BUREAUCRACY AND CEREMONIES: Religious Ceremony
Religious Blessings are not legally binding and can take place anywhere you like - there are no restrictions and no paperwork is required. The ceremony or blessing can also be performed by you own pastor/friend in the villa.

Catholic ceremonies have to be performed in a Catholic Church. At least one person in the couple has to be Catholic. You will have to show certificates of baptism, confirmation and first communion. Catholic weddings are performed by an English-speaking priest. The closest beautiful churches to the properties that we offer are in San Gimignano or in Monteriggioni. The Catholic wedding will be the most lengthy and difficult to organise since requirements change from parish to parish.

Protestant weddings: In Florence there are two churches of note (American Church and Church of England). The pastor (American or English) can also perform a wedding blessing in a private villa or garden. Church of England Father McLean from Florence can come to the villa for blessing.

Jewish weddings: As the Italian Jewish Community is 100% Orthodox, the synagogues in most cases only marry Orthodox couples who have fulfilled all the religious requirements. If you do wish to hold a Jewish ceremony in a villa or castle of your own choice, we recommend flying over with your own Rabbi.

For the religious ceremonies above by Italian law you must first be married civilly before the pastor/priest can perform the religious ceremony. However, the exception to the rule are Catholic weddings. Many Catholic churches/priests do perform a civil and catholic wedding together. In any case a civil and religious wedding in one will involve a rather large amount of paperwork. We usually recommend either one or the other.

For further information, take a look below and please do call our UK office on +44 (0) 1626 360 336 or simply send us an email to dream@tuscan-dreams.com specifying period and number of guests for advice.