My cousin Sara married on Sunday. After five years of engagement he crowned his dream of love with Susan. It was a beautiful ceremony, made possible by the fact that Sarah and Susan live in the USA, in a state where the Gay marriages are recognized by law. Here in Italy it would have been impossible, despite the good will of some mayor, and that is why many Italian gay couples choose to go abroad to get married.
Surprisingly, I discovered that among the most popular destinations for gay marriages of Italian couples is New York, where to get married is easier than you might think. It is in fact an open and multiethnic city, very organized and attentive to the needs of all. In addition, compared with other European cities, does not require the bond of residence for marriage.
This is how easy it seems to be to drink a glass of water, but it is always better to rely on the assistance of a travel agency able to take care of every detail, from organizational to bureaucratic ones, such as CartOrange, which uses consultants to travel throughout Italy, which has already successfully organized gay couples weddings in New York, with solutions that also allow to contain expenses.
The costs for the ceremony obviously depend on the needs of the spouses, but can be quite content. Any examples? The "basic package" for the wedding in Central Park starts from 2.500 euros, amount that includes the rental of the location, a wedding coordinator, private ceremony in Italian, legal documentation, transfers from the hotel to the municipality of New York for obtaining the license, a photographer available for an hour and the cd with high resolution photos sent home.
This is precisely the formula chosen by Roberto and Paolo, couple of Parma who already had a certain emphasis on the media and who, after 16 years of cohabitation, decided to join in marriage in the Big Apple with a small group of friends: «We got married on September 18 at Bow Bridge in New York – explains Paolo -. It was really a beautiful day, which will remain forever in our memories». For the organization, Roberto and Paolo have turned to CartOrange, agency of which they have been loyal customers for years, and in particular to Raffaella Bompani, the travel consultant of Parma that in 2013 was the number one of Italy.
«Raffaella is the "our" travel consultant CartOrange, point of reference for our travels – says Paolo-. He now knows us and knows what our tastes and needs are, so it was inevitable to involve it also in this event where, in addition to organize the trip, ceremony and reception, he also supported us before departure, managing the inevitable anxieties and doubts.
He thought about every detail, including a "B floor" indoor in case of rain, and suggested details that made the wedding really special, from the limo to the gospel singer who was my surprise for Roberto».
The day of "yes", everything was done impeccablely: «In the morning of the wedding a car came to take us to the hotel to accompany us in the City Hall for the disbrigo of the practices – remembers Paul -. They are very organized: we were the number 46 couple and they were just 9.40. The real ceremony took place in Central Park with an officiant who spoke Italian and everyone was very attentive and delicate.
We had the photographer available for an hour and, after a week, we received the dvd at home with the photos. Before the wedding, in Italy we had organized a bachelor party in Italy with friends and relatives. As a gift we chose a travel list: we do not yet know where we will go, but of course we know who will organize it».
