Getting married in the Langhe

1. 1

   Alba’s town hall

   Civil weddings in Alba are in the mayor’s office or the council hall of the Palazzo Comunale, on Piazza Risorgimento. For couples who don’t live in Italy, the comune’s fees (set in 2021 and 2022) are €300 in the mayor’s office and €350 in the council hall in office hours (Tuesday to Friday 9:00–12:00 and 14:30–16:00, Saturday 9:00–11:00), and €500 or €600 at the other set times; free if one of you lives in Alba. Ask the stato civile at least 30 working days ahead, and confirm the hours with it.

2. 2

   Grinzane Cavour castle

   The castle where the young Camillo Cavour was mayor holds its comune’s weddings in the Sala delle Maschere, under a painted ceiling of 1547 with 156 “masks”; it is also the comune’s council chamber. The Enoteca Regionale Piemontese has been there since 1967, and the park can host events and catering in summer. In early November it hosts the world auction of Alba white truffles.

3. 3

   Barolo’s castle

   The Castello Falletti, owned by the comune since 1970 and home to the WiMu wine museum, offers its Sala di Rappresentanza, looking over the vineyards, for the ceremony, the terrace or the Tempio dell’Enoturista for the toast, and the Tempio for the reception; with a month’s notice it opens even in its winter closure. Ask the comune of Barolo whether the ceremony there can be the legal one, or make it symbolic.

4. 4

   Serralunga d’Alba

   The village’s state-owned castle hosts small weddings, civil unions, vow exchanges and symbolic rites in its garden, by the fireplace of the Sala dei Valvassori or in the hanging tower on the third floor, and welcomes couples for photographs. The comune’s own civil weddings are in the town hall: free if one of you lives there, €250 otherwise and €100 more in the afternoon, under its 2022 rules, booked 30 working days ahead.

5. 5

   Wine estates

   Wineries with gardens and rooms host ceremonies and receptions among the vines — Fontanafredda at Serralunga, the estate King Victor Emmanuel II bought in 1858 for Rosa Vercellana, offers its lakeside garden for weddings. Check directly with each estate; sign the civil part at a town hall unless the comune has made the estate a wedding venue.

The wine hills are drier than Turin. Bra, on the edge of the Langhe (308 m, 1961–1990 normals), gets about 740 mm of rain a year: 60 mm on 7 days in May, 67 mm on 8 in June, 66 mm on 5 in September and 91 mm on 8 in October. Average highs are 26.2 °C in June, 28.8 °C in July, 23.0 °C in September and 15.9 °C in October. The harvest runs from Dolcetto in September to Nebbiolo in October, and the white truffle may be dug from 1 October to 31 January; Alba’s fair ran from 10 October to 6 December in 2026.