Celebrate your Catholic wedding in Florence
Hold your magical Catholic wedding in Florence, surrounded by the splendour of what is considered as the capital of Italian Renaissance. Florence, Tuscany, is one of the most beautiful cities you could think of as Catholic wedding destination. The town is full of spectacular churches with magnificent interiors, decorated with extraordinary frescoes and colourful stained-glass windows. Celebrate your romantic Catholic wedding in Florence and share its extraordinary cultural and religious heritage.
If you opt for a Catholic wedding in Tuscany, or in particular for a Catholic wedding in Florence, Brilliant Events will help you to find the perfect setting. Have your wedding officiated in one of the city’s majestic churches, such as the beautiful baroque churches, and enjoy your ceremony within a royal-like atmosphere.
Churches that officiate Catholic weddings
The Sassetti Chapel is closed to the river Arno and it is one of the finest Catholic venues built in a Renaissance style. This distinguishable chapel contains some of the masterpieces by Italian painters from the Renaissance period, such as Domenico Ghirlandaio, as well as by Italian sculptors like Luca della Robbia.
Florence Charterhouse church (Certosa di Firenze or Certosa del Galluzzo) is located on the hilltop of the suburb of Galluzzo, just outside the central area, and it hosts amazing frescoes by Pontormo. Despite being small as it can hold a maximum of 100 guests, it is the ideal venue for an intimate wedding with your family and friends.
Located in one of the highest points of Florence, the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte offers the most attractive wedding backdrop. Its marble façade and its inside mosaics create a breathtaking setting for a unique Italian wedding: it is no coincidence that it was also chosen as wedding setting for the marriage between the Dutch Princess Carolina and the prominent businessman Albert Brenninkmeijer in 2012.
Have your wedding ceremony in Chiesa di Ognissanti, the church facing Arno river featuring an extraordinary and extravagant Baroque style. This is one of the main Franciscan Churches of the town and it is located right in the city centre. Founded in 1250 by the lay order of the Umiliati, the church was dedicated to all saints and martyrs. This is a unique setting where to celebrate your wedding ceremony, with its incredible frescoes designed by Sandro Botticelli, one of the greatest Italian painters of the Early Renaissance. Furthermore, a fresco by Domenico Ghirlandaio representing the Virgin of Mercy is to be found in the Vespucci Chapel.
Have your wedding in the magnificent Basilica della Santissima Annunziata, amidst several incredible art pieces. Designed by Michelozzo, this awesome church is home to frescoes by several Italian masters: the painter Andrea Del Castagno and the Mannerist painter and portraitist Jacopo Pontormo, the Renaissance painter Pietro Perugino and the Mannerist and frescoes painter Rosso Fiorentino.
The Basilica di Santa Croce is a lovely minor basilica located just outside the centre of Florence. It is an incredible example of Roman Catholic church, where you can both admire a distinguishable architecture and grand altarpieces, and it is also the burial place of many illustrious Italian artists. Three aisles divide the interior, with the two side aisles of Romanesque origin and the central one in a Renaissance style.
Another worthwhile location to consider for your Catholic ceremony is one of the delightful churches located on the hills around Florence. A perfect example is the small village of Fiesole: two tiny and quiet chapels are available for small, private and intimate wedding ceremonies. This is the ideal setting for truly romantic nuptials hosting from 80 to 150 guests.
Weddings in Florence
A religious wedding in a Catholic church in Florence, Tuscany, must be planned at least six months in advance to meet the strict requirements necessary to complete the paperwork. Italians often plan their Catholic weddings in June and September, so it is up to you to opt for the best schedule. Your wedding planner Brilliant Events will assist you in obtaining the paperwork and arranging a beautiful ceremony with Catholic and civil validity in Florence, Italy.
Sacred music is required during the ceremony, as it is performed by an English-speaking priest. The church can easily hold large groups, as well as smaller wedding parties. A wedding in Florence takes place all year round.
Catholic weddings in Florence do not require any offers for the priest or the church; however, donations are welcome to help the church to sustain the daily costs of maintenance. It would be better to give your donation during the meeting with the priest the day before the ceremony.
Hire Brilliant Events as your planner: you are granted full assistance on every aspect of the ceremony, including getting the necessary paperwork to hold a Catholic rite.
Catholic Ceremony
If both spouses are Roman Catholics, the Sacrament of Marriage will be celebrated within the mass; however, if one of the two is Protestant, as the mass is not held the rite will be celebrated apart. Anyway, the decision is made by the parish of the spouses, during the documents’ drafting and the Marriage Preparation Course.
There are two basic types of Roman Catholic wedding services that couple can take into consideration: a wedding ceremony without the mass or a wedding ceremony celebrated within the mass. The former option consists of holding an approximately twenty-minute service straightforward, including readings and hymns- almost the same as a Protestant service. The latter option also includes a celebrated mass and it lasts about an hour.
To a happy and prosperous life!
The perfect ending for your Catholic wedding in Florence is an excellent gastronomic experience in an elegant and hospitable Tuscan wedding reception. Choose between one of the incredible surrounding castles including prominent Florentine restaurants, or one of the private villas providing the best cuisine, where the lucky couple and their guests will eat while enjoying the astonishing views on the city. Choose the assistance of your wedding planner Brilliant Events and let this marvellous service arrange all the details.
Florence is one of the most charming cities in Italy, the perfect wedding destination thanks to its lovely and vintage churches, decorated with incredible masterpieces by leading artists from the Gothic and Renaissance art movements. Celebrate your magical romantic Catholic wedding in Florence, and benefit from its marvellous cultural and religious heritage.
So, why not get married in Florence? Your Brilliant Events planner will walk with you all the way through to select the best Catholic church and to make all the arrangements, so as to create the most unique wedding in Florence!
