Getting married on Lake Como: ceremony, music, boats and guests

A civil wedding is the legal one. The mayor or a registrar of the comune performs it, in the town hall or in another place the comune has approved. In Como that means Palazzo Cernezzi, the town hall, or Villa Olmo, whose Tempietto and gardens are used from 1 April to 30 October; around the lake, Villa Carlotta and Villa del Balbianello host civil ceremonies too. Each comune sets its own days and rules: in Como, civil weddings take place on weekday and Saturday mornings, last at most 30 minutes, and no rice, confetti or petals may be thrown.

A religious wedding in church, Catholic or of another faith recognised by the Italian state, can also be your legal one: the comune does the civil paperwork at the priest's request, and the marriage is then registered. The Church has its own papers, so start with your parish or minister at home months ahead.

A symbolic ceremony has no legal value, so it can be held in a garden, on a terrace or on a boat, with the words you choose. If the paperwork is too much, you can marry at home first and celebrate on the lake.

Same-sex couples cannot marry in Italy, but they can form a civil union (unione civile) under a 2016 law, and comuni such as Como perform them.

What follows is general information, not legal advice: the comune where you marry and your embassy or consulate have the last word, and the details depend on your nationality.

• A nulla osta. If either of you is not Italian, the comune asks for a declaration from your country's diplomatic authority that nothing prevents the marriage; some countries issue a certificate of capacity to marry instead. Ask your embassy or consulate in Italy how to obtain it, and whether it needs a translation or a stamp.
• An identity document for each of you, and anything else the comune lists.
• An interpreter, if either of you does not understand Italian: Italian law has the registrar marry you through one.
• A date with the comune. Como, for example, takes bookings up to 18 months ahead and normally no later than 60 working days before.

Ask the comune when you need to be there before the wedding to sign, with your interpreter. Como's civil wedding page and its rules for ceremonies show what to expect; the other comuni on the lake have their own.

Many villas and hotels on the lake host weddings. These are four villas whose own sites say so, checked in October 2026:

• Villa del Balbianello, Lenno, run by FAI: civil or symbolic ceremonies in the Loggia Durini, for 80 to 100 guests with up to 60 seated, and dinners for up to 130 on the lake terrace. You cannot drive to the villa: guests walk 1 km uphill from Lenno, about 25 minutes, or come by boat. Private events.
• Villa Carlotta, Tremezzo: a civil or symbolic ceremony on the Terrazza delle Camelie, then an aperitivo or a dinner. Weddings.
• Villa Monastero, Varenna: symbolic ceremonies in the house museum or the botanical garden, booked online for up to 30 guests (larger ones by email), at least three weeks ahead. Ceremonies.
• Villa Olmo, Como: the comune's own neoclassical villa, for civil weddings in its Sala Ovale or, from April to October, in its Tempietto and gardens.

Choose the venue first, then plan the day around how your guests reach it. For the villas you can visit before you decide, read the villas of Lake Como.

The villas are open from spring to autumn: Villa Carlotta's 2026 season runs from 20 March to 8 November, and the gardens of Villa Melzi close on 1 November. Summer is warm, with average highs above 27 °C, thunderstorms and the occasional violent hailstorm; spring and autumn are milder but rainier. Whatever the month, keep a covered plan B for the ceremony and the dinner.

On the lake the wind follows the clock: the Tivano blows from the north in the morning, the Breva from the south in the afternoon, and a good skipper plans the crossings around them. A winter wedding is possible, but many villas and hotels close: read Lake Como in winter.

Each part of the day asks for different music:

• The ceremony. In church, the pipe organ, alone or with a polyphonic choir of four to eight voices; agree the pieces with the priest. For a civil or symbolic ceremony, violin and cello, or harp and flute in a garden or on a terrace.
• The aperitivo. Jazz piano and double bass, or a classical guitar duo on a terrace.
• The dinner. A string quartet, from Vivaldi and Mozart to pop songs arranged for strings, or solo piano, quiet enough for the guests to talk.
• Later in the evening. A chamber music set in the villa, or a solo violin close enough to see the bow.

Our musicians come from Milan's G. Verdi Conservatory and the Pontifical Ambrosian Institute of Sacred Music, and they play strictly live, never over backing tracks. We take care of the permits and the music rights, and you get one final price in writing, VAT included. We are not wedding planners: we work alongside yours and your venue. Tell us the date and the place for music for your wedding, and read how to hire musicians for what to ask anyone you book.

Guests flying in land at Malpensa, Linate or Bergamo. Our driver from Malpensa to Lake Como meets them in the arrivals hall with a sign with their name: from €175 to Como for up to four people in a business sedan, about 55 min on the road, or a business van for up to seven, at a fixed price with VAT, tolls, fuel and parking included. From Milan, the drive to the lake takes about 1 h.

On the lake, a boat links a ceremony and a dinner on different shores, and it is the easy way into a villa you cannot drive to, like Balbianello. Our Venetian limousine takes up to eleven and is available all year, the classic wooden boats from April to October; for more guests we send several boats with our team on board, timed to the ceremony and the dinner. The day after, a private boat tour takes your guests to see the villas and villages of the lake.

1. Twelve to eighteen months before. Choose the date and the venue, and ask the comune about the civil ceremony at the same time: Como opens bookings 18 months ahead.
2. Six months before. Ask your embassy or consulate about the nulla osta and how long it takes. Book the music, and the boats if your guests will cross the lake.
3. Two months before. Collect your guests' flights for the cars, and plan the day hour by hour with your planner, the venue and the musicians.
4. The week of the wedding. Arrive in time for the appointment the comune gives you, with your interpreter, and visit the venue at the hour of the ceremony to see where the light falls.
5. The day after. A boat for the guests, or a quiet day for the two of you.