Ever dreamed of getting married in Italy? Even if you are a non-resident is actually not very complicated. Here's how to do it if you are thinking of a civil ceremony.

The first thing you have to do is go to the British Consulate for the area where you intend to marry and complete the necessary forms to announce your intention to marry (i.e. Publish the Banns). This is just the same as if you were marrying in the UK.

The Consulate will produce the ‘Nulla Osta’ – the Italian equivalent of the No Impediment certificate – and send it to the appropriate Town Hall (Comune) in Italy where the marriage is to take place. A few days before the wedding, the local Comune will require the Declaration of Intent to Marry form to be completed and they will also need to know details of the two witnesses (photocopies of their passports will provide all the necessary information).

Some Comunes will charge a fee for their services and some will provide a floral centrepiece for the table or let you do your own flowers. In one case, the mayor was willing to re-enact the ceremony at a local hotel – at a price! (The official ceremony must however legally take place in the Town Hall or Comune-owned property.)

If neither the bride nor the groom is a fluent Italian speaker, you will need an interpreter who the Town Hall official will have to approve as competent and swear in. During the ceremony, the mayor or official will read a section of the Italian and the interpreter will then translate it into English.

There are two parts to the ceremony: first the Act of Marriage is read out and at the end of this reading, the couple are married. However the Certificate of Marriage also has to be read out (mentioning the names of the interpreter and witnesses). Finally the official Register is signed, as in the UK, by bride, groom and witnesses. Go to http://ukinitaly.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/living-in-ital... . It will tell you all about marriage process).

When Roger and Vibeke Tilbury, who are retired and live in Italy, went in to their local Comune to announce their son’s intention to come from the UK to marry in Italy, the Comune’s anagrafe – the births, deaths and marriages registrar, and your point of contact for arranging a wedding – was not at all enthusiastic about the idea. ‘We reckon he just wanted a quiet life, but having said that, he did everything he needed to do, efficiently and on time,’ says Roger.

‘The ceremony itself was very sweet because the mayor said some words of his own before he started officially, about how pleased he and everyone else was that we'd made our homes here and how honoured they were by our son’s decision to get married in Italy (lots of people had said a similar thing to us beforehand). Vib had to translate all this and was quite moved by it, so struggled!’ 

Vib and Roger were also struck by the wording of the Italian civil ceremony, and how a great deal of emphasis in placed on a couple’s responsibilities to each other and to any children that may be born in future. ‘It made a lot of sense, particularly here where family ties are still so strong,’ says Vib. 

Roger continues: ‘It was very nice that several people were out on the street and threw

rice as we passed by, and they all had big beaming smiles as usual. We took over a small piazza for half an hour or so for a toast and photographs. And of course the wedding breakfast was stupendous. Lots of people commented on how wonderful it was - not just the food which was fantastic, but the whole atmosphere, and how the meal was part of the celebration - hard not to be when it went on for five hours! Everyone was amazed that we managed to cram down nibbles with the welcome drinks and then managed eight courses! It helped that we had speeches between courses rather than all at the end as you would do in England - it was good to have a breather here and there, and it also meant nobody was bored by a solid hour of waffle!’