The ultimate wedding and honeymoon in Italy: Umbria, Tuscany, Sardinia and Sicily

In 2024, Lonely Planet’s Vice President of Integrated Marketing, Melissa Killian, got married in Tuscany . But that’s not all – she and her husband also planned a pre-wedding trip to Umbria , and following the wedding, traveled to Sardinia with friends and family before heading for a proper honeymoon in Sicily . Here, Melissa shares some tips and insights on planning a trip to Italy .

How we met

Sam and I met each other through friends. There were a couple of degrees of separation between us, but we formally met at a 4th of July party, a story that made its way into every speech at our wedding. Apparently, everyone at the party was onto us.

We knew we didn’t want to have a traditional wedding. We love to travel and try to plan at least four trips a year together, both local and international, so a small destination wedding just made sense.

Our pre-wedding trip to Umbria

We stayed at Vocabolo Moscatelli, a remote boutique hotel owned and run by the nicest people you’ll ever meet. When the owners, Cathi and Fred, learned we were in Italy to get married, they immediately upgraded our room.

The hotel arranged for us an incredibly special experience: a ceramic workshop with Elena, the artist behind Endiadi Cermic who also makes the pottery for the property. The designs were beautiful and earthy – not your average China patterns. We were able to visit Elena’s studio in Perugia, and she later shipped our creations to us in the USA.

We got married in Tuscany

Located under two hours from Rome, the hotel venue we chose doesn’t get touristed quite as much as other Tuscan hotels.

The year before, we attended a friend’s wedding in Florence and took a road trip to Rome. Along the way, we stayed a night at Locanda Rossa Hotel in Capalbio, Italy. We loved it so much that we booked it for our wedding, and in the end, we were surrounded there by 60 of our closest friends and family. We all stayed together at the hotel for three nights; it felt like an adult summer camp, with no need to take shuttles or drive to different venues.

Locanda Rossa is a renovated farmhouse on 21 acres of olive trees, equipped with two pools and tennis courts. The hotel grows its own produce on the property, which guests can pick and eat. There’s even a resident donkey named Penelope and a goat named Olivia. The location was ideal, close to other activities like soaking in Saturnia Thermal Springs, exploring Giardino dei Tarocchi (a nearby sculpture park/tarot garden), winery-hopping, exploring the village of Capalbio, or spending time on the beach (favorite spots included La Dogana Beach Club and Il Pelicano for lunch or drinks).

The property isn't flashy or pretentious. It feels like authentic Italy, is colorful and welcoming, with modern touches throughout.

Then we headed to Sardinia with friends and family

Our honeymoon had two parts. For part one, we flew from Rome to Corsica and spent the first night in Bonifacio before heading to Sardinia with close friends and family. We were so lucky to get a last-minute invitation on a yacht - our first time - which is where we spent most of our days. But when we weren’t on the water or anchored, we spent time in Poltu Quatu and Porto Cervo. That’s something I wish there had been more of; I’d love to someday return to Sardinia for more on-land sightseeing. Still, there was plenty of sightseeing to come during part two of our honeymoon.

The finale: our honeymoon in Sicily

Palermo

Sam and I flew from Sardinia to Palermo, where we stayed at an incredible Airbnb for three nights called Liberty Library, house of books – which is exactly what it sounds like, one giant library. Our hosts, Giuseppe and Francesca, were very helpful with local recommendations, including setting us up on an incredible food tour with Francesca’s friend Marina.

We spent most of our days in Palermo roaming the city with no plans – walking through piazzas, popping in and out of galleries, museums, wine bars, pastry shops, you name it. That’s the best way to experience Palermo; it’s a wandering city.

Our favorite bites included almond cookies, Sicilian watermelon jelly, dinner at Corona Trattoria and Le Angeliche, and Cappadonia Gelati. We made friends with the owner of a wine bar called Enoteca Picone (who incidentally got us a table at a Michelin-starred restaurant), and did a day trip to the seaside town of Cefalù, about an hour from Palermo. The beach there is lovely, and we enjoyed walking around and relaxing in the Old Town.

Mt Etna

From Palermo, we drove to Mt Etna, stopping along the way for lunch pasta (which became an everyday thing for us) at La Carrubba Trattoria. Maccheroni alla Norma is their signature dish and, if you go, you won't want to miss it.

The next two nights, we spent at Monaci Delle Terre Nerre, an 18th-century villa and former monastery now comprising individual, very private cottages and vineyards across 25 acres. The property, which has a beautiful infinity pool overlooking the ocean, is so large that guests get around by golf cart. Hotel staff deliver guests fresh, hand-picked fruit to their rooms each day. The oranges are incredibly tart, a result of the volcanic ash in the soil.

Taormina

During the last leg of our trip, in Taormina, we stayed at the Belmond Villa Sant’Andrea, a beautiful waterfront hotel similar to the Four Seasons property featured in The White Lotus. The Belmond has a stunning rooftop pool with fabulous views of the boats (where we had our own boat day). We loved taking the cable car into Taormina to explore the town.

One thing we didn’t expect about Taormina: the other guests at our hotel were almost all Americans. This isn’t necessarily a negative thing, but a goal for this trip was to have as many authentically Italian experiences as possible. If we were to revise the trip in any way, we might have swapped Taormina for a less-touristed destination to truly capitalize on an Italian immersion.

Our top tips for anyone planning a destination wedding or honeymoon

• Plan for a smaller group than you think. Our friends travel a lot, too, so it didn’t take much convincing to get them on board – but that’s not always the case. 

• If you’re traveling to multiple places, keep the travel time between destinations short to maximize your time in each.

• Have a general plan, but be spontaneous and talk to the locals when you’re on the ground. This made for some incredible, only-in-Italy memories.