Italy

Lake Como

The address, and what the address costs

Formal gardens running down to the water, a house with three hundred years behind it, and a price that reflects all of it. Como is not more expensive than Sicily because it is better; it is more expensive because it is Como.

At a glance

Guests: Anything up to a full villa buyout, and the villages behind it are the limit — few have enough rooms for a whole wedding party.
Budget: €40,000–€85,000 at 20–40 guests. €90,000–€140,000 at 50–80. €150,000 upwards at 100+.
Catering: €180–€250 per person at good quality; €250–€450 at the luxury end.
Best months: May, early June, and September.
The paperwork: Nulla osta issued by your consulate in Italy, then the Prefettura.

Can you legally marry there?

Open to non-residents

Open to non-residents, but it sets your travel dates rather than fitting around them: your own consulate issues the nulla osta inside Italy, which is then legalised at the Prefettura, and there are several comune appointments after that.

The catch

Music outdoors generally has to stop around 11pm and the event ends near midnight — a municipal noise ordinance the villas treat as non-negotiable, not a preference you can negotiate. Some properties have an indoor space licensed to about 1am. If a late party is the point of the wedding, ask that question first, of every venue, before you fall in love.

Where these facts come from

Everything above is drawn from these guides, which carry the primary sources and the date each figure was last checked. Requirements and prices change — confirm anything you are about to spend money on with the relevant municipality or your consulate.

Venues