ITALY is famous for its many fine and historic churches and here in the VENETO REGION, we have some of Italy’s most stunning churches where you can celebrate your RELIGIOUS WEDDING IN ITALY.
We are more than happy to assist all of our couples who wish to get married in a Catholic Wedding Ceremony in Italy and we have a number of churches and priests who are happy to perform your ceremony here in Italy.
Most will require to meet with you at least once before your wedding day.
We also have English speaking priests who will assist and perform your ceremony.
A Catholic ceremony in Italy can only be performed in a consecrated Catholic Church and can still be celebrated even if one of the couple is not Catholic.
If one of the couple is of a different religion, a Catholic wedding is still possible as long as you attend the required pre-marital classes and have the paperwork approved by the religious authorities in Italy.
You will require the following documents for a Catholic wedding in Italy :
- A formal letter from your parish Priest granting permission for your Italian Wedding. (please specify the name of the church, address and your wedding date).
This is a document certifying that your Priest approves of you getting married in Italy and must be written on the letterhead paper of your Parish Church. - A letter from the Bishop of your parish Church granting permission for your wedding in Italy (please specify the name of the church, address and wedding date.
The letter must be written on the letterhead paper of your Bishop's office.
The Bishop's permission is one of the most important requirements for the Italian Curia. - The letter from the Priest must also state that you have fulfilled all PRE CANA requirements (Premarital course), and should include the certificate (if issued)
showing that you attended the premarital classes.
The letter must have the official seal or stamp from the Bishop's Office of your country. - Original Prenuptial Inquiry form issued by your Parish Priest and on formal church letterhead of your Parish. The form must have seal or stamp by the Bishop's
Parish Office of your Country.
The Prenuptial Inquiry is issued by the archdiocese of your home town and should state your names, place and date of birth, address and general religious
information which your priest will complete together with yourselves. Your priest completes the questionnaire stating it has been approved, and allowing you get
married, signing the document as final approval. Then this document must be sealed by your local Bishop, so that the Italian Curia has proof that it has been
approved by a senior member of the Catholic Church in your country. - Certificate of Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation stamped by your Bishop's office.
Certificates of the above sacraments must be included in order to have the Catholic ceremony performed. Ask your Parish who performed these sacraments to
provide them for you. If you have problems obtaining the originals, ask for copies which must then be sealed by your local bishop.
The Italian Curia requires the Bishop’s Seal on copies of the above documents. - If one of the couple is not Catholic then they will need to obtain a "permission of mixed religions" issued by the local Bishop of your country.
Ask your Parish Priest to help you to obtain this special permission. - Original of the civil wedding certificate (if the civil part of the marriage is performed in your country).
IMPORTANT:
- All of the above documents will be sent directly to the Italian Curia and we will keep in touch with them to ensure that everything is in order well before your wedding date.
- When everything has been pronounced OK, the Italian Curia will then issue a Religious Nulla Osta (official permission for the wedding to take place).
- The Italian Curia has the final authority on granting official permission for the wedding.
- We DO NOT have any authority over religious regulations.
We strongly advise that you start this procedure well in advance to make sure that the Italian Curia has time to process all documents.
We will give you guidelines as to when you should start this.
Regarding the Pre Marital Courses, many parishes have certain periods of the year when they will carry this out so make sure you check with your own Parish to find out when these courses take place.
MATRIMONIO CONCORDATARIO
This will allow you to have your Religious Wedding Ceremony also legally recognized by the Italian civil authorities.
It is a simple procedure and will involve you following the guidelines set down for a civil wedding in Italy. (See our notes on Civil Weddings)
At the end of your religious ceremony, articles 143-144-147 of the Italian Civil Code will be read in Italian and translated in English. (We can do this for you)
The priest of the Italian Parish where you marry will then register your marriage in the Marriage Register of the Town Hall.
In the case of one of the parties being divorced from a Catholic Wedding, the Catholic Church will not allow you to remarry in the church unless you have an annulment recognized by the Catholic Authorities.
VILLA GIONA FOR A CATHOLIC WEDDING IN ITALY - THAT’S AMORE !
At Villa Giona Weddings we turn special dreams into reality.
With our creativity, dedication, local knowledge and years of experience we will help you create your dream wedding in Italy to suit your very own personality, needs and budget.
So if you are thinking of Getting Married in Italy contact Villa Giona's in house Wedding Planner:
info@villagionaweddings.com
Tel. +39 339 78 33 907.
We'll leave you to do the dreaming while we get to work on making it come true.
