DC777Fan

Can anyone suggest a lesser known (and therefore likely cheaper/less competitive for dates/etc) sea-side town in Italy that is equally charming/beautiful to some of the better known (Cinque Terre, Almalfi, etc) areas?

Perche

It would be good to know the time of the year, and how willing you are to travel. For example, it would be very hard to be in any seaside town in mid to late August. There would be practically no place under the radar. Also, to get to charming and beautiful but not overrun, sometimes you have to take a long train ride or go to Sicily. What time of year, and how far off of the beaten path do you want to go?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vtfv9njOEs

DC777Fan

Thanks for the reply. It would be nice for some of our older relatives to not be farther than ~90 minutes by car or so from at least a regional, if not international, airport. The time frame would be early July.

Hawk Circle

Taormina in Sicily isn't exactly under the radar, but it's stunningly beautiful seaside setting not too far from CTA (Catania) airport.

KLouis

Alghero, own airport; Monte Argentario (Porto Santo Stefano, Porto Ercole), FLR relatively close.

Perche

This is tough. The reason I say this is that an Italian beach wedding is not a common thing, like a beach wedding in Hawaii. Italian beaches are swarming with people. Para-sailors over the water, young people playing volleyball and kicking a soccer ball around, and people generally running around. People are walking around constantly, trying to sell you something. There are often gigantic cruise ships in port, or a lot of large boats at smaller beaches.

A Hawaiian wedding is put on by choosing a hotel with a private beach, rather than by just choosing a beach. I do not believe that there is a such thing as an off the beaten path beach in Italy in July and August, unless you really want to travel far out of the way. Italy is hot, most homes don't have air conditioning, and everyone goes to the beach. They are packed

Also, the beaches have a very peculiar appearance. There are rows and rows of chairs, sometimes as far as the eye can see, lined up with military precision. They usually look like this: http://bargaproperties.bizland.com/i...ggio_beach.jpg

Or this: http://www.the-art-of-writing.com/wp...ni-Beaches.jpg

There are tons of bars and shops along the edge of the shore. It's not very pretty. The crowds and traffic can be immense. Trying to find a private beach off the beaten path means really going way out of the way. Beaches liked Troppea are packed in July and August, and they are not like the beaches of a private hotel in the US where a wedding can be held.

There are, however, possibilities, depending on your budget. I think you should not be looking for nice beaches. I think you should be looking for nice wedding venues on the beach, like nice beachside hotels that hold weddings, rather than just looking for nice beaches. Everyone can send you the name of their favorite beach, but I think what you need is a beachside place that holds weddings, and not just a beach.

Two areas to consider would be specialty hotels in the Maremma region of Tuscany, and the Costa Smeralda region of Sardinia. For the most part, Tuscan beaches are packed, like Viareggio. It would be difficult to hold a wedding there.

Maybe you can contact a place like like Locanda Rossa in Capalbia, Tuscany, that is not on, but very close to the beach, and see if they can throw a private beach side wedding. http://www.locandarossa.com/en/

Or on the beach, but crowded, you might contact Ultima Spiaggia in Capalbia. They are crowded, but they do hold private events, and you can ask them if they hold weddings, and see what the possibilities are. Because again, I don't think you need the names of everyone's favorite beach, you need a hotel that can throw a wedding on a beach, unless you are doing something non-traditional. http://www.ultimaspiaggia.com/la_spiaggia.asp

One positive about finding a place in Tuscany is that after the wedding your guests will be in Tuscany. However, finding your own private, beach front place for a wedding thirty minutes from a regional airport, I think is probably best done in Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, depending on your budget, the size of your party, and how far you want to travel. Sardinia has some of the best beaches in Italy. Sicily also has great beaches, but the nicer ones are on the western side, and it might be a schlep from Palermo to get to a nice beach front hotel capable of holding a wedding

In Sardinia, Costa Smeralda, Hotel Cala di Volpe, is a Starwood property worth considering. Look at the film on their website. http://www.caladivolpe.com

I think you could be on your way if you look for beach front wedding venues in Italy, rather than best beaches in Italy. The following pretty much sums up beaches in Italy, unless you want to drive a few hours, hike a bit down a rocky path for a few miles to get to a nice off the beaten path beach, then climb back up afterward, or you want to hire a boat to get to a beach on a secluded island: http://www.the-art-of-writing.com/20...each-in-italy/

Or, consider just using one of the following, and take a load off your shoulders:
http://www.slow-dreams.com/beach-weddings-italy.htm

http://www.dreamweddingitaly.com/the...alian-sea.html

http://www.weddingsitaly.com/beach-wedding/

http://www.dreamacademy.it/location_...tic-coast.html

http://www.justgetmarried.com/italy/...h_weddings.htm

http://www.italianseasidewedding.com

http://www.mysecretitaly.com

kamel123

On Sardinia, I can recommend Valle dell'Erica resort. It doesn't have a large white sand beach, but instead a series of small coves, which are fully private however. They organize weddings there - if you go to Tripadvisor traveler photos, you will find some pictures of a ceremony at the beach. Next airport is Olbia, 60 minutes away. I staid there this summer, so happy to answer questions.

Cala di Volpe and the other Starwood properties on Sardinia I am not sure I would consider. They are extremely pricy both in absolute terms and relative to what is delivered (up to EUR 2,500 per night peak rates in August for a small standard room...).

Another option could be Borgno Egnazia in the Puglia region. Puglia is less famous (and expensive) compared to the Amalfi coast. Next airport is Bari. Borgo Egnazia is where Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel married.

In general though, I agree very much with Perche. Italian beaches are not private, unless dictated by geographical conditions (i.e., Valle dell Erica's coves only accessible from hotel grounds), which is rare. The two resorts that I suggested are nice, but also large and quite family oriented, so wouldn't fit my idea of a romantic wedding site. If you are ready to drop the seaside/beach requirement, this would give you more options.

Perche

You are right about Cala di Volpe in terms of value, if OP has a usual budget. I threw it out as an example that between Ultima Spiaggia and Cala di Volpe it is possible for OP to have a seaside wedding, but he/she might consider seeking a venue, not just a recommendation for a nice beach or town.

Rereading the OP, it's possible that s/he just wants a town on the coast but without a beach. It's difficult to tell.

Having recently thrown a wedding for 175 people in Sonoma Country one thing I can say is that even though the expense in Italy may seem high, it may be cheaper to have a "destination" wedding at an exclusive resort there than in the USA. In the USA, depending on the type of wedding and how ruthless you want to be with the guest list, you generally have to invite your friends, co-workers, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, nephew, friends of your parents, friends of the bride/grooms parents, their closest co-workers, and also their spouses and partners, and so on.

When you have a destination wedding at a hard to get to place it is expected that most people will not be able to come, and that can be indicated in the invitation, "We understand if you cannot make it to our celebration (at your own expense) and if so, we invite you to be with us in your thoughts....."

Assuming that a destination wedding might cut the invitation list by 100 people who would conservatively cost about $200 per person, that's a reduction of $20,000. With that $20,000 by negotiating a proper rate the bride and groom might be able to get a free suite and be able to pay for 3 nights of hotel for the wedding party and for the parents, and still come out ahead.

Some of the websites I previously listed indicate that they can do weddings at seaside locations for anywhere between 2 to 200 people. I think OP can search this out. There are a lot of alternatives. As you point out, a seaside wedding in July at an accessible place can be complicated.

DC777Fan

Thanks for the very detailed replies. When I said sea-side, I guess I should've been more clear. It doesn't need to be the beach, and quite frankly it's not what I had in mind when I posted sea-side -- I meant more "in view of the water." I actually envisioned more of a terrace with town + sea view.

This is a major reason we're doing destination. Neither of us like being the center of attention, don't want a big wedding, and we're just inviting our immediate families + grandparents (who probably won't be able to come). We're also big time travel nuts, so it really reflects who we are.

Perche

Then I think we're on the same wavelength now. As a parent who recently married off a daughter I was hoping she'd choose a destination wedding so we could save money, but she didn't. At a home town wedding the person you go on coffee break with at work may expect to be invited, plus her guest, every aunt, uncle and cousin on both sides, parents friends, neighbors, co-workers. If it's on another continent everyone has an excuse not to go. That keeps it simple, and it saves a lot of money by not having to feed, entertain, and provide booze to 100 people.

The average cost of a wedding in the USA varies several fold according to zip code. The overall average is $25,200. http://www.costofwedding.com

A destination wedding means a small wedding, and that saves money that you can reinvest into having your dream event.

I remember thinking for my daughters wedding, "I hope that family of five declines the invitation. That's another thousand dollars I will save." There are five friends from her job whom she won't know in ten years, and each will bring a partner. That's two thousand dollars out of the bank. It adds up quickly The more people who can't come the more money you will save. You can splurge that money into having a special and romantic wedding for yourselves, even picking up the hotel rooms for the bridal party or for the parents.

Now that it's clear that you narrowed it down to a seaside town with a water view, not necessarily on the beach, you might want to try contacting some of the wedding websites I previously sent to you. It will be very difficult for you to find a place on your own, without someone on site. They can do weddings for a few people to a few hundred people. You can get married in a castle overlooking the water, etc: http://www.slow-dreams.com/beach-weddings-italy.htm

As with weddings in the USA, move early. People get married on the weekend. There are only 8 weekends in the summer. People book them a year in advance. Do your due diligence, but it's likely that the best places are already being booked, and the selection will drop quickly, as people don't decide to do a wedding like this at the last minute.

Hawk Circle

If the goal is seaside with a good view, I'd again recommend Taormina, Sicily.

Another option offering great views is Ravello (Amalfi).

DC777Fan

To follow up, we ended up choosing Ravello -- Palazzo Avino Hotel. Ravello has a fantastic and picturesque cliff-side town hall where we can be legally married while still getting the amazing sea-views that most other cities only offered with a symbolic wedding (as their town halls were not sea view).

kamel123

Well, it doesn't really fit your initial briefing of "under the radar and thus cheaper" but is of course a great choice. Wish you a fantastic wedding!

PWMTrav

Ah well, you gotta start with the bargains, and if they don't meet the requirements you either compromise or put up It happened with my wedding too - my wife's absolute top, nothing else even close, venue opened up for our wedding date after we'd already paid a (modest) deposit to another location. I'll spare you the suspense tell you we ate the deposit and moved the wedding.

Perche

Certainly not under the radar and cheaper, it's going to cost, and be crowded. Weddings go up in price like that. Im almost all cases, the money spent is the best investment of your life, so enjoy it.