If you have decided to get married in a wedding location which is located a thousand thousand kilometers away from the place where you live, if your guests are not all Italian (or in any case, they do not live near the wedding location) and you will therefore have to provide organization of their stay as well as their transfer, well, with this post I hope to make you happy: I will reveal 8 things to do to organize a remote wedding in the best possible way and without incurring unpleasant surprises.
PLAN A WEDDING IN ITALY
What does it mean to organize a wedding remotely without a Wedding Planner or in any case someone of reference on the spot? Well, in my humble opinion, it certainly means dedicating a lot, a lot of time to researching and contacting suppliers, evaluating the various proposals, organizing the logistics and timing so that everything works perfectly on the wedding day or in any case when scheduled.
In recent years I have organized the wedding of several foreign couples, but not only. A distance marriage (in Romagna and in the Marches) is also the same for Italians who live in another region or abroad. And often, from the experience I've had with my couples, various aspects are underestimated that should instead receive greater attention.
8 TO DO WHEN YOU PLAN YOUR WEDDING IN ITALY (LE MARCHE OR EMILIA ROMAGNA)
So let's see 8 things to do and not to underestimate to better organize a remote wedding.
1 . HIRE A WEDDING PLANNER
This first piece of advice from me may seem obvious, trivial, but believe me it is the one that turns out to be the most appropriate in the end: first of all, you will have a lot moOOre free time for yourself, to enjoy the preparations in peace and without stress. Furthermore, you will avoid running into errors of evaluation due to your inexperience and lack of knowledge of the country in which you will get married, as well as of the suppliers present on site.
Let me give you an example: an English couple of mine hired me last year AFTER confirming the location they loved so much. Well, the location did not have a plan B adequate for the expected number of guests, despite the owner reassuring them that there would be no problem. Only after I came into the game and carried out the inspection with the Catering did we realize the impossibility of the spaces available to host an event of this magnitude (over 200 people). Therefore, thanks to that inspection it was possible to plan a suitable back-up which otherwise, without his presence, would have ruined, in case of bad weather (as indeed it was!!) and not just the day of the event.
2. CHOOSE THE WEDDING VENUE WITH A CRITICAL SENSE
As seen, choosing the wedding location that best suits your needs does not mean just choosing the one that made your heart beat faster thanks to the wonderful Italian gardens or the one whose owner is a guy who communicates reliability, competence and professionalism ... What you see on the web or in the structure's brochure is not always enough to be able to say "yes, this is the right location!". You have to "touch" what you are buying and evaluate, for example, if the proposed plan B is to your liking or not. So, as soon as possible, go to the place in person and, if you really can't, go back to point 1.
3. CHOOSE THE CATERER WITH GREATER GUARANTEES
Very often I hear of couples who make the rounds of the Catering menu tests thus basing their final judgment exclusively on the quality of the food tasted. Serious, very serious! In fact, when you go to taste the dishes in the kitchen, OBVIOUSLY, everything will be good and perfect (not only because we are in Italy and we eat well, but also because it is one thing to prepare a lunch or dinner for a few people, couples who come to rehearse, it is one thing to prepare the wedding banquet for hundreds of people). The menu test, I always say, is used to understand if the combination of the porcini mushroom with the courgette flower is good or if the proposed wines are suitable for the chosen menu.
In my opinion, it is not the test menu (or at least, not only that) that should convince you.
When choosing a Catering & Banqueting for your wedding and, in particular, for a long-distance wedding, in my opinion you need to consider several aspects, such as:
the range of materials made available (such as tables, tablecloths, crockery, chairs, etc - that's why it's called Banqueting... it doesn't just deal with food like a restaurant, but it also has the right materials or is available for a possible rental of extra material if what he has at home is not to your liking, but he must have his own material otherwise the cost will rise and not a little if he has to rent everything! and mind you that, unfortunately, there are restaurants that pretend to be Catering & Banqueting ...)
expected number of dining room staff (we always recommend 1 waiter for every 15 guests)
presence of the maître / room manager to refer to both in the days before and on the wedding day
flexibility of offers
presence of tailor-made menu offers
availability for technical inspection with maître and logistics manager
professionalism demonstrated during video calls and during the menu test
detailed and exhaustive economic proposal, complete with technical information (e.g. type of uniform worn by the staff)
Therefore, choosing Catering & Banqueting is not a trivial matter, especially if yours is a long-distance wedding.
4. MANAGE TRANSFERS
When organizing a remote wedding, the transfers to and from the airport or train station and the shuttle for the wedding are undoubtedly one of the services most appreciated by guests.
Offering them the transfer for the wedding (but also those arriving and departing) will ensure that the decision to participate or not in the event will be a decision taken with the awareness that you will not have to worry about studying roads and routes never seen before and moreover in a foreign country (or in any case, in a city never seen before).
Therefore, my advice is to choose a solid, reliable and flexible bus company both in terms of numbers (in the sense that they don't expect to have the exact number of passengers already 6 months before the wedding) and in operational terms (i.e. with competent and punctual staff and drivers). My dispassionate advice is to rely on companies that are able to send a digital estimate complete with all the necessary information within 24 hours and to be wary of those who, in addition to not having references on the web (an essential element today! ), they communicate a quote 7 days after the request and only by telephone... For me it's not!
5. ARRANGING THE STAY FOR THE GUESTS
There are two nights of stay which, in my opinion, should be offered to guests. I understand that this option can be onerous and cost a lot to the wedding budget, but the guest cannot be expected to travel on the day of the event! I bet that you too, as a guest, would like to arrive fresh, clean and rested at the event, with a perfectly pressed suit, Oscar-worthy make-up and hair… Am I wrong?
Furthermore, when you organize a remote wedding and you have to take care of the stay for your guests, don't forget that the hotel category must be adequate and not a hostel (which is fine for teenagers, but for the aunt and grandmother of the family I would say really not!). So you will have to look for the right compromise between the wallet, the category and, last but not least, the distance from the wedding location: no more than half an hour, please!
6. BOOK A WELCOME DINNER
Even when I got married (although it wasn't a long-distance marriage, as I already lived in Cattolica) the evening before the wedding day I organized a convivial dinner among relatives and closest friends: there's nothing more nicer than relaxing with your loved ones the day before the big event. A pizza, a barbecue or a more refined fish-based dinner: it doesn't matter which one you choose, but it certainly has to be done because it helps guests (who may have traveled a long way to be near you) to settle in the new country, to enjoy a few more minutes before the big day begins.
7. PROPOSE EXCURSIONS, TRIPS AND VARIOUS ACTIVITIES
When you organize a remote wedding and your guests have never visited the area/city where the event will take place, I am sure they will certainly appreciate a lot if they are offered the opportunity to participate in an excursion or a visit or any other activity that can make them live cultural and/or food and wine experiences that otherwise they would never have had the opportunity to do. In this case, to avoid forcing everyone to participate, the activity can easily be optional and this will certainly help you manage your budget.
8. OFFER A BRUNCH BEFORE DEPARTURE
At the end of the wedding, the day after, rather than a breakfast and a lunch, it is often customary to organize a small brunch before departure: another way to share the emotions experienced the day before and greet the guests before they return home.
In conclusion, before planning your remote wedding try not to underestimate these aspects and if you need to talk to me, if you want to know more about how I work and what I can do for you, what are you waiting for?
EnJoy!
Federica
Your Planner in Romagna and Marche
