At a wedding in Italy, the welcome dinner is the evening nobody talks about when they start planning, and the one everybody talks about afterwards. Guests have just arrived, many don't know each other yet, and there's no ceremony to worry about. It's the night the weekend really begins.

Here are some of the welcome evenings we've photographed, and what made each one work.

A pizza party in a Tuscan garden

At Il Borro, the Ferragamo family's estate in Tuscany, Remy & Toby welcomed their guests with a pizza party among the cypresses. A hand-painted sign with a striped awning, long tables with red flowers and tomatoes, and pizzaioli finishing every pizza with a drizzle of olive oil. Relaxed, playful and very Italian. See the full story.

Morgan & Ryan did something similar at Castello di Celsa, with a pizza station in the garden and musicians walking between the tables. Pizza works because it breaks the ice: people get up, line up, chat, come back for another slice.

Cocktails in a grand hotel

In Rome, Tania & Valentin started their weekend at the Bulgari Hotel Roma: getting ready in the Presidential Suite, negronis at the bar, a terrace above the rooftops. It was elegant without being formal, and a perfect contrast with the big day that followed. See their welcome dinner in Rome.

A rooftop above the city

In Florence, nothing beats a terrace at sunset, with Giotto's bell tower and the dome turning pink in front of you. We photographed a welcome dinner above the rooftops of Florence, and the hour before dinner, with the city changing color, was the best part of the evening.

A trattoria all to yourselves

For their wedding weekend in Rome, Roxana & Kyle took over Taverna Capranica, a few steps from the Pantheon, for a dinner of Roman dishes with eighty guests. A trattoria is the most authentic welcome you can give: noise, laughter, plates passed around. Read more in our article on their wedding.

More welcome dinner ideas for a wedding in Italy

• An aperitivo on a boat on Lake Como, with the villas lighting up along the shore.
• A themed evening: Capri, the Dolce Vita, a summer festa with lights and a band.
• A wine tasting in the cellar of a Tuscan estate, followed by dinner under the pergola.
• A long table in a piazza, where the town allows it, or in the courtyard of your villa.
• A spritz bar and a few dishes from the region, if you prefer something short and sweet.

Practical tips

• Keep it in a different place from the wedding, or in a different part of the venue, so the big day still feels new.
• Give a dress code. Guests love to know what to pack, and it makes the photographs look like a story.
• Finish at a reasonable time. Tomorrow is a long day.
• Ask your photographer to cover at least the first hours. These are some of the most relaxed and honest pictures of the weekend.

Planning your weekend? Read how a destination wedding weekend unfolds, and tell us about your welcome evening. We love photographing them.