How much could your wedding in Italy cost?
The age old question and one that planners are most frequently asked. The answer; it depends. Because it truly does. There are so many types of Italian weddings, all impacted by a huge number of variables.
We’ll break these down and provide a free budget tracker that will ensure you have considered everything that can affect your budget before you start planning. And we mean it, you really need to get this bit clear before you commit to any suppliers.
There are 5 key areas that influence an Italian wedding budget:
Weddings in each area of Italy are different in style, atmosphere and price. The Lakes, Amalfi, Puglia, Tuscany, Venice, all offer different wedding formats and costs. Some areas like Tuscany offer great transport routes as well as a huge number of venues and suppliers to choose from. This generally makes for a good value wedding experience. Other areas, like The Lakes and Amalfi are much more rigid in their wedding style, with set start and end times, set suppliers and costs, generally making for a less personalised wedding experience that can be more costly.
Arguably this is the hardest decision when it comes to wedding planning in Italy. Not least because it’s one of the first decisions you make. Check out our venue article, where we list everything you should ask a venue before booking.
If you choose a venue with accommodation, you can recoup some of the cost by charging guests a fair price for their stay. This almost removes the venue fee from your budget altogether.
If the venue you choose has favoured suppliers, it’s imperative you get the costs of these services into your budget before booking the venue. There are many a tale of couples booking venues then realising quite how much the suppliers cost, pushing them way over budget. Don’t let it be you!
An obvious one but a goodie; your choice of catering plays a huge part in the atmosphere of the day, your guests experience and also (of course) your budget. We often see this cost underestimated by couples. In Italy you’re getting an incredible culinary experience and service that starts from the moment your guests arrive. The quality, variety and quantity of food is much more than a traditional wedding breakfast and that’s reflected in the cost per head. Caterers can differ hugely in price so it’s worth seeing a range of options to consider how to create the wedding experience you want and to suit your budget.
Many Italian weddings are 3 day experiences and we adore them for that. It’s such a nice way to make the most of having all your nearest and dearest together and to treat your guests, who’ve made the effort and forked out the cash to come and make your Italian wedding dream a reality.
In Italy it’s not as simple as booking a space in a bar, or getting a guy to come and make some pizzas. These things add up and you should expect to spend at least 20-30 euro pp for a low key event or drinks. If you want this to take place at your venue, you’ll need to check if they have an extra event fee, ideally before you book the venue.
Music and décor play a huge role in creating the atmosphere on your day. And these are two budget lines that are often underestimated. A good band could cost upwards of 5,000 euro and when bringing musicians from overseas, remember to add on travel costs and instrument hire locally.
When it comes to décor, we’re huge fans of epic simplicity, but even that can stretch a budget. Add some nice lighting, enough flowers to decorate your tables and a nice ceremony display and you’ll very quickly spend 5000 euro +.
1. Be thorough with your venue questions and comparisons and ideally engage an expert to help you. Not all venues are good wedding venues and there are many things to consider in the process. If you have an experienced planner exploring all suitable options for you just at the venue finding stage, your investment could be saved 3 times over in mistakes you could make.
2. Always have room in your budget. Don’t go into wedding planning with 100% of your funds allocated. It’s almost inevitable that your wedding will cost a little more than the initial budget, whether that’s because of pricing changes, something overlooked or a change in your taste or requirements along the way. You don’t want to be in the position where you can’t have what you want or, getting what you makes you sick with budget worry.
Written by Lucy White, CEO of La Lista & Wiskow & White, with over 5 years and 150 weddings worth of experience.
