# Wedding photographers in the Cinque Terre

> Five villages between cliffs and terraced vines, linked by one railway, a few boats and the paths above the sea: a coast for small weddings on foot.

- URL: https://lensandvows.com/italy/liguria/cinque-terre
- Liguria: https://lensandvows.com/italy/liguria
- Italy: https://lensandvows.com/italy
- Italiano: https://lensandvows.com/it/italy/liguria/cinque-terre.md
- Lens & Vows: https://lensandvows.com/

The Cinque Terre are five villages on the coast between Levanto and La Spezia — Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore — shared between three comuni: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza (which includes Corniglia) and Riomaggiore (which includes Manarola). Four of them sit at the water’s edge; Corniglia stands on a promontory about 90 metres above the sea. The terraced hills around them are a national park and, with Portovenere and its islands, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

A wedding here is small and moves on foot. Cars can reach the villages, but the national park itself advises against driving — steep ground, few parking spaces — so guests travel by train or boat and climb the rest, and the day is planned around timetables. In return you get the pictures people come for: tall painted houses above a harbour, vines on the slopes behind, and the sun going down over the open sea.

## Wedding photographers in the Cinque Terre

They shoot everywhere in Liguria — in the Cinque Terre too. Their whole weddings are on their pages.

https://lensandvows.com/photographers?region=liguria
https://lensandvows.com/photographers?region=liguria&sort=rating (Highest rated)
https://lensandvows.com/italy/liguria.md

## Where couples marry in the Cinque Terre

- **Riomaggiore’s town hall:** Under Riomaggiore’s regulation for civil weddings, the comune marries couples in its council chamber or on the terrace beside it, chosen by the number of guests. Weddings are normally held on working days within office hours; none are held on 24 June, the patron saint’s day, or on the main national holidays. Throwing rice or anything else inside the town hall is not allowed.
- **The castle of Riomaggiore:** Built from 1260 into the 16th century above the village, later a cemetery and now the comune’s conference room, the castle has been a separate civil-wedding office since 2001: an inside room and two outdoor terraces. The comune checks each date with the castle’s other bookings, and the castle costs more than the town hall.
- **Vernazza and Monterosso:** The other two comuni marry couples too, with rules of their own, but we found neither one’s rooms, days or fees on its website. Write to the registry office (stato civile) of Vernazza or Monterosso al Mare before you fall for a date.
- **Terraces for the dinner:** Symbolic ceremonies and dinners happen on the terraces of hotels, restaurants and private houses. Flat ground is scarce on this coast: ask how many guests a terrace really seats, and how many steps lie between it and the station or the landing stage.

## Where to take your portraits

- **Vernazza from the path above:** The harbour, the parish church of Santa Margherita by the water and the round tower of the Doria castle on the rock: the view of Vernazza everyone knows is taken from the paths on the hillside. At dusk the lights come on around the harbour.
- **Punta Bonfiglio, Manarola:** A walkway opened in 1968 runs round the headland from the harbour, with the village’s small cemetery at the top. From it Manarola’s houses stand stacked on their rock — best in the last light and the blue hour after it.
- **The Via dell’Amore:** The cliff path from Riomaggiore to Manarola is walked one way only, by booked time slot. In 2026 it was open from 9:00 to 21:00 between 29 March and 24 October, last entry 20:30 — late enough, in June, for the evening light.
- **Riomaggiore’s harbour:** Boats pulled up on the slipway, tall red and yellow houses rising behind, and the castle at the top of the village. The quiet hour is the early morning, before the trains bring the day’s visitors.
- **The Gigante at Monterosso:** At the end of Fegina beach stands a Neptune about 14 metres tall, built in reinforced concrete in 1910 by the sculptor Arrigo Minerbi and the engineer Levacher, and battered by war and storms. Open to everyone, day and night.

## When to marry in the Cinque Terre

For the weather we use La Spezia’s station (5 m, 1961–1990 normals): average highs of 22.3 °C in May, 26.0 °C in June, 28.9 °C in July and 25.3 °C in September. Summer is the dry season — 36 mm of rain on 4 days in July — while October brings 164 mm on 10 days, often in heavy bursts. On a yellow weather alert the park advises against the trails, and on an orange or red one it closes them all. The light is long in early summer: in Manarola on 15 June 2027 the sun sets at 21:06, with golden light from 20:22 to 21:28 (NOAA’s solar equations); on 15 September at 19:32.

Liguria, month by month:
- **Best:** May, June, September
- **Good with planning:** April, July, August, October

## Good to know before the day

- **Trains:** The La Spezia–Levanto line stops at all five villages, and the regional trains stop at each of them. The Cinque Terre Treno Card covers unlimited regional travel in second class on the line; in 2026 a one-day adult card cost €22, €29.50 or €35 between March and November, depending on the expected crowds.
- **Boats:** In 2026 the line from La Spezia and Portovenere to the Cinque Terre and Levanto ran its full timetable from 20 April to 27 September, with shorter ones in spring and autumn. Boats don’t stop at Corniglia, none left the villages after 18:15, and the company warns that sea conditions can change the service.
- **Steps and shoes:** From Corniglia’s station the Lardarina climbs to the village in 33 flights and 377 steps. On the park’s trails closed shoes with grooved, non-slip soles are compulsory and fines apply: keep the wedding shoes in a bag for the path.
- **Drones and photo permits:** Flying over the national park, drones included, needs the park’s authorisation, requested on its forms at least 15 days ahead; anywhere in Italy a drone must not fly over gatherings of people. The park publishes no rule for photo shoots: for anything beyond portraits on a walk, write to it first.
- **The legal route:** Two foreign citizens marry civilly here with each one’s nulla osta and a declaration signed at the comune beforehand; Riomaggiore wants the request 30 days ahead and the documents 8 days before. Our guide to getting married in Italy sets out the steps.
- [How to marry legally in Italy](https://lensandvows.com/journal/getting-married-in-italy)

## Questions about marrying in the Cinque Terre

### Can we have a civil wedding in the Cinque Terre?

Yes. Riomaggiore publishes its rules: the council chamber or its terrace, or the castle above the village, with the request at least 30 days ahead and the documents 8 days before. Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare marry couples too, but ask their registry offices for rooms and fees.

### What does a civil wedding in Riomaggiore cost?

Under the fees annexed to the 2011 regulation, couples from elsewhere in the EU paid €250 at the town hall and €1,000 at the castle, couples from outside the EU €700 and €1,500, with €100 paid on booking; Saturdays and the eves of holidays outside office hours cost 25% more, holidays 35% more. The council can update these figures, so ask for the current list.

### Can we take portraits on the Via dell’Amore?

You can walk it like any visitor: one way from Riomaggiore to Manarola, in a time slot booked in advance, with a Cinque Terre Card. In summer 2026 the last entry was at 20:30, so the evening light falls inside the opening hours in June.

### Can our photographer fly a drone in the Cinque Terre?

Only with the national park’s authorisation, asked for on its forms at least 15 days before, and never over your guests: Italian rules forbid flying over gatherings of people. Plan the drone shots for a moment away from the crowd.

### How do our guests get around on the day?

By train: the regional trains on the La Spezia–Levanto line stop in all five villages. Boats run from spring to autumn but skip Corniglia and stop early in the evening, so after dinner everyone goes home by train or by car from the nearest road.

## Marrying in Liguria

- [Liguria](https://lensandvows.com/italy/liguria): The whole region: when to marry, the kinds of places, the light, getting there. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/italy/liguria.md)

## Read before you plan

- [What a wedding photographer costs in Italy, region by region and by kind of day](https://lensandvows.com/journal/wedding-photographer-cost-italy): Italian couples pay about €1,850 on average; destination specialists publish €3,500–€8,000 for a full day, and the most sought-after €8,000–€15,000 and more. The figures with their sources, how they differ from Lake Como to Sicily, what goes into a price and how paying works on Lens & Vows. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/wedding-photographer-cost-italy.md)
- [Getting married in Italy as a foreign couple: civil, Catholic, civil union or symbolic](https://lensandvows.com/journal/getting-married-in-italy): How two people who don’t live in Italy marry there legally: the nulla osta, the declaration at the comune, translations and apostilles, witnesses and the interpreter, what a ceremony at a villa really requires — and the routes for Catholic and same-sex couples. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/getting-married-in-italy.md)
- [A symbolic wedding in Italy: why couples choose it, who leads it, where it can be held](https://lensandvows.com/journal/symbolic-ceremony-italy): Italy lets foreigners marry legally, yet many couples hold a symbolic ceremony instead — or as well. What it is in law, why it is chosen, who can lead it and what it costs, where you may hold it — beaches, lakes, squares, parks — and what it frees up for the light and the photographs. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/symbolic-ceremony-italy.md)
- [The best time to get married in Italy, month by month and region by region](https://lensandvows.com/journal/best-time-to-marry-in-italy): Official climate normals for Florence, Rome, Venice, Naples, Bari, Palermo, Lake Como and the Dolomites, sunset and golden hour on the 15th of every month of 2027 in six cities, and what each month is like for a wedding — and for its photographs. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/best-time-to-marry-in-italy.md)
- [How to choose a wedding photographer: the steps, and the questions to ask](https://lensandvows.com/journal/how-to-choose-a-wedding-photographer): The decision in order — whole weddings, style, availability, the package, the contract and deposit, cancellation, delivery and a conversation — then a checklist of questions, with why each one matters. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/how-to-choose-a-wedding-photographer.md)

## Sources

- https://www.comune.riomaggiore.sp.it/il-comune/regolamenti/
- https://www.comune.riomaggiore.sp.it/images/documenti/regolamenti/regolamento%20celebrazione%20matrimoni%20civili%20riomaggiore.pdf
- https://www.comune.riomaggiore.sp.it/uffici/anagrafe-e-stato-civile/
- https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castello_di_Riomaggiore
- https://www.comune.monterosso.sp.it/vivere_il_comune/luoghi/luogo_3.html
- https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernazza
- https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manarola
- https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corniglia
- https://www.parconazionale5terre.it/pagina.php?id=480
- https://www.parconazionale5terre.it/pagina.php?id=334
- https://www.parconazionale5terre.it/pagina.php?id=333
- https://www.parconazionale5terre.it/pagina.php?id=148
- https://www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it/pdf/orari/linea-02/b-linea-02-aprile-settembre.pdf
- https://www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it/it/orari
- https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/826/
- https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stazione_meteorologica_della_Spezia
- https://www.enac.gov.it/sicurezza-aerea/droni/zone-geografiche-space/voli-con-droni-uas-limitazioni-riserve-dello/
- https://gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/calcdetails.html