Plan your wedding on the island of Capri – Guests

Hello guys,

we come back with the second post dedicated to the topic ” What does a Capri wedding cost?”. After speaking of the ceremony here, today is the turn of guests.

Capri, as the Amalfi Coast, Tuscany, the Lakes area, Apulia and other locations in Italy is a famous destination wedding, in other words the practice of choosing a location abroad where to get married. But many are also Italian couples who decide to get married in Capri by implementing what we might call the domestic destination wedding.

So if you have plans to get married away from home it is helpful to follow a few tips.

SAVE THE DATE

From 10 to 9 months before the wedding date, send the save the date, a sort of pre-invitation in which are given few information, namely the marriage date and place. Your guests will know that for that day they are “booked” for you and they will not make any other plans. There will then be more details in the official invitation that you will send 5-4 months before the wedding date.

INVITATION

It must be accurate and detailed. Think that many people have never been to Capri so it’s critical you to plug in the invitation as much information as possible.
In addition to the printed invitation, personalized wedding websites have become very popular way of communicating with your guests.

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN A WEDDING WEBSITE TO MAKE IT USEFUL

How to get to Capri: International Airport of Naples “Capodichino” is far from the center a few kilometers. From here you can reach the port of Naples by Alibus service (Euro 4.00 is the cost of the ticket) or by taxi (about € 20,00).

You can reach the island by hydrofoil (sea crossing is 50 minutes) or ferry (sea crossing is 60-90 minutes). Hydrofoils leave from pier Molo Beverello while ferries leave from pier Calata di Massa. The cost per route per person varies from Euro 18,00 to Euro 20,50 depending on the shipping companies.
The two piers are a bit less than a kilometer apart, and there is a free shuttle service between the two.

You also get to Capri from Sorrento in less than half an hour with hydrofoils and ferries. Costs will range from Euro 14,80 to 18,30 per person per route.

To get the latest updates on the ferry timetables, we always recommend downloading Capri Schedule app.

Once get off the boat you can reach the center by cablecar or by bus (Euro 1,80 per person per ride) or take a taxi (€ 20.00 -25.00).
If you need to get Anacapri (the second town of the island which is located on the slopes of Mount Solaro at a higher elevation than Capri town)  you can do it by bus or by taxi (Euro 30.00 to 35.00).

Accommodation: this is a delicate topic.
What do we mean with this? Simply that if you decide to get married on the island of Capri, guests will face a trip and stay on the island at least two nights.

Here, you have to make a choice: pay the accommodation for all your guests or just for some of them (family and close friends, for example)?

Capri offers a wide range of accommodation options. B&B and guest houses with prices starting from Euro 100.00 to 120.00 per night per room up to the 5 star luxury hotel.

Generally speaking, guests pay for their own travel and accommodation and the couple is responsible for the events that take place over the weekend.

(Spoiler: this is also a way to test who really loves you, and that for anything in the world would miss your wedding in Capri. Because, let’s face it, it’s easy to accept the invitation knowing that all, or most, will be charged the bride and groom, but other thing is to decide to attend a wedding without expecting anything!)

In this case the advice that we give to you is to provide, at least, a full list of accommodation divided by category and price.

You can also block a number of rooms for a certain period of time, during which your guests will provide to book their own rooms specifying they are a member of your wedding party. When the option expires, unsold rooms will return to be part of the availability of the hotel.

Things to do on Capri:  you have chosen Capri because you fell in love with this beautiful island, with its colors, its amazing food and its stunning natural beauties. Your guests will appreciate so much if you provide them with a good local guide book and mark the spots you recommend.  What to see/do and where to eat on Capri island?

Map of the island of Capri: it would be nice for guests to open the invitation (or visit the web site) and find a nice and customized map of Capri expressly designed for your event that recalls the style of all the other graphics elements made of the occasion (menu, booklet, escort cards, etc…).

The map needs to pinpoint all the wedding venues involved during the weekend.

Wedding weekend program:  here it is good to inform your guests about the various activities that you have reserved for them. We’ll talk more about this in another post, but for now we tell you that if you are going to host a welcome dinner and/or a post-wedding brunch or boat ride you should write here.

Remind guests exactly when the wedding ceremony and reception dinner will take place and give direction.

Important: from mid-March to the beginning of November, non-resident vehicles are not allowed on the island. That said, there is really no need to bring your car, as most roads are pedestrian. However, we think that an extra pamper for you guests is to arrange private shuttles for the whole weekend’s events.

Useful contacts: your guests will avoid to “disturb” you during the days before the wedding, at the same time, they would need some assistance for spas reservation, hairdressers and make-up artist, trim tailoring, ironing, babysitting, etc …. So please include contacts information of your wedding planner who will assist your guests during your wedding on Capri island offering them a VIP Concierge service.

WELCOME BAG

Guests usually arrive in Capri the day before the wedding ad a great way to say “Welcome to Capri, we are glade you are here” is to deliver a little something in their hotel room upon their arrival.

The gift can come in a form of a basket or a personalized tote bag with your custom design, logo or monograms.

Fill the bag with whatever you want, but include something thematically appropriate and give to your guests the opportunity to taste local flavors.

According to Capri Moments a creative welcome package for a Capri wedding should include 8 items: 

• Information about the weekend: a welcome/thank you letter, event timeline, map, contact numbers, direction, traveling tips, dress code information, guidebook…
• Something to sip like a bottle of water (add a creative touch with a custom label)
• Gelato voucher: a coupon to taste a delicious homemade ice-cream
• Miniature Limoncello bottle
• A box with traditional Italian sugared almonds coated with white sugar
• Small samples of typical products of the island (or, more generally, Italy like tarallini, bottle of or olive oil…)
• Sunscreen, flip flop and googles
• Panama hat for men and a linen pareo for women (better customized for the occasion)

Options are endless and so the costs. It all depends on what you want to include in your welcome basket.

See you next time with the topic regarding the wedding reception in Capri (How much does a wedding dinner cost? What are the most beautiful locations to get married on the island of Capri?).

Maria Consilia & Fabrizia

Credits foto:

Maurizio Beucci
Umberto D’Aniello