Yes, foreign couples can have a legal wedding in Venice, Italy. A civil ceremony at a municipal hall such as Palazzo Cavalli on the Grand Canal is recognised at home. A symbolic ceremony can take place in a private palazzo, a garden or on a terrace. Our Venice wedding packages for 50 guests cost from €59,000 to €72,000, with venue, dinner, flowers, photographer, videographer and planner included. Start the documents at least three months before the date.
| Venice wedding package | Venue | Guests | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Noble Palace Wedding | Second piano nobile of a Grand Canal palazzo, frescoed halls | 50 | €59,000 low season, €65,000 high season |
| The Grand Canal Luxury Wedding | Five-star palace on the Grand Canal with a private Venetian garden | 50 | €69,000 |
| The Grand Canal Venice Wedding — Ca’ Sagredo | Ca’ Sagredo: Music Hall or Portego Hall plus the private rooftop | 50 | from €72,000 |
All three packages include the welcome cocktail and aperitivo, lunch or dinner, wedding cake, open bar, flowers, photographer, videographer, DJ and a dedicated wedding planner. For two people only, our Venice elopement packages start at €2,500 (Venice In Love), and Venice vow renewals start at €2,100 (Love Renewed In Venice).
Can You Get Married in Venice? Civil, Symbolic or Religious
There are three ways to get married in Venice. The right one depends on whether you want the marriage to be legal in Italy, or only the celebration.
- Civil ceremony. Performed by a city registrar in one of the halls run by the Comune di Venezia, or in an authorised private location. It is legally valid and is registered in your home country afterwards.
- Symbolic ceremony. No legal value in Italy, and no Italian paperwork. You marry legally at home, before or after the trip, and the ceremony in Venice can take place almost anywhere: a palazzo, a garden, a rooftop altana or a boat.
- Religious ceremony. A Catholic wedding in a Venetian church can also be valid as a civil marriage. It needs church documents from your home parish as well as the civil documents, so it takes the longest to prepare.
When the reception is in a private palazzo, a symbolic ceremony is the usual choice, because the venue and the time of day are completely free. Couples who want the marriage to be legal in Italy book a municipal hall in the morning and hold the reception in the afternoon or evening. Our guide on getting legally married in Italy as a foreigner explains the general rules for all of Italy.
Symbolic Ceremonies: Where You Can Say Your Vows
A symbolic ceremony gives you the whole city to choose from, as long as the place is private or rented for the occasion. These are the settings we are asked for most often:
- A palazzo terrace or altana, the wooden rooftop platforms typical of Venice, with views over the roofs and bell towers.
- A walled garden inside a palazzo or on the Giudecca, the quietest option in spring and September.
- The piano nobile of a Grand Canal palace, with windows on the canal, ideal if the weather is uncertain.
- A boat: a short ceremony on a private motor launch or a gondola ride straight after the vows.
The celebrant can lead the ceremony in English or in two languages, with readings, a ring exchange and rituals such as a sand ceremony or handfasting. For a ceremony for two only, see our guide to eloping in Venice.
A Church Wedding in Venice
Venice has more than a hundred churches, and a Catholic wedding in one of them can also be registered as a civil marriage. The church decides whether it accepts weddings of non-parishioners, so the first step is always to ask the parish, not the Comune.
Expect to provide baptism and confirmation certificates, a pre-marriage course and a letter of permission from your home parish, sent through your diocese to the Patriarchate of Venice. Start this file at least six months before the date. The civil documents for your nationality are still needed when the marriage is to be valid in Italy.
If you are not Catholic, or one of you is of another faith, a symbolic ceremony in a palazzo is usually the simpler path. Couples who want to celebrate an existing marriage can look at our Palazzo Vow Renewal in Venice, from €3,100.
Where Civil Weddings Take Place in Venice
The Comune di Venezia lists its wedding halls in the historic centre and on the mainland. The best known is Palazzo Cavalli, a 16th-century Renaissance palace on the Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge. Its main floor is used only for weddings and civil unions.
- Palazzo Cavalli Hall, Grand Canal, historic centre
- Cuoi d’Oro Hall at Ca’ Vendramin Calergi, historic centre
- Palazzo Persico Hall in Malamocco, on the Lido
- Palazzo della Provvederia Hall in Mestre
- Villa Querini and the A. Zanzotto Park, Mestre
- Town halls of Chirignago and Favaro Veneto, mainland
The Comune also lists special venues with a supplement, such as the Sala Stucchi at Ca’ Farsetti and the Council Hall at Ca’ Loredan, and it can celebrate a civil wedding in an authorised private location. Fees are published on the Comune costs page. These are the figures for non-EU citizens at the time of writing:
| Comune di Venezia fee (non-EU citizens) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Ceremony in standard hours (Monday to Saturday, 8:45–13:00) | €1,700 |
| Outside standard hours, weekday | €2,100 |
| Outside standard hours, day before a public holiday | €2,400 |
| Outside standard hours, public holiday | €3,600 |
| Interpreter service | €300 |
| Supplement for the Sala Stucchi, Ca’ Farsetti | €9,000 |
| Supplement for the Cuoi d’Oro Hall, Ca’ Vendramin | €5,000 |
| Supplement for the Council Hall, Ca’ Loredan | €3,500 |
| Civil wedding in an authorised private location (all-inclusive fee) | €10,000 |
Couples from EU countries pay €700 in standard hours. Fees can change, so we check them again when we book your date.
Documents for Foreign Couples and How Long They Take
The Comune publishes the documents required from foreigners. They depend on your nationality:
- US and Australian citizens: a sworn declaration made at your consulate in Italy and then legalised at the Prefettura, or a declaration made at the Italian consulate in your home country.
- UK citizens: a certificate of no impediment from the UK registry office, with apostille and translation, plus a bilingual sworn declaration made before a notary, also with apostille.
- Austria, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Turkey and Moldova: a certificate of legal capacity to marry under the Munich Convention of 1980.
- Other countries: a certificate of no impediment issued by your authorities or by your embassy or consulate in Italy.
You also need two adult witnesses with a valid ID, and an interpreter if either of you does not speak Italian. If you are a US citizen, our page on getting married in Italy as a US citizen walks through each step.
A realistic timeline: book the date with the Comune six to twelve months ahead for spring and September Saturdays. Order the home documents about three months before. Legalise them in Italy in the week of the wedding.
How Much Does a Wedding in Venice, Italy Cost?
For 50 guests, a full wedding in a Grand Canal palazzo costs between €59,000 and €72,000 with our packages. That figure covers venue, food, wine, open bar, flowers, photo, video, DJ and planning. Our Venice wedding cost guide breaks the budget down line by line.
Some costs sit outside the package and depend on your plans:
| Item | Typical price in Venice |
|---|---|
| Comune ceremony fee (non-EU, standard hours) | €1,700 |
| Water taxi, one way | €300–€600 |
| Boats for guests on the wedding day (intimate wedding) | €3,000–€8,000 |
| String quartet for the ceremony | €2,000–€3,500 |
| Celebrant for a symbolic ceremony | €800–€2,500 |
| Second photographer | €1,500–€4,000 |
Guest rooms are always quoted separately. In Venice they are the biggest variable, because hotels near the Grand Canal fill early in May, June and September.
Palazzi, Gardens and Islands: Choosing the Setting
Venice has three kinds of wedding setting. Each one changes the guest count, the budget and the logistics.
Grand Canal palazzi. Ca’ Sagredo, Palazzo Cavalli and the noble floors of private palaces give you frescoed halls and canal views. They suit 30 to 80 guests and work all year, because the party stays indoors if the weather turns.
Hidden gardens. A walled garden inside a palazzo is one of the few places in Venice where you can be outdoors without passers-by. Gardens suit spring and early autumn ceremonies.
Islands and the Lido. San Servolo, the Giudecca and the Lido have more space and lower prices than the historic centre. Guests arrive by private boat, which becomes part of the day.
For a full list of venues with capacity, see our Venice wedding venues guide. Our Venice wedding page covers the services we organise in the city.
Best Time of Year, Acqua Alta and Carnival
May, June and September are the most requested months: long days, warm evenings and outdoor dinners. July and August are hot and crowded, so ceremonies move to the late afternoon.
Acqua alta, the high tide that floods low parts of the city, happens mainly between October and January. Since 2020 the MOSE flood barriers are raised during the highest tides, so flooding is much rarer. Low areas such as St Mark’s Square can still get wet, so autumn and winter plans need an indoor option.
February brings Carnival. Masks and costumes make striking photos, but hotels are at their most expensive and the streets are full, so book early or choose another month.
Getting Around: Boats, Porters and Guest Logistics
There are no cars in Venice. Everything moves by water or on foot, and this shapes the schedule of the day.
- A water taxi from Marco Polo airport to the historic centre takes about 30 minutes.
- For guests, a private boat or several water taxis replace the coach you would book elsewhere in Italy.
- Flowers, cake and equipment arrive by cargo boat and are carried by porters, so suppliers need a precise time slot.
- Bridges have steps: plan a route without bridges for older guests, or move them by boat.
We plan the boat timetable together with the ceremony time, so guests do not wait on the jetty and the couple arrives last.
Planning Timeline
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 12 months before | Choose civil or symbolic, set the guest count, book the palazzo and request the Comune date. |
| 9 months before | Book photographer, music and guest hotels; send save-the-dates. |
| 6 months before | Plan boats and the order of the day; start church documents for a religious wedding. |
| 3 months before | Order the documents from your home country; book the interpreter. |
| Wedding week | Legalise the documents in Italy; final walk-through of the venue and the boat route. |
If you want help with the paperwork or the venue, contact Kiss Me Italy and tell us your date and guest count. Our luxury weddings in Italy page shows the other destinations we work in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you get married in Venice?
Yes. Foreign couples can marry in Venice with a civil ceremony at a municipal hall such as Palazzo Cavalli, which is legally valid at home. You can also have a symbolic ceremony in a palazzo, garden or on a boat, and marry legally in your own country before or after the trip.
How do you get married in Venice?
Choose civil, symbolic or religious. For a civil wedding, book the date with the Comune di Venezia, prepare the certificate or sworn declaration for your nationality, bring two witnesses and an interpreter, and legalise the documents in Italy in the week of the wedding. A symbolic ceremony needs no Italian paperwork.
How much does a wedding in Venice cost?
Our Venice packages for 50 guests cost from €59,000 to €72,000 with venue, dinner, open bar, flowers, photo, video, DJ and planner. The Comune ceremony fee for non-EU citizens starts at €1,700. Boats, music and guest rooms are extra. Elopements for two start at €2,500.
What are the requirements for getting married in Venice?
You need valid passports, the document for your nationality (for example a sworn declaration from your consulate for US citizens, legalised at the Prefettura), two adult witnesses and an interpreter if you do not speak Italian. Check the current list on the Comune di Venezia website before booking.
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