How much a wedding in Rome cost? If you are planning a destination wedding in Rome, this is the main question you are probably asking yourself. Let’s analyse the single costs you’ll need to budget in and see what it’ll take to have your dream wedding in Rome.
Wedding ceremony in Rome cost
You have different options here: plan a civil wedding in a municipal property, or get married in a Catholic Church or a Church belonging to another denomination, or have a symbolic ceremony with no legal value.
A civil wedding ceremony in Rome will be performed either at the Town Hall or Vignola. At the moment (2025), the Marriage Office applies a fee for non-resident of euro 1,392.00 ($ 1,600 or £ 1,220) for weekdays and euro 1,624.00 ($ 1,880 or £ 1,430) for weekends, with a very limited availability of days and times.
If you are Catholic, or even just the bride or groom are Catholic, you may opt for a Catholic Church ceremony. Many couples think the amazing churches in Rome will cost a fortune, while there’s only a small flat fee of euro 270.00 ($ 310.00 or £ 240.00) be paid, which is the same for all the churches (with just a few exceptions). You might then consider an offer for the priest who will officiate the Catholic wedding, unless you are coming over with your own priest, which is also a possibility.
For weddings in churches belonging to other denominations, prices will vary according to each church, but they’ll probably still be lower than a civil wedding.
Finally, you may decide to plan a symbolic ceremony which will have no legal value, but will give you the chance to get married wherever you want and make the most out of the wedding venue you are also renting for the reception. you could have the whole wedding in one place and also save yourselves the paperwork costs and hassle. Prices will vary, depending on the venue chosen and possibly the need to pay a higher rental fee to reserve an extra space (room or part of the garden, for example) to hold the ceremony. The fee for the celebrant will be around euro 500.00/800.00 ($ 600.00/900.00 or £ 440.00/700.00), unless you manage to have a friend or family member perform the ceremony.
Wedding reception in Rome cost
A big part of the budget will definitely be allocated to the rental fee of the wedding reception venue and to food and drinks served throughout the event..
Smaller venues can apply rental fee starting at euro 1,500 ($ 1,700 or £ 1,300) these are usually hotels, where you just rent a part of the venue. For Villas and other wedding venues rental fees will range between euro 3,500 ($ 4,000.00 or £ 3,000) and 20,000/30,000 ($ 23,000/35,000 or £ 17,500/26,000)
For food and drinks at the standing cocktail hour and during the wedding lunch or dinner served at the table (usually a 3-course meal), do not expect to spend less than euro 160.00 ($ 180.00 or £ 140.00) per person, with a desserts buffet after the meal also included.
Of course, the final cost will depend on the number of guests and type of menu chosen, fish always being more expensive. The day of the week and time of the year can help lower the rental fee at some venues.
Don’t forget the open bar after the wedding dinner, or sometimes for the whole event. This can be fairly expensive and this is where costs can really differ from one venue to another. You can expect to spend a minimum flat fee of euro 25.00 ($ 28.00 or £ 20.00) per person for a 2-hr service, depending on the venue (some have their own in-house bar) or bar company chosen. Only a few venues will offer the option to pay on consumption and these are mostly hotels.
Extra services for a wedding in Rome cost
Once the ceremony and reception venue are confirmed, you can start considering the various services for your destination wedding in Rome. These might include::
Photographer and Videographer – prices vary based on the professional you’ll choose, length of service and whether or not he/she is based in Rome, but you can consider a starting cost for a photographer of euro 2,000 ($ 2,300 or £ 1,750) to 3,000-4,000 ($ 3,500/4,600 or £ 2,600/3,500) or even more for a full day package, and the same for a videographer. Picking a locally-based photographer and videographer will save you travel and accommodation expenses, so it might be a very good idea.
Flowers – depending on the ceremony and reception venues, approx. euros 4,000 ($ 4,600 or £ 3,500) should be budgeted in for a beautiful wedding with some 50 people, including bridal flowers, ceremony arrangements and reception florals. Costs may considerably vary depending on the decor chosen, the flowers/greenery ratio and the venue. A good tip would be to try and re-use the ceremony arrangements at the reception, whenever possible.
Transportation – a vintage car could be an amazing experience for the couple (prices will start at euro 600.00 ($ 700.00 or £ 530.00) for a Rolls Royce, for example) or you can opt for a simpler, yet classy Mercedes at approx. euro 400.00 ($ 460.00 or £ 350.00) Don’t forget that, being a destination wedding in Rome, you’ll definitely need to consider transportation for the guests as well. You do not find taxis or uber so easily, and if the venue is outside the city centre, transportation for the guests is a must. Expect to spend some euro 1,000.00 ($ 1,200 or £ 900.00) for a 50-seater bus to drive out of Rome and then back at night and some euro 200.00 ($ 230.00 or £ 175.00) for small minivan to drive around the city.
Beauty services – HMUAs charge an average of euro 700.00 ($ 800.00 or £ 600.00) for bridal hair and make-up, and euro 200.00 ($ 230.00 or £ 175.00) for each guest. Some brides are taking their HMUAs with them, but honestly, there are so many very good Italian professionals, used to working with all sorts of different skins and hair, you’ll be spoilt with choices.
Music – for the ceremony, you could opt for a single instrument, from euro 600.00 ($ 700.00 or £ 530.00) for an organ for example, or a string trio from euro 1,500 ($ 1,800.00 or £ 1,400.00), while having a DJ for the whole reception from euro 1,200 ($ 1,400 or £ 1,000) or live musicians, with bands applying very different costs (consider euro 2,000, that is $ 2,300 or £ 1,800 at least). In Italy, you should also consider the tax applied by SIAE (Italian copyright collecting agency) which varies depending on the type of music played and number of guests (budget some euro 500.00 for this, that is $ 580.00 or £ 450.00).
Other extras you might want to consider are stationery (including the seating chart, table numbers, place cards, menu cards), lights and audio system, furniture if you are renting a venue with empty rooms, fun activities for the guests during the wedding (a live painter, a photobooth, etc.).
In the end, how much does a wedding in Rome cost? Let’s say for a medium wedding with 50 people, you should expect to spend from euro 800.00/1,000.00 ($ 950.00/1,200.00 or £ 700.00/900.00) per guest, mainly depending on the reception venue chosen.
Feel free to drop me a line and describe your dream wedding in Rome. I’ll be happy to send you a personalised reply with a personalised and realistic budget for getting married in Rome, according to Dolce Vita Wedding’s philosophy, aiming at creating tailor-made weddings, rather than offering wedding packages.