A Catholic wedding in Rome
You do not need to live in Rome, or belong to a Roman parish, to be married in one of its churches. You do need about six months of Church paperwork, and it starts at home, not here.
The honest answer first
The honest answer first. Your Catholic marriage file is prepared by your own parish priest, approved by your diocese, reviewed by the Vicariate of Rome and only then sent to the church where you will marry. The formal part happens in the last six months, but the first conversation with your priest should happen nine to twelve months before. If your wedding is less than five months away, a Catholic ceremony this year is usually not realistic, and we would rather tell you that on the first call than in month five.
The route we recommend: legally married at home, the sacrament in Rome
The Catholic wedding and the legal marriage are two different procedures. For American and most other international couples, we recommend completing the civil marriage in your home country first and arriving in Rome with the certificate. The Rome ceremony then does one thing only: it celebrates the sacrament.
The alternative, asking the Roman church wedding to carry Italian civil effects as well, is called matrimonio concordatario. It is a familiar route for Italian couples, but for foreigners it adds consular declarations, municipal publications and translations on top of the Church file. We do not recommend it unless there is a specific legal reason, and in that case we suggest individual advice before you start. If one of you is an Italian citizen or lives in Italy, the church wedding can also be your legal marriage, and we arrange both, as we did for our very first couple.
Being legally married at home does not replace any part of the Catholic process. You still need marriage preparation, the prenuptial investigation and every approval. One thing to do at your very first meeting with your priest: tell them about the civil ceremony, because parishes do not all treat it the same way, and it is far easier to agree the order of things at the start.
How the paperwork travels
- 1. Your home parish prepares you for marriage and builds the file.
- 2. Your home diocese approves it for a wedding outside the diocese.
- 3. The Vicariate of Rome reviews the file and issues the final Roman authorization.
- 4. Your church in Rome receives that authorization before the ceremony.
The documents themselves, step by step, are in our Catholic wedding documents guide →
When to start
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| 12–18 months before | Choose your season, shortlist churches, check availability, and choose the reception around the ceremony time |
| 9–12 months before | Speak to your parish priest and begin marriage preparation (Pre-Cana in the United States) |
| Final 6 months | The formal prenuptial investigation and recently issued sacramental records |
| Final months | Your diocese approves the file and it travels to the Vicariate of Rome |
| Before the wedding | The final authorization reaches your church in Rome |
Where to marry
Rome has hundreds of churches, and only some of them run destination weddings well. Two we know particularly well:
Santa Maria in Aracoeli — the monumental Roman ceremony: the Capitoline Hill, a formal basilica, and the historic centre at your feet for the photographs afterwards.
Santa Maria in Trastevere — the intimate one: twelfth-century mosaics, a church that opens straight onto a living piazza, and dinner a short walk away.
We check other churches on request by location, guest numbers, language and ceremony times. Compare Aracoeli and Santa Maria in Trastevere →
What the day looks like
A church ceremony in Rome is the centre of the day, not a separate appointment. A typical afternoon wedding:
| Time | |
|---|---|
| 13:30 | Photographer arrives for the last of the preparations |
| 14:30 | Private car to the church |
| 15:00 | The Catholic ceremony |
| 16:00 | Family photographs outside the church |
| 16:30–18:00 | Portraits of the two of you through Rome while guests go on to the reception |
| 18:00 | Aperitivo |
| 19:30 | Dinner, then cake, speeches and dancing |
We keep the transfers short and use the city as part of the day rather than moving guests across Rome for the sake of it.
The practical questions
Does it have to include Mass? No. A Catholic wedding can be celebrated within Mass or as the Rite of Marriage without one, which is often the better choice when one of you, or many of your guests, are not Catholic. Your priest decides with you.
Can we bring our own priest? Often, but the Roman church has to agree in advance. It is one of the first things we check once you have chosen the church.
Music, flowers and photographs? All possible, within each church's rules. Music must suit the liturgy and is agreed with the church; historic churches limit what can be fixed to pews or placed near the altar; photographers must work discreetly. We brief every supplier with the church's rules before the day, so nobody discovers them during the ceremony.
What it costs
Each church asks for its own contribution, which we confirm for your date; the organist is arranged separately.
A complete Catholic wedding in Rome that we plan, with the ceremony, reception, photography, flowers, music and guest logistics, starts from €60,000 for thirty guests, married in Santa Maria in Trastevere and dining a few minutes' walk away in Borromini's cloister, and from €76,000 with a Baroque palazzo entirely yours for the evening. Our planning fee is inside both figures, not added to them, and we name it in full on the first call.
From our Catholic weddings in Rome
We match the church date to your parish timeline first. Before we hold a date with a Roman church, we check that your parish and diocese can have the file ready in time, so the date you fall in love with is one you can actually keep.
For American couples, Rome is for the sacrament. You marry legally at home, and the ceremony in Rome is entirely about the Church. It halves the paperwork, and nothing about the day itself changes.
We choose the church for the whole day, not only the photographs. Steps, drop-off, ceremony times and the distance to dinner decide how the day feels for every guest, from the couple to the grandparents, so we weigh them together with the architecture.
We let the basilica do the decorating. Historic churches already carry centuries of art, and their rules on flowers exist for good reason. We brief the florist in advance and keep the flowers to what frames the space beautifully.
Why plan it with us
Marina, who founded WOWITALY, was married in a Catholic church in Sicily in 2016, and Katerina, who takes your first call, was married in church on Lake Como, so we know the route from a home parish to an Italian altar as couples, not only as planners. We speak to the churches in Italian, check each church's current rules before we recommend it, and build the ceremony into everything around it. Our job is the rest of the day. We have been planning weddings in Italy since 2016.
We planned our first wedding in Santa Maria in Aracoeli in 2016, and in 2026 the same couple came back to renew their vows with us. Some clients become friends, and that is how we like to work.
Ten years ago, Marina made it possible for us to get married in one of Rome’s most beautiful and special churches, Santa Maria in Aracoeli, a place where getting married is not easy. Ten years later, we returned to that very same church, with the same wonderful priest, but this time with our three children, to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, renew our vows and share a beautiful Holy Mass together.
Questions couples ask
Ask your ownCan we have a Catholic wedding in Rome if we do not live in Italy?
Yes. Preparation begins in your home parish and the approved file is sent to Rome.
Do we have to be parishioners of the Roman church?
No. Churches such as Aracoeli and Santa Maria in Trastevere accept couples from abroad once the Church procedure is complete.
How long does it take?
Start talking to your priest nine to twelve months before. The formal file is completed in the last six months.
Do we both have to be Catholic?
No. A Catholic may marry a baptized non-Catholic with permission, and a non-baptized partner with a dispensation. Tell your priest at the start.
We are already legally married. Is that a problem?
It is the situation we prefer. It does not replace the Catholic process, but it makes the Italian side much simpler.
Planning a Catholic wedding in Rome?
Marina, who founded WOWITALY, answers every inquiry herself. The first video call is with Katerina, it costs nothing, and it is not a sales call.
Tell us your preferred church, your date and roughly how many guests, and the first call will tell you honestly whether the timeline works.
hello@wowitaly-weddings.com · +39 334 840 2086