La Dolce Vita - Our Wedding in Italy

Italy is one of my favourite countries in the world –  with a backdrop rich in art and history ,delicious cusine,wine, and breathtaking landscapes it’s extremely difficult not to fall for the country’s charms. Late 2015, my love for Italy deepened even more when John proposed to me on a surprise trip to Rome!
During that trip we discussed wedding destinations, and we had always said we wanted a wedding abroad and now Rome seemed like the most romantic choice.
I have always been a great organiser, and so I bravely decided I would set about the task of planning the wedding myself, and I must say I think it was the best decision I ever made! There were times of course it was stressful, but it felt great to be in full control at every stage of the planning. I hope anyone who attended our wedding will agree, I  think I organised a pretty epic Italian wedding!

 If you’re currently wedding planning and you’re looking for some wedding inspiration, tips or reasons to convince you to choose Italy - you are in the right place!  

Vatican



We chose Rome as we both love the bustle and activity of a city, and..well...it's Rome!!Rome has the head-turning looks that only two millennia of architecture can bring, reliably gorgeous weather (outside of sweltering August, when the city largely shuts down), and the romance of Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday all around you. Simply put, Rome makes you want to hold hands, whether it's skipping together down the Spanish Steps or sauntering through the Borghese gardens.

Beautiful weather - cheap flights from Dublin (from as little as 120 return if you book well in advance) and stunning scenery - what more could you want! 

Choosing a venue

From castles and villas, rooftop terraces to quaint romantic restuarants, Rome can cater to any wedding budget.

Below I will take you through the three venues I narrowed my choice down to, and how I chose my final venue, and you'll find suggestions for alternatives too. One thing to watch for in Italy is venue rental costs. A lot of hotels/villas etc will charge a rental fee on top of the per head price for the meal. Please note, all of my top 3 choices can arrange symbolic ceremonies also. We chose to have a catholic ceremony in a church (more on that later!).

After extensive searching online, I narrowed down my choices to 3 and contacted each venue for quotations. Once I had done this and still couldn't choose between the three we decided to take a cheap flight from Dublin - Rome to visit each venue and make a final decision. 

My top 3 were:

Our Winning Choice - Casina Valadier 

Casina Valadier, located in the heart of Villa Borghese,  is one of the most fascinating places in the capital, a step away from the Spanish Steps and Piazza del Popolo, a favorite destination for Romans and tourists from around the world who, in the green of the park between history and art, can admire a wonderful view of the city of Rome.

When I first saw this villa I was blown away, right in the heart of the city, yet at the same time at the edge of one of the most beautiful parks in Rome. It boasts three terraces all with unobstructed views of the city, and a beautiful fountain garden area too.

Pros:

Location - it is literally a 5 min walk from the spanish steps, yet located on a hill on the outskirts of beautiful Borghese Park.

It could accomodate any wedding party size, from a small intimate dinner to a large elaborate wedding. You can rent the entire villa and gardens or areas of it, and their policy is that they will not have another wedding on the same day.

The management are so professional and will make you feel at ease that they will deliver whatever your vision is. 

We chose to have our drinks reception in the garden area by the fountain, then move to the panoramic outdoor terrace for our wedding meal, and then after the meal we moved back out to the gardens for dancing and drinks.

Cons:

I literally could'nt find any cons with this venue, it has everything you could wish for! 

Hotel Hassler Rooftop Terrace

When it comes to million-dollar views, the best place to stay in the whole city is the Hassler. It’s no surprise that generations of fans, many rich and famous (Tom Cruise, Jennifer Lopez, Gwenyth Paltrow, and the Beckhams among them) regulalrly stay at this exclusive hotel atop the Spanish Steps. Audrey Hepburn even lived there for months during the filming of "Roman Holiday". We did not choose this venue for our reception in the end as explained below, but I loved it so much we chose to book in to this hotel for the night before our wedding and 4 nights in total.

Pros:

Arguably one of the most incredible views in the entire city. 

Their restuarant is Michelin star, so you are guaranteed superb service and quality.

If you intend on having a smaller wedding meal their smaller terrace is available, they can seat max 25 for the wedding meal and do not charge any rental fee.

Cons:

We really wanted our wedding meal to be outdoors, so the rooftop terrace with those stunning views seemed perfect. Unfortunately the advertising was a bit misleading, and the terrace I would often see in the advertising was actually the larger of the two available, and belongs to the penthouse suite. This would mean if we wanted a terrace large enough to accomodate guests and music/dancing after the meal, we would have to pay for the penthouse suite for 2 nights (they would want an extra day for set-up) and this is a rental cost of 7,000eur per night before you ever look at the dinner costs etc.

It would not be possible to have dancing and entertainment on the small terrace as there isnt enough space.

For this reason, we decided against this venue. 

However, if you think you would have less than 25 guests and are happy to just have a breathtaking view and intimate meal I still think this is an incredible option.

Villa Miani 

Built in the early 1900s, the villa was originally the residence of a noble Venetian family and up until the beginning of the century was still considered an exclusive country house. Nestled in a large, secluded park of lush greenery, the villa is separated from the hustle and bustle of Rome.

Located high above the Eternal city of Rome, at approx 15 minutes from the historical center, this charming villa boasts one of the most scenic views of the city.

 

Pros:

An iconic villa just slightly outside the city with breathtaking views. This villa is complete with vast gardens and they can rent you different areas to suit the size of your wedding. The terrace pictured above would be one of their smaller areas. The driveway and entrance to this villa are sure to wow your guests, it really is such an impressive building. It can cater pretty much to any wedding size from 40 - 550 guests.

Cons:

As the villa is not open to the public daily and only for special events, they use a catering company for your wedding. This can bump the price up because you have to pay for every little detail, and it is mandatory to pay for parking attendants (required to man the security gate), cloakroom attendants, waiters and bartenders. 

Rental fee per area (approx 3,000 eur for one of the smaller areas)

The largest con for us and the reason we chose not to go ahead with this venue is that if you chose to have a smaller wedding of approx 40 guests you would be renting a stunning terrace with great views, but it was almost a certainty that the other larger areas downstairs would be rented out to another event or wedding. For me, the last thing I would want to be looking down at on my wedding day is another brides wedding party! 

However, if you were planning a larger wedding of 100 or more I think this would be a fairytale venue. 

Alternative venues I also recommend:

Palazzo Manfredi - rooftop resturant overlooking the Colosseum 

Borgo di Tragliata - perfect for a beautiful, rustic, countryside wedding. Located approx 30km outside Rome, this venue offers fantastic value packages, including a 3 day event and on-sight accomodation for your guests. They also have a chapel on site.

Hair and Makeup

It can be daunting when planning a wedding abroad to consider what you will do about hair and makeup. You won't be able to have trials unless you arrive a good few days before your wedding date, so its important to choose wisely. 

When researching hair and makeup artists for Rome, I noticed that they are far more expensive than what we are used to in Ireland. That is when I had the brain wave - why not ask a hairstylist I know of and trust and likewise for makeup artist to travel with me for my wedding? This may seem lavish, but you can get very cheap flights when you book well in advance and there are some amazing value airbnbs in Rome. When I weighed it all up, I felt happier and more at ease bringing hair and makeup artists from Ireland, plus I would have the added bonus of them being on hand all day! 

My hairstylist was the fabulous Cathriona Rohan who did two styles for me, leaving my hair down for the church ceremony and putting it in an upstyle for the reception. I was so glad of my hair going up after a day in the 35 degree heat! My makeup artist was incredibly talented Lola Desmond - Makeup by Lola.

Cathriona Rohan working her magic on my hair!

Makeup by Lola - my wedding morning prep

If for whatever reason you would rather use a local makeup artist and hairstylist I would go by a hotel recommendation or you could try a lady who comes highly recommended online, Louise Faulkner - an irish hair and makeup artist based in central Rome.





To be continued.............................

Next up -

The church 
Photographer and videographer
Getting your dress to Rome
Accomodation for you and your guests
Legal and religious requirements and paperwork