Ceremony

Probably the most personal part of the day, the ceremony needs to reflect your values, traditions and most importantly, who you are as individuals. There are three different types of ceremonies that are commonly performed here; civil, catholic, protestant and symbolic.

Civil Ceremonies: In Lucca, we have the good fortune to have the opulent Orsetti Palace at our doorstep, where beautiful civil ceremonies may be held. In a typical Italian civil ceremony, the three articles from the Italian civil code that pertain to marriage are read aloud, you say your, “I dos” and the officiant then reads aloud the entire marriage act, you sign it and the ceremony is over. Luckily, the administration in Lucca is very flexible and allows us to personalize the ceremony with your own vows, ring exchanges, readings, poetry and music. As we have been doing weddings for a long time, we are able to suggest various readings, poetry, vow and ring exchanges as well as music choices to you, so that you are not stuck reinventing the wheel.

Lucca, as well as its surrounding towns, have been some of the first places in Italy to liberalize the old Italian law that required civil ceremonies to take place in town hall and indoors. There are many historic villas, vineyards and deconsacrated churches where legally valid ceremonies can now take place, and many of them can be held outside! Seems like not such a big deal for non-Italians, but here this is big news.

Religious Ceremony: most religious ceremonies here are Catholic. Italy being home to Vatican city and the birth place of Catholicism many Catholics choose Italy as the country to celebrate their marriage. We have the good fortune to be blessed with churches dating back to the 11th century, still standing, magnificent in their stone glory. To wed in such a church is to participate in its history and can be a profoundly moving event for the couple.

As part of your Catholic ceremony we will help to prepare all of the ecclesiastical documentation necessary to have a valid Catholic ceremony, translate it all into Italian for you, as well as liaise with the local priest to customize your wedding mass for you .

Protestant: Legally valid Protestant ceremonies can be held via ministers in Tuscany who hold a decree that allows them to perform civilly valid ceremonies. These ceremonies are often held at private villas and deconsacated chapels as there are few Protestant churches in the area. As there are a limited number of ministers that hold this decree, their fee can be a bit dear.

Symbolic: A great choice for those looking for a high degree of flexibility in their ceremony site and those wishing to highly personalize their ceremony script. We can provide you with non-denominational ministers with long experience in creating one of a kind ceremonies. They all are fluent in English and Italian and will correspond with you directly to create a truly personal and memorable ceremony. Symbolic ceremonies can often be paired with legally valid town hall based ceremonies when the couple wishes to leave Italy with all paperwork completed and in hand.