A wedding is a joyous, exciting and momentous day, but can also be hectic, stressful and overwhelming. When we decided that we'd like it to be relaxing, fun and above all - a wee bit adventurous, we decided on tying the knot in Italy. Destination weddings are on the upswing and Italy is a choice spot for it. Neither of us are Italian, but the beauty of the country/countryside, its rich history and its food were the main draws. Most of our traveling has been of the shoestring variety so we're naturally leery of packaged travel and travel planners (I mean sh*t, we can do it ourselves right), but a wedding in another country is not something to be cobbled together with TripAdvisor, Kayak a copy of Lonely Planet, We knew we needed help. A search of "destination+weddings+italy" turned up scores of sites. We read references, reviews, testimonials, articles; stared at hundreds of pictures, and contacted about 20 different wedding planners specializing in Italian Weddings. After dozens and dozens of email exchanges, we went with "Il Cerimoniere Italian Weddings." There were other good companies we considered and some crummy/shady ones we didn't like much, but Il Cerimoniere stood out. First they contacted us right away and arranged for a phone call to see if they could offer what we were looking for. They work with a US based company called Travel Italia outside of Dallas. Katie called us from Italy (where they were helping with 2 weddings) and wrote back the next day with suggestions and advice. We knew we found the right people because everything was really prompt, they were super responsive and really helped us figure out what we needed to do ~ while never pushy. During the itinerary building stage we met Samuele the owner of Il Cerimoniere and he really help us nail down what we needed/wanted.
We were still a bit anxious booking such an expensive trip through phone calls, emails and credit cards but that's what really set "Il Cerimoniere" and "Travel Italia" apart. We could call Katie anytime because she was based in the US (and she always answered - dont know when she slept - we are 3 time zones away) and get an email response from Samuele soon after. They helped with the necessary paperwork (important note - more on this later) and prep before the trip.
When we get to Italy we realize how fortunate we were to have Samuele and Eleonora as our planners. Twice we were saved by Samuele. Perhaps destination wedding can be self-planned but not in Italy. There you will need someone with Samuele's resourcefulness and experience. There is a ton of paperwork and hoops to jump through once you get to Italy and Samuele handled it all with aplomb. When getting our Nova Osta in Siena (necessary if you want to officially get married) we were the only ones who made it that day, Outside the officials office there were at least 6 other planners waiting waiting for paperwork we were the only one who got in that day - and that was possible only because of how persistent Samuele was. Italy is very bureaucratic and they try to deny you every step of the way (not out of malevolence but it's just less work for them. So even when we get into our appointment the official is trying to find mistakes in our applications. Here Samuele's experience is invaluable, he's got an answer for everything. He's got our paperwork perfect and all the correct stamps ready. Saved our wedding right there. This experience convinced me that having a good and experienced planner is a necessity not a luxury.
After our wedding we stayed in Italy for another week and had an amazing time. Some highlights of being there in Autumn, It's harvest season. Low tourist season and truffle season. Yeah, white truffles galore. One side trip they booked for us was at St Angelo in Vado a small town in the hills where Katie's husband Piero is from. A stay at an Agritourismo during a raging truffle festival. We also got to go to historic Perugia for a Euro Chocolate festival, a week-long bacchanal celebration of all things chocolate. There's lots more eating and drinking and more eating. And it dispelled a life-long distain for planned travel. It's fun and less stressful. No more mornings looking for hotels or lost bookings turning into nights in a cheap motel or $700 suite.
I can't say enough good things about "Il Cerimoniere Italian Weddings". They booked a perfect wedding for us and the following trip. They anticipated our needs and accommodated our wants while also being wedding planner and in-country fixer. I highly recommend them.
Thank you Katie, Samuele, Eleonora! read more