San Clemente Palace Kempinski Venice

ABOVE: Interior of the 12th Century Chiesa di San Clemente. INSET: Ceiling fresco in the church; view of San Marco and the church façade; private boat landing for wedding guests.

Weddings and honeymoons

Not many hotels have their own consecrated Roman Catholic churches, but the San Clemente Palace does--and it's more impressive than any Las Vegas wedding chapel, as you can see in the accompanying photos.

The Chiesa di San Clemente can accommodate up to 150 guests for a religious wedding or church blessing. The paved square in front of the church is available for open-air receptions or weddings; it can hold 160 guests for cocktails or 100 at tables facing the lagoon.

Indoor receptions can be staged in the hotel's events rooms and restaurants, including one room with a dance floor and space for 250 seated guests. The hotel can handle all arrangements, including flowers, a photographer, and other services.

Tip: See our article, A Venice Wedding, for advice and links to legal resources. Also read Honeymoon in Venice for hints on romantic sightseeing in the city and the lagoon.

Next page: Conferences, groups

About the author:

Durant Imboden has written about Venice, Italy since 1996. He covered Venice and European travel at About.com for 4-1/2 years before launching Europe for Visitors (including Venice for Visitors) with Cheryl Imboden in 2001.

PC Magazine has called this "the premier visitors' site for Venice, Italy." Over the years, it has helped more than 30 million travelers. For more information, see About our site, our Europe for Visitors press clippings, and our reader testimonials.

Most hotel photos copyright © San Clemente Palace.