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Everything you need to know about planning a wedding in Italy

It's no surprise that Italy, one of the most romantic countries in the world, is a popular choice for destination weddings. But true love never did run smooth - and neither did Italian bureaucracy - so here's everything you should know before you start planning the big day in Italy, according to two experienced wedding planners.

Published: 23 February 2017 08:12 CET
Everything you need to know about planning a wedding in Italy
Imagine getting married in stunning Positano. Photo: Francesco De Tito

“There are plenty of reasons to host your wedding in Italy: a personal connection to the country, the romantic connotations, warm weather, or just the geographical location,” says Bonnie Marie, who has been working as a wedding planner in Italy for over 20 years.

“Italy can be a convenient half-way point – or an excuse to cut down on the guest list! The idea of an all-Italian wedding dinner complete with local wines alone might be enough to inspire you to elope.”

Positano. Photo: Francesco De Tito

Bonnie fell in love with Italy as a child when her father was stationed here, and made a promise to herself to return one day. “As soon as I left college, that's what I did,” she says, and after 20 years working as an English teacher, she opted for a career switch and now uses her local expertise to help non-Italians plan destination weddings in Italy.

“The ‘I do’ moment brings a tear to my eye every single time. I'm a firm believer in marriage and love helping to make the day perfect for the bride, groom and guests,” she says. 

For Alice Fognani, who runs wedding planning company SposiamoVi, the biggest problem with hosting an Italian wedding is that you and your guests might never want to leave. “The main risk is that you fall madly in love with Italy and Italians,” she jokes.

But there are also practical matters to take into account. Here are five key things to think over if you're planning a wedding in Italy, from people who've done it dozens of times.

Understand local customs

Weddings in Italy are usually fairly traditional, often Catholic affairs, without the added extras which are common in other countries. For example, Italian couples will usually have only one best man and one maid of honour, who also act as the legal witnesses, rather than a troupe of bridesmaids. 

“Ceremonies are held in the morning at around 11 and receptions are a long lunch, lasting five or six hours,” explains Bonnie. “And there usually isn't any music played at weddings unless the bride and groom have a party with their own friends later in the evening.”

While there's no reason foreign couples shouldn't bring their own traditions with them, it's useful to understand how weddings tend to work in Italy. This way, you'll avoid crossed wires with suppliers and venues and make sure your expectations for the day match up.

Location

Tuscany is the most popular region for foreign lovebirds, which Bonnie recommends due to the “unbeatable quality-price ratio”.

“The Amalfi Coast is the second most popular and there's no doubt why – it's absolutely gorgeous,” she says. “But it's my least favourite place to work because of the difficult logistics.”


In Tuscany. Photo: Morlotti Studio

Indeed, transfers between the region's towns might look doable on Google Maps, but in the summer the area becomes crowded with tourists. Combined with the rugged landscape and narrow roads, this can make for a lengthy trip between the ceremony and reception location if you forget to take these factors into account.

“We recommend that couples explore areas off the usual tourist track,” says Alice. “The Amalfi Coast, Italian Lakes and Venice are certainly beautiful, but so are Portofino, Apulia, and Sicily.”

Timing is everything

“Italians have a well-deserved reputation for being laid back,” notes Alice. “This is often a positive – but not when you're in stressed-out bride mode and need to know exactly what's going on with your flower arrangements.”


In Tuscany. Photo: Morlotti Studio

“We've had many clients get stressed because of suppliers taking a long time to reply or not understanding English, so having a local support system with fluent English and Italian is essential,” she says.

Both women also recommend booking your wedding well in advance if you hope to use one of the most popular locations, as these tend to get booked up faster than you may expect.

Bureaucratic stumbling blocks

Red tape might not go with the lace and pastel colour schemes of your dream wedding, but in Italy it's a necessary evil. Paperwork needs to be tackled efficiently, and couples may have to accept that some aspects of a fairytale wedding won't translate into real life.


Positano. Photo: Francesco De Tito

“You may have to give up some things if they are either not available in the country or not common practice,” explains Bonnie. “For example, you might have your heart set on a fairylight ceiling stretched over your reception dinner, but the 11th century castle you've hired for your wedding won't allow that kind of electrical installation.

“Or maybe you want to have a legally binding ceremony in that same castle, but the premises are not authorized by the city.”

The little details

For Alice, the highlight of the day is if the bride or groom has included a unique personal touch – especially if its a surprise. “One couple had a ballerina flew up in the sky of Portofino suspended by 250 balloons to deliver a very special gift – my heart skipped a beat!” she says.

In Tuscany. Photo: Morlotti Studio

Other details are more mundane but no less important.

For example, a wedding reception in a medieval old town might look great in the photos, but will mean requiring your guests to walk on ancient cobbles or uneven roads. “We have to make sure the guests are prepared for this kind of thing – ladies, bring your wedges!” says Alice.

 

 

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MARRIAGE

Ehegattensplitting: How did Germany’s marriage tax law become so controversial?

Ehegattensplitting, literally translated as “spouse splitting,” is a German policy which allows married couples to save taxes by dividing their income. Some argue that the policy, in place since the 1950s, should be abolished.

Published: 12 May 2021 18:17 CEST
Updated: 22 October 2021 14:32 CEST
Ehegattensplitting: How did Germany's marriage tax law become so controversial?
Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Rolf Vennenbernd

How does Ehegattensplitting work?

Ehegattensplitting refers to how married couples’ income taxes are calculated under the German law. At the end of a financial year, couples can opt to file taxes jointly through Ehegattensplitting. If they choose to do so, the income of the two spouses will be added together and then halved. 

The tax authority calculates taxes for the couple’s average income and then doubles that amount to arrive at a final tax figure. The total amount of income taxes owed to the government based on Ehegattensplitting is often less than the amount owed if each partner had filed separately. 

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about paying taxes in Germany

The optional system benefits couples in which one partner makes substantially more than the other, and it also applies to marriages in which only one spouse earns an income. Single-earner couples will typically reap the most benefits. On the other hand, if both partners earn roughly the same amount, they gain no advantage from Ehegattensplitting. 

With very few exceptions, “the elegant thing about full income splitting, as it is in place in Germany, is that there’s no constellation where a married couple pays more in taxes than two single individuals,” explained economist Katharina Wrohlich, of the University of Potsdam and DIW Berlin, in an interview with The Local earlier this year. 

Why is Ehegattensplitting controversial then?

On the one hand, advocates of the policy often cite the special status of marriage under the law and argue that marriage is a cooperative economic arrangement which should be recognised as such. 

On the other hand, critics have suggested that the law can often discourage women from working – either at all or in part-time positions – and that it is unfairly preferential to higher-income households.

Wrohlich explained the gender-equality-based criticism this way: “The drawbacks are that both partners face the same marginal tax rate. So, the secondary earner, which is mostly the woman in Germany, faces a much higher marginal tax rate than she would if she were taxed individually.”

As a result, “there are very strong negative incentives to either take up work or to increase working hours, in particular for married women,” she said.

Timm Bönke, an economist at Free University Berlin, noted that even though some spouses will be discouraged from working, there is “no loser” because the couple also gains tax advantages.

Instead, according the Bönke, “the disadvantage is that Germany loses a lot of money by having [Ehegattensplitting] because it is discouraging work and, on the other hand, you have a lot less revenue from taxation,” which could go towards funding education or child care, for example. 

Another criticism has to do with social policy.  As Wrohlich explained, “This kind of tax subsidy through income splitting increases with income. So, very high-income couples profit much more from this kind of policy than families with low incomes. And this is perceived to be very unfair, at least among some people.”

Additionally, some critics argue that Ehegattensplitting ought to take into account whether or not a family has children. 

Two wedding rings on a text reading ‘joint assessment’. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-tmn | Andrea Warnecke

What is the history behind Ehegattensplitting?

Married couples in Germany have not always enjoyed these tax benefits. In fact, in the years prior to the late 1950s, many German couples were at a financial disadvantage when it came to taxation. This disadvantage resulted from the progressive tax system first introduced in the 1920s, whereby higher incomes are taxed at higher rates.

Under this system, a married couple would jointly pay taxes at the higher rate associated with the sum of their income. As a result, the typical married couple would pay more in taxes than they would have as unmarried individuals. 

READ ALSO: ‘Ja, ich will’: What it’s like to get married in Germany

By the early 1950s, the added tax burdens on some married couples — often called the “marriage penalty tax” — had garnered public concern.  In 1957, the German Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the existing tax law discriminated against married people and was thus unconstitutional.

Although several alternative policies were considered, the German legislature ultimately passed the Tax Amendment Act of 1958 which introduced Ehegattensplitting. It has been in effect ever since.

Since the 1950s, the German Constitutional Court has upheld the constitutionality of Ehegattensplitting. In 1982, the court defended the policy under the premise that it properly recognizes marriage as a cooperative arrangement. In 2013, the German government allowed civil partners, including same-sex partners, to split their income for tax purposes, as well.

What are possible alternatives to Ehegattensplitting?

Since its inception, several reforms to Ehegattensplitting have been put forth. 

One possible alternative to Ehegattensplitting involves a transferable tax-free personal allowance, which is the amount of untaxed income that each person is entitled to receive.  In Germany, you are entitled to a basic exemption of roughly €10,000, which decreases with higher incomes.

According to the proposed reform, “the idea is that in a married couple, both are, in principle, taxed individually, but as long as one spouse does not use up his or her own personal allowance, he or she can transfer it to their partner,” Wrohlich said. 

Another possible reform would involve moving towards the system of family tax splitting used in France. Wrohlich explained that the French and German systems are actually very similar: “In France, married people without children can do exactly the same income splitting as in Germany, only that, in addition, if they have children, they get additional splitting factors.”

In this system, income is split further for each additional child, with added benefits following the birth of the third child. 

Should we expect Ehegattensplitting to stick around?

The possibility of reforming Ehegattensplitting may gain renewed attention in light of the federal election. Within the past year, both the Greens and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) have proposed reforms to the policy of Ehegattensplitting.

The SPD, Greens and the Free Democrats (FDP) are currently in coalition talks to form a new government. 

Some experts are pessimistic about any radical reform to the law. Bönke told The Local earlier this year: “I don’t think that in the near future you will see that income splitting is abolished. ”

Instead, he believes it is more likely that “income splitting is opened or will be made available for different kinds of families that are not married”. But, he noted, making more people eligible for income splitting will likely disincentivise even more people from taking up work. 

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