For a couple who never dreamed of getting married, Cassidy and Michelle found themselves tying the knot in a setting found only in dreams: a colourful Italian medieval fishing village, on top of cliffs covered in luscious grapevines and in front of the sparkling Mediterranean Sea. Dreamy indeedy, right?

Well, for these two fast-paced professionals, Police Officer, Michelle, and Paediatric Intensive Care Nurse, Cassidy, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, Vernazza was the perfect destination. An ancient wonderland where they could slow down, take time out and celebrate their marriage with their most loved ones – their parents.

For Cassidy and Michelle the journey to their wedding began with an extraordinary meeting in the most ordinary of places – a cross fit gym. A sweet reminder that in the split of an everyday, very ordinary, second your life may change forever.

And the proposal? Well, not so ordinary: lying in a hammock on a beach in the Turks and Caicos Islands. At the time Cassidy had been joking about how much her parents wanted her to marry – so much so, they’d probably even pay for the ring. To which, Michelle had responded “Like this one?”, presenting Cassidy with an engagement ring and asking her to marry her. Confused, Cassidy’s initial response was to berate Michelle for joking about marriage until she realised that Michelle was serious. At that point shock, tears and trembling kicked in and the only word Cassidy was able to muster was a quivering “Okkkaaayyyy”.

A quivering “Okkkaaayyy” that’s became a bit of a mantra in their relationship and we imagine one that was used when they decided to celebrate their marriage in a same-sex wedding in Italy.

And we were rather chuffed when this beautiful, ultra thoughtful and super loved up couple agreed to share their wedding journey and some of their favourite photos with us. So prepare your peepers to enjoy their real same-sex wedding in Italy captured by the snazzy lens of Pure Wedding Photography.

Why a destination wedding?

We actually never planned to get married, so it was a huge surprise when Michelle proposed. We are both very private people so we knew from the beginning we wanted a very small, intimate, destination wedding with family only.

Why the Cinque Terre in Italy?

First off, we LOVE to travel. So the two week trip had already been planned before the proposal as a graduation trip for myself. My parents had previously been to Cinque Terre and after I saw their pictures, I knew I had to go one day. So we decided to get married in the trip in Vernazza and invited Michelle’s parents along and of course they agreed. We had thought our destination wedding would have been on a beach somewhere, but who can say they got married at a castle in Italy?? WE CAN! And we wouldn’t have chosen to do it any other way.

How was the wedding planning process?

The most stress free wedding planning I think anyone could imagine. Sarah immediately had our Pinterest board set up and we didn’t hesitate to use it. The communication via email was easy and she always responded within a day. We enjoyed the Skype conversations just to be able to put a face to the extremely talented people behind the scenes. The most difficult choice we had to make was which bouquets we wanted 🙂

Best part your wedding in Italy?

The actually ceremony for sure. The weather was perfect, the views were breathtaking and the photos turned out stunning. Matteo was phenomenal and the wine ceremony was very special and unique to Cinque Terre.

Top tip for future Cinque Terre Wedding brides and grooms?

Let Cinque Terre Wedding take the reigns. Do not be nervous about the destination planning process and having to be there or involved in every single decision. They are professionals and are the best at what they do. They know when to ask your opinion or when to involve you. We trusted them with everything and it turned out better than we could have ever imagined. It was exceptional.

For more information on having a destination wedding in the Cinque Terre contact us here.

Written by Melina Nicholson.

The post Same-Sex Wedding in Italy Special: Cassidy and Michelle appeared first on Cinque Terre Wedding.

Well, at Cinque Terre Wedding, we know exactly where to start, celebrate and end (yes, all good things must come to an end), so you’ll always have a wedding planner at a handy distance.

One of the first things to consider when you have fallen in love with the Cinque Terre for your destination wedding is the type of ceremony to celebrate.

At Cinque Terre Wedding we celebrate civil, symbolic, roman catholic, protestant and same-sex wedding ceremonies.

The differences between some ceremony types may seem obvious while others not so obvious.

So let us break it down so you can decide what is the best fit for you:

Civil Ceremony: this is a legally binding marriage contract with the state that is valid in Italy and your home country.

Cinque Terre Wedding assists with organising the paperwork for civil ceremonies which involves collating, processing and translating paperwork in your home country then further processing of paperwork here in Italy before you take your paperwork home for final processing.

The processing of paperwork involves appointments to officials and embassies.

The civil ceremony runs for about 15 minutes and involves the reading of the Italian Civil Codes, the couple giving their consent to marry by saying the words “yes” or when in Rome (or the Cinque Terre)…“si” and signing of the bridal registry.

To find a town hall where destination weddings in Italy are held in the Cinque Terre contact us.

Symbolic Ceremony: this is not a legally binding marriage contract. Instead all civil paperwork relating to the legal marriage contract is taken care of in your home country before coming to Italy, with a discrete ceremony or appointment to sign the marriage license. Then the couple celebrate their marriage with their symbolic ceremony in front of friends and family in the Cinque Terre.

This ceremony can be held outdoors in venues with space for holding a ceremony. It is conducted by a professional English speaking celebrant and follows the format of traditional wedding ceremony with music, readings, vows, ring exchange, kiss and a symbolic certificate and goes for around 30 minutes.

The majority of foreign couples marrying in the Cinque Terre choose this option as it cuts out all the costs, time and travel associated with processing the civil paperwork internationally.

To find an outdoor venue where destination weddings in Italy are held in the Cinque Terre contact us.

Roman Catholic: this is a marriage contract between the couple and their god. To be married under the roman catholic faith at least one of the couple should be roman catholic.

In the Cinque Terre roman catholic ceremonies are held inside the church and ceremonies run for about 75 minutes.

In Italy the roman catholic church has an agreement with the State which allows roman catholic wedding ceremonies to include civil proceedings so that the wedding ceremony also has civil validity.

This agreement offers two different options for those marrying in the roman catholic faith:
• ceremony in the church with two marriage contracts, one with your god and one with the State.
• ceremony in the church with one marriage contract with your god. In this case your civil marriage contract is taken care of in your home country before you arrive in Italy.

To find a medieval church where destination weddings in Italy are held in the Cinque Terre contact us.

Protestant: This is a marriage contract between the couple and their god. To be married under the protestant faith at least one of the couple should be protestant.

Protestant wedding ceremonies can be held at any outdoor wedding venue with a ceremony space.

In the Cinque Terre wedding protestant ceremonies are conducted by a local English speaking Pastor in line with the teachings of the protestant church and run for about 45 minutes.

For civil validity to be added to a protestant wedding a separate civil ceremony is required at home before arriving in Italy or on the morning of your protestant wedding in the village town hall in the Cinque Terre.

To find a venue where protestant destination weddings in Italy are held in the Cinque Terre contact us.

Same-Sex: in June 2016 Italy passed its same-sex civil union bill, making it legal for same-sex couples to celebrate their marriage through a civil union wedding. Same-sex civil unions include most of the rights afforded in same-sex marriages but not all.

Civil union weddings are carried out by the councils of the Cinque Terre upon request.

To find a venue where same-sex destination weddings in Italy are held in the Cinque Terre contact us.

Photo above by Roman Ivanov

Photo below by Facibeni Fotografia

Written by Melina Nicholson

The post Destination Weddings in Italy – Understanding Ceremony Types appeared first on Cinque Terre Wedding.