it clearly varies depending on the spaces that each city reserves for this kind of event. It is true, indeed, that in Italy there are municipalities that have frescoed hall of incalculable value or even small theaters like our municipality, so an inspection is a must. If the civil ceremony takes place by a venue which has the possibility of hosting this kind of ceremony, the possibilities of decoration are really a lot. Here too, however, as in the Church, the floral arrangement is important and occupies a prominent place in the design project.