How To Plan The Most Romantic Lake Como Wedding 

A Lake Como wedding is truly elegance personified! Perhaps Italy’s most famous lago, or lake, this dramatic destination is just north of Milan and is famous not only with celebrities but with just about anyone looking for idyllic relaxation in the summer months. 

It’s such a glamorous and lush region, with lots of formal gardens, idyllic views, and a refined but inviting atmosphere — you feel like Italian royalty here! Dotted along the lake are plenty of charming towns like Como, Bellagio, and Tremezzo, all beautiful bases for your celebrations. 

Weddings in Lake Como are always timeless, thanks to the stunning deep blue lake and picturesque mountains, but they’re also so romantic, classy, and memorable in the best possible way, with plenty of charming villas and wedding venues for you and your guests to enjoy. 

Oh, and this is Italy, so enjoying delicious food and wine almost goes without saying! This makes a Lake Como celebration ideal for couples who love a refined, traditional aesthetic, are all about slowing down and savoring quality time together, and want to treasure the beauty of the region’s esteemed history, traditions, and natural beauty. 

If you’re thinking of a destination wedding in Lake Como, here’s how to make it unbelievably romantic!

What Month Is Best To Get Married In Lake Como?

The lake attracts tens of thousands of visitors per year, particularly in summer, so consider the shoulder seasons of April/May and September for your wedding, as the weather is still completely delightful, but you often find a little more availability with hotels and venues outside of Lake Como’s wedding season peak of June-August. 

Lake Como also isn’t much of a swimming destination, so it’s fine to visit outside of summer — but if you do visit in the height of summer, look for a resort or villa with a pool, as swimming in the lake itself generally isn’t popular (it’s usually too cold!), but the air will be warm. 

Many Lake Como wedding destinations close for a few months in winter, generally after the Christmas season, so keep this in mind too. 

How far in advance should I book my wedding at Lake Como? A year in advance is ideal, and possibly even two, if you desire one of the most popular Lake Como wedding venues. I know it sounds a little wild, but this Italian destination is in high demand for weddings, both with Italians and overseas visitors, especially in June and July. If you’re willing to consider a weekday wedding date, you might find a little more availability. 

Can Foreigners Get Married In Lake Como?

Yes! Here’s how to get married in Lake Como, even if you’re not an Italian citizen. Of course, anyone can go to Italy and host a symbolic ceremony, but if you’d like your wedding to be legally binding, you’ll need to complete a bit of paperwork and bring along documentation from home. 

What do you need to get married in Lake Como? As per Italian regulations, you’ll need a form of identification, like your passport, plus your birth certificate and a certificate of no impediment, which is a legal document that proves you’re legally able to wed (also called a nulla òsta). 

Then, you’ll take all of your documents to the local Prefecture’s Legalization Office to be double checked. The next step (and I promise this isn’t as complicated as it seems!), is to visit the local Municipality office, which will assist with issuing your official permission to marry — after that, you can set your wedding date! You’ll also need an official interpreter to be present during the ceremony, if not conducted in Italian. 

So, can you legally get married in Lake Como? As long as you follow the steps above, then of course! Just note that if you’re planning a Roman Catholic wedding, some additional steps may be required beyond the above. I’m happy to help answer any questions about getting married in Lake Como, but one of my top tips is to start the paperwork process well in advance. Government bureaucracies, like in most countries, always tend to take longer here than you might think. 

You can also hire a local Lake Como wedding planner to assist, or many resorts and villas will include a planner in your costing. This is ideal, especially if you don’t speak Italian, as they can coordinate everything for you with ease, even if you’re based overseas. 

How To Make Your Lake Como Wedding Extra Special 

Your guests are already going to be thrilled about visiting one of Europe’s most famous destinations, but you can still come up with a few extra touches to make the event extra special for them (and you!).

I love the idea of chartering a private wooden boat for the day for an exclusive tour of the lake — you’ll truly feel like James Bond, cruising the idyllic blue water and popping a bottle of prosecco to toast your love!

Lake Como is all about la bella vita, or the beautiful life, so make your celebrations all about quality time with your beloved and your friends and family in your iconic destination — think a private wine tasting, a spa morning, or just a beautiful alfresco dinner where you can make memories and savor one another’s company. 

Wedding Venues In Lake Como That You’ll Completely Love 

As you might expect in a gorgeous, world-famous lake known for its elegance, there is no shortage of amazing wedding venues here! Actually, it is almost harder to decide as there are so many choices, so here are some of the best Lake Como wedding venues that will offer something unique and special for both your ceremony and reception, but also for your wedding photos!

As your destination wedding photographer in Lake Como, I’ll help you nail not just the quintessential Italian vistas for your images, but also plenty of unique angles that will truly make your photos completely bespoke to you and your love. 

Most of the villas below can be hired for exclusive use, generally at a two-day minimum, ensuring your wedding celebrations will be private and personalized, just as you imagined! The venues and hotels below also specialize in weddings, so when you book your date, you’ll have access to their in-house wedding planner to ensure your event is completely perfect. 

Each of these spaces will truly feel like a beautiful Italian fairytale come to life, so you can’t go wrong with wherever you choose!

Villa Pizzo

Villa Pizzo, set between the Como villages of Cernobbio and Moltrasio, is not your average wedding venue — this unbelievably gorgeous property was built back in the 1400s, with a rich history of prominent Italian families and clergy inhabiting it over the centuries. 

The interior, exterior, and sprawling formal gardens are kept in their traditional style, so entering this grand palatial estate truly feels like stepping back in time. Villa Pizzo is easily one of the most impressive wedding locations in Lake Como — exchange your vows on an ancient cobblestone patio as the sun sparkles over the lake before moving inside for a grand dinner in the ballroom, or dine under the stars, your long white tables dripping in lush flower arrangements. 

Your Villa Pizzo wedding photography will be timeless, elegant, and just so ethereal, capturing the dreamy feeling of your beautiful wedding in a classic editorial style — I am so excited just thinking about it, as this space always inspires creativity and love. 

Villa Balbiano

For the most romantic and decadent wedding in Como (think historic frescos and opulent decor that could be in a museum), then you must visit Villa Balbiano. Built in the 16th century by a prominent Catholic Cardinal, it’s still the largest private villa on the lake and was built with festivities and social events in mind, making it ideal for a wedding!

A Villa Balbiano wedding provides only the best for you and your guests, whether you want fireworks at your reception, a private seaplane arrival, or just want to relax in a palatial setting. Historic marble floors, whimsical Italian gardens, and a huge marquee for outdoor events mean it’s easy to fall in love with an indoor or outdoor wedding here, with plenty of options for a stylish event with plenty of history, art, and architecture to enjoy. With a huge lakeside pool and a private dock, Villa Balbiano is particularly popular in the summer months. 

As one of the top luxury wedding venues in Lake Como, you and your guests will truly feel like European royalty here!

Villa Regina Teodolinda

Set on the lakeside in the village of Laglio, Villa Regina Teodolinda has perfect positioning in one of Como’s most beautiful towns. With hundreds of years of history, this wedding villa in Lake Como has long been a favorite of upper-class Milanese as a summer escape. 

Now a popular wedding destination, it’s been lovingly restored with stylish furnishings, magical gardens, strung with twinkling fairy lights, an inviting swimming pool, and incredible waterfront views. With a bright and cheery exterior facade and six stylish minimalist suites, the style here is inviting and charming, especially in the summer, when everything in the garden is in bloom!  

Your Villa Regina Teodolinda wedding photos are going to be timeless and romantic — imagine walking down the aisle at your outdoor ceremony, everything draped in rose petals, beautiful lakefront portraits at sunset, and your dreamy first dance under the moonlight. 

Grand Hotel Tremezzo and Villa Sola Cabiati

Grand Hotel Tremezzo is one of the most popular luxury hotels on Lake Como, making it, or its sister villa, Villa Sola Cabiati, a top choice for a chic and romantic wedding. 

Voted by Travel + Leisure as Italy’s top hotel, it was originally opened for elite Belle Époque guests in Europe’s golden age, but it is just as impressive today, with a grand private beach, fine dining Italian cuisine, and impeccable hospitality. Your Grand Hotel Tremezzo wedding has tons of options for venues, including lakefront alfresco gardens, the gorgeous art nouveau Winter Garden, or the Grand, a series of glamorous indoor ballrooms and cocktail areas, sure to channel your inner Great Gatsby! 

As your Lake Como wedding photographer, I know the Tremezzo well and will plan some photo locations for you in advance, taking into account time of year, light, weather, and your personalities. 

Hotel Villa Cipressi

A Hotel Villa Cipressi wedding is ideal for just about anyone looking for Italian elegance, but it’s particularly impressive for its unique botanical garden. Designed in a mix of traditional and contemporary garden styles, we can take such special wedding photos here, offering plenty of greenery, textures, and stonework that will make your images pop. 

Located in Varenna, the hotel is a convenient location for exploring Lake Como and is actually a series of different connected villas, some dating back to the 1400s. With an ivy-covered pergola facing the lake, it’s an ideal place for an outdoor ceremony and dinner that seriously just feels so romantic and inspiring. 

The villa is also known for its high-quality Italian food and wines (one of the best reasons to visit Italy, of course!), so you can be confident that your guests will enjoy some of the best Italian delicacies and traditional dishes.  

Hotel Villa Cipressi is a really charming space, offering Italian beauty and elegance but without the opulent decor offered by some of the other Como villas, so it’s a top choice for couples wanting a traditional Italian style, but slightly simplified. 

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Now that you know more about how to plan a destination wedding at Lake Como, I can’t wait to help you curate your gorgeous wedding photography! Please reach out to discuss your wedding photography in Como — I’m so excited to hear about your Italian wedding dreams and to help turn them into reality!