Imagine your wedding ceremony in an aristocratic palace or medieval church, then being taken in a horse-drawn carriage to your dinner and reception in a castle in a magical land where time stands still. A place where your dream starts today and lasts forever. Imagine Sicily, where even the names of the most beautiful cities sound as delicious as the food --Taormina, Agrigento, Segesta, Erice. Nobody does weddings like the Sicilians! If you've ever thought about getting married in another country (and even if you haven't), think about Sicily, the land where the mountains meet the sea. Almost a country in itself, Sicily is Europe's fastest growing travel destination because it's a piece of Europe with a bit of Africa and a touch of Asia all in one fascinating part of the world. That's why there's no other place like Sicily. Until recently, Sicily was Italy's best kept secret. More than a place, Sicily is a timeless experience to be cherished for a lifetime. Getting married in Sicily, you'll be in the immortal company of the island's mythological gods and goddesses, whose spirit will mingle with your soul. Your journey begins in Taormina or Cefalù. It was here that generations of kings and queens were solemnly wed in medieval churches you can still visit today. Your wedding ceremony is followed by a reception or dinner featuring delightful Sicilian cuisine. Then you're off on your honeymoon to discover ancient Greek temples, captivating castles, breathtaking nature, great beaches, and your own intriguing secrets on the world's most romantic island...

A Dream and an Email
The World's Island^sm can be your island, too. Wherever you are, we want to plan your wedding in "secret Sicily." Getting started only takes a dream and an email!

Everything from A to Zita
We plan weddings for couples from all over the world. Your local planning team includes experienced travel specialists who had their own weddings in Sicily and would love to help make yours picture perfect. Beginning with a personal consultation to listen to your ideas and suggest one or two of our own, we arrange everything, working with you step by step so that all the details come together in your dream wedding. Everything for the "zito" and "zita" (Sicilian for "fiancé" and "fiancée") about to become "sposini" (newlyweds). Unique wedding planners for a unique wedding. Since our staff isn't associated with any hotel or service (we don't receive commissions from them), we're objective in offering you good choices. Not only our planners, but our managers are right here in Sicily, "Italy's secret island."

Why Choose Sicily?
It's the world's most romantic island! Splendid Sicily used to be a well-kept secret among a few distinguished visitors. Even if you've never thought about a "destination wedding" (in a foreign country), Sicily is worth thinking about. Its history and culture has been shaped by a dozen civilizations, from Phoenicians to Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Normans who conquered Sicily, whose beauty conquered them. (None of them wanted to leave!) Sicily will conquer your heart, too. It was on this enchanting island that D.H. Lawrence wrote "Lady Chatterly's Lover," based on a real-life Sicilian love story, and it was to Sicily that Liz Taylor escaped with Richard Burton when they first fell in love (during the filming of "Cleopatra" in Rome).

What you've seen in the movies is only a (very) tiny part of the real Sicily. Sicily offers a taste of the traditional with a delicate touch of the exotic. The best of Sicily: Gothic churches surrounded by palm trees, imposing Norman castles gazing toward the Mediterranean Sea, and an active volcano in a land of ancient Greek poetry and myth. During his visit, Goethe wrote that Sicily was the key to Italy's soul. It sounds like a cliché, but Sicily is like no other place on Earth. There's stupendous Taormina, and Agrigento's Greek temples, and of course medieval towns like Erice and Cefalù, not to mention other, equally delightful, places. All on one island the size of America's state of Vermont (just over half the size of Ireland) but seemingly larger for its landscape of mountains, hills, fields and forests. And beaches, too! (Read about Sicily.)

God is in the Details
Taormina, which offers several charming churches and a medieval city hall, is Sicily's most famous wedding setting, but it's not the only one. On the other side of Sicily, there's another town brides love. In Cefalù, civil ceremonies are held in Bordonaro Castle (a sprawling Sicilian fort or "baglio") in the country outside town, while religious (Catholic) ceremonies are held in the majestic Norman cathedral.

How We're Different
It's the most important day of your life. Shouldn't your wedding be different from every other one? In other words, unique. To be a good wedding planner presumes a certain sense of vision and creativity, but also experience. It's our special attention to your wedding dream that makes us different. The most important thing is that your wedding here in Sicily is picture perfect. While we offer certain standard options, our customized planning service also allows for more unusual ones. We'll make your dream come true. Our on-site planner will be with you on that special day, and assist you every step of the way. We can provide witnesses, interpreters and (depending on availability) English-speaking clergy. And yes, everybody on our Sicily-based wedding team speaks English fluently. (Our wedding coordinator in Taormina, for example, is a native speaker of English who lives in Taormina year-round to help plan your wedding there.) Our on-site coordinators, Rosa and Alessandra, handle every detail --and even a few you (and most wedding planners) have probably never thought about. No generic "package" services. That's what makes us Sicily's best wedding planners.

Making It Happen
We love this business because it allows us to make your dream (or fantasy) come true, and that's exciting. Simply Sicily, the first international wedding planner in Sicily, works directly with couples around the world. In the United States and Canada our wedding planning service is represented exclusively by Weddings on the Move, America's premier planner of international destination weddings. Our representative for the United Kingdom and Ireland is Weddings Made in Italy. In Italy and Switzerland we're represented by Matrimoniando. It's usually best to plan your Sicilian wedding at least five months before its date.

How Much Will It Cost?
This is a good question we would like to answer precisely. Until we know your requirements, we cannot give you an exact cost in dollars, pounds, euros or yen because each wedding we plan is different from every other. In practice, destination weddings usually don't cost much more than "local" weddings (back home), but costs vary somewhat depending on your choices. We receive no commissions from vendors; our flat professional fees are the same regardless of which choices you make for your reception, pictures, music and flowers. The major difference you'll notice is that you're spending more to accomodate fewer people (the two of you and perhaps a very few guests). While Sicily offers some fantastic wedding settings, there's really no "economical" way to rent a medieval cathedral (in Italy there's a fee charged unless you're a resident parishioner of your chosen wedding church) or fourteenth-century castle. Obviously, certain costs, such as invitations for hundreds of guests, are eliminated. Perhaps the best perspective on pricing is to consider that your Sicilian destination wedding is taking place in the same country as your honeymoon (which many couples spend in foreign destinations). If you were going to plan your wedding, reception, photography and honeymoon anyway, the cost of doing everything in one place (Sicily) is not too high, and during the planning phase we offer a choice of options, some of which are less expensive than others. We'll try to work within your budget. For many couples, even for some who haven't yet considered it, a wedding in Sicily is an affordable dream.

MORE Questions, Answers and Details!
This page is only a starting point. In planning the most special day of your life, you need more than a few general ideas and answers. Much more. That's why our wedding faqs page addresses other important matters and details. It'll help you to get to know us. Once you've decided to get married, email us for more information about planning your wedding in Sicily, even if you're still undecided about your destination. (We'll answer your questions, and try to convince you that Sicily, the island in the sun, is the perfect place for your wedding!) For more information about Sicily, visit Best of Sicily.

A Last Word
Even if you don't decide to plan your destination wedding here in Sicily with us, it's best to consult a qualified wedding specialist to plan your wedding in Italy, instead of just any travel agency or tour company that plans hundreds of Italian weddings each year. We occasionally receive requests for "package" weddings organised within a few weeks at minimal cost. That's what our few competitors in Sicily (mostly hotels, tour operators and caterers) do. That's not us. We're an independent company which is not part of any generic "tourism" company or resort, and we do not represent any travel agency, catering firm, hotel or banquet service. What we actually offer are unique, fully customized dream weddings which, with all services (location, reception, photography, etc.) typically cost several thousand dollars, and for which extensive organizational effort is required. But our personalized attention makes it easy!