A Complete Guide for International Couples

Planning a wedding in Italy from thousands of miles away may seem overwhelming at first.

One of the questions I hear most often is:

“How many times do we actually need to travel to Italy before our wedding?”

For most international couples, one or two trips to Italy are enough.

Some couples visit Italy only once.

Others come twice.

And in some cases, couples don’t visit until just a few days before the wedding.

It all depends on your circumstances, your priorities, and the planning process you choose.

The number of trips isn’t what determines the success of your wedding.

That’s why there isn’t one right answer.

There is only the right approach for you.

What really matters is making each trip count.

Every Couple Has a Different Story

There is no single answer that works for everyone.

Some couples can easily travel before their wedding.

Others simply can’t.

The reasons can be very different.

Some live on the other side of the world.

Some have demanding careers that make traveling difficult.

Others have family responsibilities or limited vacation time.

Life doesn’t always make multiple trips to Italy possible.

That’s why my planning process doesn’t expect your life to adapt to your wedding.

Instead, the planning process adapts to your life.

Your First Trip: Choosing the Right Wedding Venue

For most couples, this is the first and often the most important trip to Italy.

Most of my couples choose to visit Italy at least once.

That trip has one very specific purpose:

Choosing the right wedding venue.

Before you even board a plane, we’ve already done a great deal of work together.

Together we define your budget, talk about the kind of wedding you imagine, identify the region that best reflects your vision and create a shortlist of venues that truly fit your priorities.

Only then do I personally select the venues that are worth visiting.

This means that when you arrive in Italy, your time is spent discovering only the venues that genuinely match your expectations.

Most of my couples visit three or four carefully selected venues before making their final decision.

In most cases, that’s all they need.

If we’re already confident we’ve found the right venue, we often arrange the menu tasting during the same visit.

That way we make the most of your time in Italy and, whenever possible, avoid unnecessary travel later.

What Happens During a Second Visit?

For some couples, a second visit is simply a pleasure.

For others, it’s the most practical solution.

This trip is dedicated to refining every detail.

It’s when we usually meet key vendors, discuss floral design, review the overall styling and finalize all those decisions that are simply easier—and more enjoyable—to make in person.

If the menu tasting wasn’t possible during the first visit, it naturally becomes part of this second trip.

The first visit is about choosing.

The second is about confirming.

What If You Can’t Travel to Italy?

It happens much more often than people imagine.

And this is where my role becomes even more important.

I’ll be your eyes.

I’ll help you see Italy as if you were standing right beside me.

I’ll personally visit each venue, record detailed videos and share everything I see with complete honesty.

Not only what makes a venue beautiful, but also the practical details that photographs rarely show.

The light throughout the day.

The atmosphere.

The layout of the spaces.

Travel times.

Logistics.

Every little detail that could make a real difference on your wedding day.

Every important decision deserves to be made with a complete picture—not only of a venue’s strengths, but also of the small details that can influence your experience and are often only discovered during a personal visit. If you can’t be there, my job is to notice those details for you.

My role isn’t to persuade you to choose a venue.

It’s to give you all the information you need to make the right decision with confidence, even from thousands of miles away.

Distance Isn’t the Real Challenge

After more than eighteen years of planning destination weddings in Italy, I’ve learned one thing.

Distance is rarely the real obstacle.

Uncertainty is.

Whether you visit Italy once, twice, or not until just before your wedding, what truly matters is having a clear plan and someone you trust to guide you through every decision.

When the planning process is built around your real life—not an ideal scenario—you can enjoy the journey with confidence, wherever you are in the world.