Your wedding day, for the less cynical among us, is one of the most important days of your life, so it’s no surprise that those who have enough put aside for their dream wedding choose to come to Italy. After all, this beautiful country has just about everything needed for a perfect ceremony and celebration: beautiful scenery, breathtaking architecture, fantastic cuisine and most importantly of all, reliably good weather!

Tuscany in particular is a popular wedding venue and Florence, being the administrative centre of the region, is not lacking in facilities for your big day. The famous rolling hills, vineyards and olive groves and colourful, luxuriant landscape has made this region a firm favourite for affluent retirees and the bourgeois, as their choice location for a second home. For this reason, the ex-pat population is burgeoning and the local economy is geared to providing a great combination of Mediterranean ambiance with the standards and preferences expected by Brits and Americans.

Italy’s official religion is Roman Catholic, but that’s not to say it’s impossible to get a church wedding here if you’re of a different denomination. There are many companies offering wedding planning services should you wish to tie the knot in or near Florence - they’ll arrange the church and can help with the celebrations, the catering, logistics and language barrier issues. As for accommodations in Florence and Tuscany, many 4 star and above quality hotels also offer wedding services, so check out our Hotels in Florence page for an idea of prices and the beautiful locations available.

As a personal hint, we’d recommend you go out of the city for your wedding party - the Tuscan countryside provides a truly unparalleled romantic backdrop while the abundance of space makes for a more comfortable environment for everyone. In addition, you’re likely to get much better value for money, as well as better food and wine and finer accommodation. You can also get married in some exquisite little medieval church in a tiny hamlet - the stuff that wedding dreams are made of!

Check out the following recommendations for wedding venues in the Tuscany region:

Artemura Residence - Luxury residence in Pistoia, 25 miles from Florence, with self catering apartments and fantastic home cooking.

Villa Moorings Barga - 3 star former stately home in the countryside, 20 outside of Lucca.

Useful Links for wedding services in Florence:

» www.weddingitaly.com
» www.weddingflorence.com
» www.weddingsitaly.com/wedding-in-florence
» www.italian-weddings.com