A Winter Wedding in Venice

Picture Venice in December. Lights shimmer on the canals, the windows of pastry shops tempt you to stop, and a water taxi is waiting outside your hotel instead of a car. In a moment, you could be gliding along the Grand Canal towards your wedding ceremony.

A wedding in Italy doesn’t have to mean summer sunshine and the sea. Venice has a romance of its own in winter, and its character changes with the season. There are the quieter, festive days of Advent and Christmas, the excitement of New Year’s Eve, the extraordinary costumes of Carnival and the simple appeal of Valentine’s Day. Each offers a different way to celebrate.

A journey by water to Palazzo Cavalli

One of Venice’s settings for a civil wedding ceremony is Palazzo Cavalli, beside the Grand Canal and close to the Rialto Bridge. Its ceremony rooms overlook the water, the surrounding palaces and one of the city’s best-known landmarks. Even getting there can feel like part of the occasion.

Imagine the morning beginning at your hotel. A photographer catches those last moments of getting ready. There’s a bouquet, perhaps in soft winter colours, and the anticipation of what’s to come. Then you step into a water taxi and make your way between the palaces towards the ceremony.

Afterwards, you might take another boat ride along the Grand Canal or through the smaller waterways, stopping for photographs before walking to a restaurant for a celebratory meal. You may be a little cold by then — it is winter, after all — which makes a warm room, a beautifully laid table and a few candles all the more inviting.

That’s one of the pleasures of getting married in Venice. The canals, boats, bridges and narrow streets aren’t simply a backdrop for your photographs. They become part of the wedding day itself.

Advent and Christmas: a celebration among the lights

If you love Christmas lights, inviting cafés and the feeling of a city dressed for the festive season, December in Venice may be just your kind of wedding setting.

As the streets take on their winter glow and pastry-shop windows fill with seasonal treats, it’s easy to imagine a small ceremony here. Perhaps it’s just the two of you, or a handful of people closest to you: a little music, a bouquet with festive colours, and a long lunch or dinner afterwards.

A violin or cello could add something special to the ceremony. Later, after photographs in the cool streets, you’ll be glad to settle somewhere warm together. It is quite a different atmosphere from a summer wedding in a sunlit Italian square.

And there’s no need for a grand celebration. Venice at Christmas can be equally lovely for an intimate wedding, an anniversary or a renewal of vows.

New Year’s Eve: begin the year married

There is something wonderful about the thought of waking up engaged on New Year’s Eve and welcoming the new year as a married couple.

Venice makes that idea especially appealing. You get dressed for the occasion, travel through the city to your ceremony, share a special meal and spend the evening together — perhaps wandering through the streets, perhaps somewhere cosy with a glass raised to the year ahead.

It could be a beginning you’ll remember every time another New Year’s Eve comes around.

Venice Carnival: a wedding among the masks

Venice looks and feels very different during Carnival. The squares and streets come alive with elaborate costumes, beautiful masks and visitors who have travelled to be part of the celebration.

For wedding photographs, it’s a remarkable setting. You could take inspiration from the historic costumes, choose Venetian masks of your own, or simply enjoy being in a city that seems to have become a stage. The contrast between wedding clothes, old palaces and Carnival colours can make for photographs unlike those from any ordinary day.

But Carnival also attracts crowds. Popular events and weekends can make the busiest parts of the city particularly lively. If your dream is a quiet, private wedding, another winter date might suit you better. If Carnival is exactly what appeals to you, allow a little extra time to move around and take photographs.

Venice Carnival generally takes place in February, sometimes beginning in January. The dates change from year to year, so it’s worth checking the organiser’s programme when choosing your trip.

And be sure to make time for a Venetian pastry shop. During Carnival, look out for fritole, also called frittelle: delicious fried pastries that may contain raisins and pine nuts or be filled with custard or zabaione. Then there are galani, thin, crisp sweet pastries known elsewhere in Italy as chiacchiere. They’re a small pleasure, but they’re very much part of Carnival in Venice.

Valentine’s Day: Venice for two

What about 14 February? Valentine’s Day and Venice make a rather natural pair.

You might choose a gondola ride through the smaller canals for your wedding photographs, wander into a quiet side street and finish the day over dinner by candlelight. You don’t have to rush from landmark to landmark. Sometimes the loveliest moments in Venice are the ones you haven’t planned.

In some years, Valentine’s Day falls during Carnival. For couples who love masks, costumes and a festive atmosphere, that could be a wonderful combination. If you’re picturing something more intimate, it’s worth checking whether Carnival will be taking place around your chosen date.

Or perhaps you’d prefer a quieter winter day?

You don’t need a holiday or a festival to enjoy Venice in winter. A view across a canal, an unhurried walk over its bridges and time to be together may be all the occasion you need.

Just remember that winter is still winter, particularly beside the water. You’ll probably appreciate pauses to warm up between photographs and boat journeys. And while a date outside Carnival may suit a quieter celebration, it doesn’t mean you’ll have the streets to yourselves.

If you want to be legally married in Venice, you’ll need to arrange the civil ceremony with the local authorities and prepare the required documents in advance. A symbolic wedding or renewal of vows can be every bit as personal and celebratory, without the legal formalities.

So which Venice would you choose? The lights and little pastry shops of December, the anticipation of New Year’s Eve, Carnival’s masks and costumes, or Valentine’s Day for two?