How to get married in Milan: civil wedding at Palazzo Reale

bride enters the sala degli Specchi duringa  civil wedding ceremony photographed in Milan
The Milan’s City Council offers a wonderful location for couples marrying in this city: the Sala degli Specchi hall in Palazzo Reale sports ancient chandeliers, tapestry and golden-framed mirrors.

Needless to say, Milan ranks well after Venice or Florence in the list of the Italian cities chosen by local and foreign couples for their wedding. However it is still a very beloved city since it offers many attractive spots as background for nice wedding photographs and one of its most beautiful palaces as the location for civil wedding ceremonies.

bride signing in the Sala degli Specchi during a wedding photo service at Palazzo Reale in Milan
This couple chose Milan as the location of their civil wedding and I had the chance to shoot their wedding ceremony in the Sala degli Specchi.

Indeed, since July 2011 the City Council decided to devote the marvelous Sala degli Specchi hall in Palazzo Reale to the performance of civil weddings.

bride and groom shot before a wedding ceremony in Milan
Palazzo Reale is located in Piazza Duomo, the very beating heart of Milan, and couples can reach it on foot or by car before the wedding ceremony. Nice wedding photographs can be shot in the arcades nearby.

Palazzo Reale is located in Piazza Duomo, and would-bemarried couples are allowed to reach the palace on foot or by car and park in this square which is the very beating heart of Milan.

Once they enter the Sala degli Specchi, they are welcome by ancient furniture and decorations, including a 17th-centuy tapestry, golden-framed mirrors, luxurious chandeliers and brocade-covered chairs.

How can you get all this? You just need to go to the Milan City Council’s Wedding Office, which is located in via Larga 12.

The office is located a few steps from Piazza Duomo and open from Monday to Friday from 8.30 to 12.00 a.m. and from 2.30 to 3.30 p.m.

Bride and groom can go together or one of them can go for both, or else a substitute can go in their place. In any case the couple has to submit their identity documents both in their original version and copies.

bride and groom walking in Milan during a wedding photo shooting
Milan offers many nice spots for a nice couple photo walk in the city centre after a civil wedding in Palazzo Reale.

They are formally asking for a banns license, which costs about 15 euros. The City Council will begin the banns procedures and officially announce the couple’s intention to marry on an on-line record. The Wedding Office will then issue a banns certificate which allows the couple to set the wedding day which must take place with 180 days from the announcement.

The civil wedding ceremony is free-of charge for Milan inhabitants while it costs about 500 euros for couples coming from other Italian cities or foreigners. In case you want to have your wedding ceremony performed out of the ordinary hours (from Monday to Friday from 9.30 to 12.30 a.m. and from 3.00 to 3.30 p.m.; Wednesday excluded) you will have to pay extra 96,00 euros.

bride and groom walking in Parco Sempione during a photo walk in Milan
Parco Sempione is a big and beautiful park not far from Piazza Duomo and an ideal location for couple photographs during a wedding photo shooting in Milan.

For further information on civil weddings in Milan see Milan City Council’s website.

This post includes some photographs I shot during a wedding photo service in Milan. The couple I worked chose a civil wedding at Palazzo Reale and after the ceremony we enjoyed a short photo walk in Milan’s city centre…a very nice experience which I recommend to everyone!

See my photography website for further examples of wedding photo reportages in other Italian cities or read other blog posts about wedding photography, or read this page if you are looking for a bridal make up artist.

Or send me a message direcly either via Telegram or Whatsapp

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