A practical guide
Getting married on the Amalfi Coast: a practical guide for foreign couples
This guide covers what foreign couples usually ask me before planning a wedding on the Amalfi Coast: which town to choose, when to come, how civil and symbolic ceremonies work, how to get there, and how to move around a coast made of cliffs, steps and narrow roads.
Where · The towns · When · Ceremony · Getting there · On the day · Food & wine · FAQ
Where
Where to get married on the Amalfi Coast
The Amalfi Coast runs for about fifty kilometres along the southern side of the Sorrento peninsula, from Positano to Vietri sul Mare, with towns built into the cliffs and terraces of lemon groves dropping down to the sea. Since 1997 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Each town has its own character: some are down on the water, with beaches and boats, others high on the mountain, quieter and greener. The right choice depends on the kind of day you have in mind, how many guests you’ll have and how much you want to move around.
A note on this guide
This isn’t a complete guide to the Amalfi Coast, and it doesn’t replace a wedding planner. It comes from the weddings and elopements I’ve photographed on this coast and in Sorrento: the places I know, the roads I’ve driven, the light I’ve worked in.
If you have a question about a town, a venue or the timing of the day, write to me and I’ll do my best to answer. And if you think something is missing, tell me: I’ll be glad to add it.
The towns
The Amalfi Coast, town by town
Ravello
High on a ridge above Amalfi and Minori, quiet and elegant, with the gardens of Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone and wide views over the Gulf of Salerno. One of the most requested towns for civil ceremonies and elopements.
Atrani
Just around the corner from Amalfi, one of the smallest towns in Italy: a tiny square, a small beach and houses climbing the rock. Perfect for evening portraits and small celebrations.
Sorrento
Strictly speaking it isn’t on the Amalfi Coast but on the Bay of Naples side of the peninsula. It’s the easiest base: hotels, restaurants, ferries and grand villas with gardens, facing Vesuvius.
Iconic
Positano
Colourful houses stacked up the hillside down to the beach: the most famous image of the coast. Beautiful and lively, but also the busiest, with steps everywhere and little room for large groups.
History
Amalfi
Once the capital of a powerful maritime republic, with the cathedral of Sant’Andrea at the top of a long flight of steps. The heart of the coast, and a good base for ferries.
Quieter
Praiano and Furore
Between Positano and Amalfi, quieter villages with hotels on the cliffs and spectacular sunsets. Furore is known for its fjord, a narrow inlet crossed by a high bridge.
Towards Salerno
Minori, Maiori and Cetara
Longer beaches and a more local feel: Minori for its pastry, Maiori for its seafront, Cetara for its anchovies and the colatura.
The island
Capri
A short ferry ride away, perfect for a day before the wedding or for an elopement. For a full wedding, the logistics of an island need careful planning.
Still deciding?
Not sure which town?
Tell me your date and the kind of day you have in mind. I’ll be happy to share what I know about the places you’re considering.
When
The best time to get married on the Amalfi Coast
May, June and September are the most requested months: warm days, mild evenings, and a sea that is already, or still, good for swimming.
July and August are hot and very busy, the roads are slow, and many hotels have minimum stays. If you choose them, plan the ceremony for the late afternoon.
April and October are quieter, with softer light and often better prices, but the weather is less predictable, and by the end of October most ferries stop for the winter.
From November to March many hotels and restaurants close and the coast feels almost empty: beautiful for an elopement, less so for a big wedding.
Whatever the month, the light is softest at sunset, and the best way to enjoy it is often from a boat.
Ceremony
Civil, religious or symbolic ceremony?
Civil ceremony
Legally binding and recognised at home. Several towns host civil weddings in historic settings: in Ravello, for example, in the town hall or in the gardens of the Principessa di Piemonte, with a sworn declaration the day before. The documents depend on your nationality: see the documents section of my Italy guide.
Catholic ceremony
In one of the coast’s churches, from the cathedral of Amalfi to small chapels on the cliffs, with documents and a pre-marriage course arranged through your home parish.
Symbolic ceremony
The most popular choice for foreign couples: you marry legally at home and celebrate on a terrace over the sea, in a hotel garden or on a boat, with your own words and your own officiant.
Same-sex couples
Italy recognises civil unions for same-sex couples, and symbolic ceremonies are always possible, anywhere on the coast.
Practical notes
Getting there and getting around
Airports
Naples is the main airport, about an hour and a half from Positano or Ravello by car. Salerno’s small airport, closer to the eastern side of the coast, has a growing number of flights, and Rome is about four hours away.
Trains
High-speed trains reach Naples from Rome in a little over an hour, and Salerno in around two. From Naples, the Circumvesuviana local train goes to Sorrento.
Ferries
From spring to October ferries link Salerno, Amalfi, Positano, Sorrento and Capri: often the fastest and most beautiful way to move. Most stop at the end of October.
The coastal road
The Amalfitana is spectacular but narrow and slow. On weekends and holidays in the high season, an alternate number-plate system applies to non-resident cars, with exemptions for hotel guests, taxis and hired drivers.
Parking
Parking is scarce and expensive, and the centre of Positano is a limited traffic zone for larger vehicles. Hired cars with drivers and minivans are the norm for guests.
Buses
SITA buses connect Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and the villages along the coast all year round, with fewer runs in winter.
Planning
Planning the day on the Amalfi Coast
Steps
Almost every venue has steps, and some have hundreds: tell older guests in advance, choose comfortable shoes for the portraits, and check how flowers and luggage will arrive.
Timing
Distances are short but slow: allow at least twice the time your map suggests between two towns, especially in summer.
Boats
A boat for the couple, or for all the guests, solves many problems and gives you the most beautiful views of the coast.
How far ahead
For May, June and September, the best hotels and villas are often booked a year or more in advance.
Your guests
Many hotels have minimum stays in high season: share the date and a list of places to stay as early as possible.
Wedding planner
Here a local planner is almost essential for anything beyond an elopement: permits, transfers and timings all depend on local knowledge.
Food & wine
Food and wine on the Amalfi Coast
This is the land of lemons: the Sfusato Amalfitano, large and fragrant, with a thick, sweet peel, grown on terraces protected as Costa d’Amalfi IGP. They end up in limoncello, in the delizia al limone, a small sponge cake filled with lemon cream, and in almost every dessert.
From the sea come fresh fish and the colatura di alici of Cetara, an amber anchovy sauce with ancient roots, often served on spaghetti, and pasta like scialatielli, thick fresh ribbons born on this coast.
The local wines, Costa d’Amalfi DOC, come from tiny vineyards clinging to the rock in Furore, Ravello and Tramonti, and are perfect with fish on a summer evening.
And if you’d like a local touch for your invitations, Amalfi still makes its handmade paper, the carta bambagina, as it has for centuries.
Questions
Questions about getting married on the Amalfi Coast
Yes. US citizens usually need an Atto Notorio, sworn at an Italian consulate in the United States, and a sworn declaration at a US consulate in Italy; the documents are then filed with the town hall where you’ll marry, a few days before the wedding. Requirements can change, so always check with the consulate or let a local planner take care of it.
It depends on the day you want. Ravello is quiet and elegant, perfect for civil ceremonies and elopements; Positano is the most iconic but also the busiest; Amalfi is central and well connected; Sorrento, just outside the coast, is the easiest base for larger groups.
May, June and September are the most requested. July and August are hot and very busy, and from November to March many hotels and restaurants close.
Most fly into Naples, about an hour and a half away by car, or into Rome. From spring to October ferries connect Salerno, Amalfi, Positano and Sorrento, and on the day itself hired drivers and boats are the easiest way to move.
Distances are short, but the road is narrow and slow and most venues have steps. Plan transfers with a margin, use boats when you can, and let a local planner organise timings and permits.
A symbolic ceremony, yes, with the right permissions and the help of a planner. A legal civil ceremony has to take place in a venue authorised by the town.
For May, June and September, the best hotels and villas are often booked a year or more in advance, and photographers and planners follow the same calendar.
Yes. Ravello, Atrani and the boats along the coast are some of my favourite places for intimate weddings and elopements.
Kind words
“
Really, all you need to know is this: At least 10 people have told us that we had the most beautiful wedding photos they had ever seen and that our wedding looked like a storybook dream. […] Working with Luca was so enjoyable. His style is to “just be yourself” with some guidance. […] He has a PHENOMENAL eye and was able to identify places with great lighting and unique features that resulted in the most beautiful pictures. If I was to get married again, I would choose Luca to be our photographer.
Jessica & Matthew · Ravello, Amalfi Coast
Something you’d like to know that isn’t here? Write to me and I’ll add it to the guide.
Check my availability
Planning a wedding on the Amalfi Coast?
Tell me your date, the town you’re thinking of and roughly how many guests. I’ll be happy to share what I know about the places you’re considering.
RECENT WEDDINGS ON THE AMALFI COAST
Sorrento wedding photographer
Kim and Alex came from Washington for a three-day wedding in Sorrento: a welcome party…
Amalfi Coast wedding photographer
Jessica and Matthew came from California for an elopement in Ravello, high above the Amalfi…
Positano photographer
Ess and Leo’s bridal photo session on the Amalfi Coast, from the Convento di Amalfi…
