Congratulations on your engagement! If you’re considering getting married in the romantic and historic city of Bologna, you’ve come to the right place. As wedding photographers based in Bologna, we’ve had the privilege of capturing countless couples’ special days in this corner of Emilia-Romagna. While a wedding in Italy sounds dreamy, there are some important things to know about getting legally married here. In this blog post, we’ll guide you through the process and requirements for a legal wedding ceremony in Bologna. We’ll also explain the difference between a legal wedding and a symbolic ceremony – an important distinction to make for your own wedding plans.

The Legal Requirements

To have a legal, civil wedding in Bologna (or anywhere in Italy), there are a few key requirements that you and your partner must meet:

Residency Requirement

At least one spouse must be a resident of Italy or the ceremony must take place in the bride’s or groom’s municipality of birth in Italy. If neither of you are Italian residents or were born in Italy, you’ll need to obtain special permission and submit additional documents to legally marry here.

Document Requirements

You’ll need to submit several official documents that have been translated into Italian and legalized through an apostille process if you’re a foreign citizen. These typically include long-form birth certificates, a Certificate of No Impediment/Nulla Osta, and more.

The Ceremony

The legal ceremony itself is a civil affair overseen by a public civil officer. It takes place at the municipal offices, not in a church. However, you can choose to have a symbolic ceremony after the legal one if you wish (more on that shortly).

Civil vs Symbolic Ceremonies: What’s the Difference?

One of the most common questions we get from couples is about the difference between a civil and symbolic ceremony when getting married in Italy. Let us break it down:

Civil Ceremony

A civil ceremony, as mentioned above, is the legal process that officially marries you in the eyes of Italian law. It is overseen by a public officer, not a religious official. Civil ceremonies take place at the municipal offices and tend to be brief and administrative affairs. However, the beauty is that you are legally married afterwards!

Symbolic Ceremony

A symbolic ceremony does not hold any legal weight for your marital status. Rather, it is a ceremony of your chosen traditions, vows, and customs – often with more personal and religious elements. Many couples choose to have a symbolic ceremony after doing the legal civil ceremony. Symbolic ceremonies allow you to have a more elaborate, customized event at a venue like a villa, church, or other location. Your wedding planner or venue coordinator will help arrange all the details of a symbolic ceremony. Check out my favorite venues in Bologna!

So in essence, the civil ceremony is the legally-binding part, while the symbolic ceremony is a more personalized celebration of your union as a couple – but not legally/civilly binding.

Recommended Timeline and Planning

From our experience, we suggest starting the legal marriage process in Bologna at least 6-8 months before your desired wedding date(s). The apostille and translation requirements for documents can take significant time to complete, and you’ll need to get all paperwork in order well in advance.

Once you’ve initiated the legal process, you can then turn your attention to booking vendors and planning the symbolic ceremony aspect like venue, food/beverages, music, florals, and so on.

The municipality offices in Bologna are quite accustomed to hosting civil ceremonies for foreign couples and can guide you on the specific requirements based on your nationalities and residency status. Having a local wedding planner who specializes in legal ceremonies for destination weddings in Italy can be extremely beneficial as well.

We hope this blog gives you a helpful overview as you embark on your journey to getting married in Bologna! While the legal logistics can seem daunting, it’s well worth it to tie the knot in this incredibly romantic Italian city. Getting married here allows you to combine an intimate civil ceremony with whatever grander symbolic festivities you dream up.

Just remember to start early on the paperwork and logistics. Once that’s settled, you can relax and embrace la dolce vita with your forever person! As your Bologna-based photographers, we’ll be there to immortalize every loving look, joyful laugh, and special moment.

Congratulations again to the happy couple!