25 milestones · 5 required by law

Every deadline, from the estimate to the last invoice.

A wedding in Italy is thirty separate purchases across two legal systems, and it fails at the handoffs rather than at the tasks. So every step below carries the gate — what must be true before the next one can open — and the six the Italian state requires are marked as such.

Dated against as an example. Your own plan counts back from your date, and your planner adjusts it for your comune.

Next

Your planner takes it on

She confirms she has your plan and tells you when she expects to have real figures.

Your planner

Before the next step opens: You know who is working on it and when to expect an answer.

2 of 25 confirmed · 5 required by Italian law

Securing it

The date, the property, the contracts.

  1. Your estimate

    Done

    in 3 weeks

    You compose the wedding and see the whole cost. Nothing is owed and no date is held.

    You

    confirmed when you composed your estimate

  2. Sent to your planner

    Done

    in 5 weeks

    The estimate goes to your planner as a link. It never goes to the venue.

    YouYour wedding page: you → your planner

    confirmed when you sent it to your planner

  3. Your planner takes it on

    Do this next

    in 5 weeks

    She confirms she has your plan and tells you when she expects to have real figures.

    Your planner

    Gate: You know who is working on it and when to expect an answer.

  4. The venue is called

    Scheduled

    in 6 weeks

    Your planner telephones the property for your exact date: is it free, and what does it actually cost this season.

    Your planner

  5. Every supplier is called

    Scheduled

    in 6 weeks

    Caterer, photographer, florist, music and the rest, each for your date.

    Your planner

  6. Official quote

    Scheduled

    in 7 weeks

    Your page updates with confirmed figures, set line by line against the estimate, and a date it expires.

    Your plannerThe official quote: your planner → you

  7. You accept

    Scheduled

    in 8 weeks

    You accept in writing. This is the first moment anything is owed.

    YouWritten acceptance: you → your planner

  8. Venue contract

    Scheduled

    in 8 weeks

    Your planner reads the Italian contract, negotiates what can be negotiated, and explains the rest in your language.

    Your plannerCountersigned venue contract: the supplier → you

  9. Venue deposit

    Scheduled

    in 2 months

    You pay the venue directly, against the venue's own invoice, in your name.

    YouDeposit invoice: the supplier → you

  10. Supplier contracts

    Scheduled

    in 3 months

    Each supplier contracts with you directly, on their own terms, which your planner has read.

    Your planner

  11. Book the comune

    Scheduled

    in 6 months

    The civil rite is booked with the comune. Slots in the popular comuni go a year ahead.

    Your plannerRequired by Italian law

The paperwork

What Italian law requires, and the guest list.

  1. Guest list

    Scheduled

    in 7 months

    You settle the list. About a third of invited guests decline a wedding abroad, and the reason is almost always cost.

    You

  2. Invitations

    Scheduled

    in 8 months

    Sent early, because your guests are booking flights and leave.

    YouInvitations: you → you

  3. Nulla osta

    Scheduled

    in 12 months

    The declaration from your own consulate that there is no impediment to your marriage. Required for every non-resident foreign national marrying in Italy.

    YouRequired by Italian lawNulla osta: you → your planner

  4. Legalisation

    Scheduled

    in 12 months

    The nulla osta and your birth certificates are legalised for use in Italy.

    YouRequired by Italian law

  5. Sworn translation

    Scheduled

    in 13 months

    Every foreign document is translated by a translator the court accepts. An ordinary translation is refused.

    Your plannerRequired by Italian lawTranslated document set: your planner → the comune

  6. Sworn interpreter

    Scheduled

    in 13 months

    An Italian civil rite requires a sworn interpreter when either party does not speak Italian. It is a legal requirement, not an upsell.

    Your plannerRequired by Italian law

  7. RSVPs close

    Scheduled

    in 13 months

    The last date you can still change numbers without a penalty from the caterer.

    You

  8. Tasting

    Scheduled

    in 13 months

    In person if you can, on a call if you cannot.

    You

The detail

Numbers, tasting, the run of the day.

  1. Final numbers

    Scheduled

    in 14 months

    The count the caterer bills against. After this it only goes up.

    YouFinal guest count: your planner → the supplier

  2. Balances

    Scheduled

    in 14 months

    Each supplier invoices you directly for the remainder, on the schedule in your quote.

    YouFinal invoices: the supplier → you

  3. Run of the day

    Scheduled

    in 15 months

    Built around the venue's curfew rather than around a template, and circulated to every supplier.

    Your plannerRun of the day: your planner → the supplier

  4. Final site visit

    Scheduled

    in 16 months

    Your planner walks the venue again, with the run of the day in hand.

    Your planner

The day, and after

On site, and the last invoice.

  1. The day

    Scheduled

    in 16 months

    Your planner is on site from the first delivery to the last guest.

    Your planner

  2. Our invoice

    Scheduled

    in 16 months

    Our commission is invoiced after the wedding, and it is the last invoice you pay.

    Your planner

This is the plan, not a picture of one. Compose an estimate and it becomes yours, with your dates.

Describe your wedding