Livy Dune
The Vatican has a lot of influence in Italy and the Catholic faith is an important part of the culture. It is therefore not surprising that people still often get married in the church. In this column you can read my personal experience with getting married in Italy!
In my own circle of friends it varies from people who live together for a long time and then get married to a couple who only live together according to the book after the wedding.
Getting married is still a thing in Italy and on average a year is set aside for the preparations.
'Corso fidanzati'
It all starts with the parade fidanzati, the course for betrothed, organized by the church. Each priest gives his own interpretation to this course and some even set admission requirements. For example, you have priests who do not allow couples who already live together.
However, the church where we did our course even admitted me, as a non-believer. Our course consisted of ten encounters with themes such as marriage according to the bible, marriage according to experts, tips from the lawyer, but also sexual explanations (for beginners!).
wedding certificate
At the end of the course you will receive a certificate. You can't get married in church without it. In my particular case, I even needed some stamps from the Vatican to marry my 'Catholic' fiancée as a non-believer, having to declare officially that I would never take my betrothed away from the Catholic path.
What is practical: if you get married in church, you no longer have to go to the town hall. You sign those papers directly at the church.
'Mangiare'
With the documents in his pocket, the preparations could begin, with the first… no, not the dress and not the rings either, but… the restaurant!
A wedding here is only a wedding if there is a lot of food. Three appetizers, three first, two seconds, contorni, sorbetto, torta, you name it.
The intention is that the guests leave the table around a barrel. If you ask what a wedding was like in the Netherlands, you get the answer 'nice', 'not pleasant', 'good music was played' and so on.
When getting married in Italy there is only one criterion: the food. Some reactions I've heard seriously after weddings:
- "I was still hungry when I got home."
- "There wasn't enough salt in the pasta."
- "I only got one serving of meat!"
So if you want happy guests, bet high on the food.
The dress
Then the dress. In general, the concept of getting married in Italy has been spoon-fed. The wedding industry is making smart use of this.
I did try on dresses worth more than 3.000 euros, whereby the saleswoman of course shouted that 'this was the dress' and that 'that one day is so special, that includes a special dress'.
Well, I got stuck on the 'one day' part and thought it was a shame to spend so much on something you enjoy for such a short time.
I went shopping in the Netherlands, which halved the price on average. In the end, even my aunt made the dress. That's special!
The Rings
The wedding rings are in most cases sober, the faith is yellow gold by default, but if you really want to go crazy, choose a different color or put a diamond in it. Your sweetheart's name and wedding date will be engraved on it. This is very useful for the forgetful among us.
In short, getting married in Italy is a big deal, but leaves little room for originality.
As with so many things in Italy, they are more committed to tradition than to innovation. Which, by the way, shouldn't spoil the fun.
I always have a great time at Italian weddings.
Provided the pasta is salted enough, eh!
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