How to create the perfect beach wedding in Italy

How to create the perfect beach wedding in Italy

The creation of a unforgettable Italian beach wedding.

Beach weddings are so romantic and enchanting: the beach with its soft sand, and sea view can become a truly film-esque setting for a beautiful wedding; but let’s face it, there are a lot of details to think of to create something so seemingly relaxed. How would you create a perfect beach wedding in Italy? You’ll find some suggestions here.

What is the best time to have a beach wedding in Italy?

My tips:

• In Italy, the beaches are state-owned, so if you’d like to do a civil (legally-binding ) ceremony, you’ll need special permission from the Town Hall of the location where you want to get married. The Town Hall will set the exact points regarding where you can have your ceremony.
• For the civil ceremony, there’s a procedure to be followed according to your country of origin, so please get informed about that.
• Period: beaches are crowded from June to mid-September. I would suggest that you get married in April/May/September/October in the mid-week days; tariffs will be lower, and you will have more privacy (because you wouldn’t like to see tourists in their swimsuits in the background of your wedding photos, right?)
• Time it right: don’t have your ceremony when the temperature is too hot. If you have a dinner reception, do it just before the sun sets, in order to have a beautiful natural light for the photos.

What outfit should I wear for my beach wedding?

Four simple, but important, tips:

• Your dress should be well-matched to the style of the natural backdrop. A long, lightweight chiffon dress will be much easier and appropriate to wear, rather than a big ball gown that will make your walking down the aisle a bit clumsy!
• Hairstyle: flowing hair may suit your free-spirited style, but we both know that if it’s windy, you could be battling strands of hair in your face, or well-done curls sticking to your lip gloss. That’s why I would recommend for your hair to be coiffed in an updo, so that you will be elegant and polished from day to night.
• If you’re having a platform set up as a wedding aisle, then satin pumps would be fine. Otherwise, consider a pair of bejeweled barefoot sandals that will look both dressy and casual. You can save your high heels for the reception!
• The bride, bridesmaids and mothers of the bride and groom shouldn’t have very vivid tans or worse, sunburns. Remember to apply waterproof sunscreen during the period before your wedding!

What is the ideal scenography for an Italian beach wedding and reception?

Just 5 tips:

• Since you’ll be by the sea, and it’s of course a wonderful natural landscape, you should choose a simple decor style and an harmonious color palette of sand, dune grasses, stones and water.
• Direct sunlight and heat are no-gos for many flowers. With your florist, choose blossoms that can last, like orchids, chrysanthemums, lisianthus and callas, which are hardy and hold up well in almost any kind of weather. Or opt for a non-floral décor, and just use white fabric and green vegetation.
• A wireless microphone has to be provided to let your guests listen to your vows and not loose any details of your or your officiant’s speech. To that end, you should ensure that there’s a DJ with a proper sound system.
• For the reception: if you are outside on the beach, remember that during the evening the wind could topple floral arrangements (make sure to secure them to the table), blowing out candles and sending other table elements flying (like place cards, ribbons, napkins, etc.). For lighting, “use hurricane-style lanterns” and instead of using paper place-cards, choose other elements like small blue and white stones with the guest names, or shells to weigh down the menus.
• The backup plan: you never know how the weather will be for your wedding day, so prepare a Plan B with the proper spaces for the ceremony, aperitif and reception indoors, or think about a tent.

Last sweet tips for your guests:

• Write on your invitations that your wedding ceremony will be held at the beach on the sand, so that your guests will be properly prepared when it comes to footwear, etc.
• Set up a welcome drink for your guest while they are waiting for the ceremony, with water and lemonade to stay hydrated.
• Prepare the welcome wedding bags for your guests with bottled water, towels and hand-held fans to beat the heat.
• For the ladies at your wedding who want to wear high heels, you may want to prepare a basket with white flip flops and towels to avoid their beautiful heels sinking into the sand and get ruined.
• During the night, it will probably be windy, so prepare a basket of pashminas with your names and date of marriage, which the ladies will no doubt appreciate.