Venue Spotlight
Hotel Ambasciatori Italy

Located on the Adriatic Coast in the picturesque seaside resort of Pineto, Hotel Ambasciatori offers a legally binding (civil) beach wedding in Italy.

As one of the most popular wedding abroad locations in Europe, Italy has a well established destination wedding industry catering to those wishing to tie the knot in one of its many seaside locations. However, couples dreaming of getting married with the sand between their toes, will find that a legally binding beach wedding in Italy is only possible in a small number of locations that have been approved by the local authorities.

With the option to hold a legal civil ceremony on the hotel’s own private beach, alfresco dining and a team committed to excellence, Hotel Amabasciatori is perfect for those wanting a beach wedding Italy. And because Abruzzo is located off the tourist track, it offers an authentic Italian experience without the price tag of the more popular “hotspots”.

At Weddings Abroad Guide our philosophy has always been to provide real advice from real people. A member of our closed Facebook Community, recently married at Hotel Amabasciatori. She shared her experience with the group which we felt would be beneficial to the wider community (together with some beautiful photos captured by her wedding planner Emma Dowcra).

Aline’s Review

“Hi all, I have just recently returned from Italy where my husband and I tied the knot, so I thought I’d share my experience which I hope some of you may find useful.

For anyone who may be considering Italy, or not yet decided but maybe looking to legally get married on the beach somewhere in Europe I would have no hesitation in recommending the Hotel Amabasciatori with its own private beach.

The hotel is located in the Abruzzo region of Italy, in a little town called Pineto. It is extremely Italian, not well known to the British at all, which for us was where it held most of its charm – not some holiday resort owned and organised by some big holiday company.

Our wedding planner, Emma Dowcra was brilliant. Being British herself there was no language barrier, which was useful with the dozens of e-mails and texts which passed between us over the past few months. Julie, who owns the hotel with her Italian husband, is American, so again communication and language barriers were not a problem. They were brilliant in getting back to us via text and e-mail to answer the many questions we had along the whole way.

I know many people often ask the question whether to use a wedding planner or not. In my experience, although it meant it added to our budget, it was absolutely worth it for taking all the worry and stress out of things for us. We did not have to source photographers, hairdressers or musicians; our wedding planner sent us links of people she had worked with and recommended and then we chose accordingly. We paid deposits by internet banking and the rest she sorted for us.

In addition, the local hairdressing salon we used through her were amazing; not only were they half the price of English prices but the make up and hair styles myself and my bridesmaids had, exceeded my expectations, they really were incredible. I shared some pictures at the salon I use in England today and the staff there were very impressed.

All of our guests stayed at the hotel, where we married on the beach and had the reception there also. We just felt this worked for our wedding party, where ages of family members ranged from a 6mth old baby to relatives in their 80’s; people could do as much or as little either side of the wedding day and on the day itself we felt it would give people the option of popping back to their hotel room if they needed to for any reason – put the baby down for half hour etc. It also meant we did not have to worry about transport on our wedding day, and people could retire for the night when they wished to, rather than have to stay till the very end if they did not want to.

The only flights direct to Pescara are from Stansted, but as that meant most people arrived and left on the same flight we were able to arrange a minibus for them, which of course worked out far cheaper than individual taxis, and which Julie at the hotel organised for us.

Nothing was too much for Julie or Emma. My husband is quite a perfectionist about things at times, and so although we expected it to be a lovely day we both agreed the whole day and week we were at the hotel exceeded our expectations.

Everyone got on and I think the location worked perfectly when bringing a group of people together. If it is a beach wedding in Italy you are after, then this is somewhere to definitely consider, as the mayor has now made it legal from this year to legally marry on the beach – no town hall first and then a blessing. 

Thank you so much to Julie from Hotel Ambasciatori and Emma Docwra & your team of staff for all your hard work and for giving us the most fantastic day which we will never forget x”

What we Love:

• The hotel only host one event at a time so you are ensured to have an exclusive party for you and your guests
• Family run hotel (Italian/American) perfect for smaller or intimate weddings
• Various locations out-doors and in-doors to celebrate your special event
• Ceremony, reception and accommodation all in one location
• Event planning assistance
• Getting married in an area that is “off the tourist track” can save you money

Good to Know:

• 30 Bedrooms – sleeps 54 guests
• Direct Ryanair flights from London Stansted to Pescara airport (30 minutes from the Hotel) and only a couple of hours from Rome
• Glass veranda and the dining room can accommodate 100 guests
• Located directly on the beach
• Only available for bookings during the months of April, May, June 1st – 15th, September and October
• The hotel has teamed up with British wedding planner Emma Dowcra (additional fee)

Ceremony Options:

• Civil (official or symbolic) beach wedding ceremony
• Civil (official or symbolic) in the hotel’s garden with beautiful sea view
• Religious ceremony in Pineto
• Civil ceremony –  the beautiful Pineto Town Hall

Venue Checklist:

For those who like to make sure they have it all covered, I have created a comprehensive venue checklist which contains over 50 things you may want to consider when choosing a wedding venue. You can find a copy of it here.

Cost and Wedding Planning Option:

• Available on request
• May be rented exclusively
• English wedding planner Emma Dowcra (additional fee)

Next Steps

During the initial stages of planning your wedding, it’s helpful to contact a number of suppliers to help you understand what your wedding in Italy may cost and how you can tailor your budget to fit your specific ideas and requirements.

To connect with key wedding suppliers in Italy in one easy step click on the boxes below or the use the form at the end of the page.