Why US couples are choosing Italian weddings?
There is a trend here…and the trend is Italian weddings! An increasing number of US couples are falling in ‘amore’ with Italy for their destination wedding. But why are so many jetting over to this European country for their “I dos"? For many it’s simple: exceptional food, insane scenery and the opportunity for guests to stay on and discover more of ‘La Dolce Vita’. Italian heritage also plays a large part in this decision-making, with couples wanting to celebrate their wedding in a place where they have roots.
We caught up with New York bride, Alyssa who is in Private Wealth Management engaged to Josh, an Emergency Room Doctor, to find out why Italy is THE one for Americans and her top tips on managing suppliers and budget, whilst not being able to travel to Italy.
Why Italy for your wedding location?
“It started with the fact that I never envisioned a big, blowout wedding. We looked at some venues around our hometown of Miami, but none felt like us… With a smaller number of people, we knew it was possible to do a destination wedding in Italy. Mostly because if guests wanted to stay before/after the wedding, there is of course so much to see and do, with an amazing vibe and great food! It also went along with our love for travel and the fact that we’ve loved every second we’ve spent in Italy. Plus, both our families are Italian and our grandparents were born there!”
What did you have to consider when making this decision?
“The biggest factor we had to consider was whether our aging extended family members would be able to travel from the US to Italy, and whether we would be OK without them there. Ultimately, we decided to opt for a family-only dinner locally, and make our wedding in Italy more tailored to our closest friends and immediate family. This helped to keep the guest count small and didn’t force a lot of our extended family to make the trip.”
What percentage of guests you asked confirmed yes?
“Our RSVPs are technically not due for another 2 months, but so far we’re planning for about 80-85%!”
Did you have a specific budget? Have you gone over?
“Yes we did! So we didn’t opt to do a destination wedding in Italy to necessarily “save” money. When we originally looked at venues in Miami, a rehearsal dinner and wedding would cost approximately the same amount as a 3 day wedding weekend with exclusive use of a villa in Italy! We will maybe go over slightly when all is said and done…..but so far so good.”
Did you go into planning with a specific date or year in mind?
“We got engaged in June of 2022, and wanted to take our time with planning. By the time we decided what we wanted to do (around the fall/winter of 2022), it was too late to squeeze in to the summer of ‘23, so we opted to hold off and book for the summer of ‘24. We didn’t go in with any specific date, we just knew we didn’t want to rush anything for the sake of rushing.”
At what point in planning did you realise you would need a planner?
“As soon as we decided on a destination wedding, we knew we needed a planner to help us navigate! Whether it was a language barrier, determining what suppliers to use, or just overall tracking of things to do, we were certain we couldn’t do it alone… I was certain there were things that I would never be able to think of that just purely come with experience.”
What did you want from a venue?
“Ultimately we knew we wanted a venue where a lot of guests could stay onsite and one with relatively modern accommodation; that ruled out a lot of places in Tuscany which were beautiful but had “museum-like” rooms which we didn’t think guests would feel as comfortable in. We ended up choosing Masseria Amastuola in Puglia that we felt checked all of our boxes - it has such an amazing rustic feel, but feels recent at the same time.”
What are the main differences of planning a Italian wedding verses planning a US-home wedding?
“A lot of my friends getting married locally are able to visit their venue countless times and therefore have a better sense of the layout and flow - due to costs and time we can’t visit our venue frequently. With that, most of our suppliers are overseas as well, so we actually haven’t met our amazing wedding planners or other vendors in person!
Our wedding has felt a little more “boutique”, compared to a lot of US weddings that are really made to just feel like 1 large party with less attention to the details of the food, needs of the guests, etc.”
Tips for US couples:
Understand that not everyone you want to be there can absolutely be there just due to the distance and cost
Use a planner. There are so many moving parts to organize, especially if you’re looking to do a multi-day event
Don’t forget about the currency conversion from USD to GBP or EUR, it can add up!
