monika on Apr 26th 2011 Wedding Flowers
After Diane’s wonderful post I would like to come back on Siobhan and Stuart’s wedding to tell you about the floral arrangements of the event that officially opened Wedding season in Villa Bossi on Lake Orta.

As floral designer I met Siobhan and Stuart through Valentina, our wedding coordinator specialized on weddings on Lake Orta and Lake Maggiore.
I leave to her introducion this lovely couple:
Shiobhan and Stuart are a nice couple coming from Scotland.
I never met them before they came here for their wedding. We planned all details via email and our collaboration started more than one year ago!
Sibhoan is a wonderful and sweet person. She faced every step of the planning with a deep joy and enthusiasm and it was a pleasure and honor for me helping her and her groom to make their dream come true.
They decided for an intimate wedding on Lake Orta because they wanted to share the perfect atmosphere of this quaint corner of Italy only with their close friends and family. They spent some days in Orta taking also the occasion to enjoy the lake in a special period of the year: Early Spring.
This moment is special here, flowers and plans and blooming and the tourists are still few.
A perfect choice!

From the floral point of view Siobhan and Stuart’s wedding was really unusual, they chose a theme based on pink and yellow.

For the bride and grooms who wish to celebrate their wedding outdoors in a garden or by the lake shores a colorful palette of pink and yellow could be a trendy solution! It can be dynamic and out of classical choices making the atmosphere warmer colorful and charming! Continue Reading »
admin on Mar 13th 2011 Wedding Flowers
Among all the 33 bouquets in the contest this one was the only created with peonies alone.
It was the first to be on top of the list at the beginning of the contest and always kept the first positions.
It is a lovely bouquet all made with pink peonies created by Monika Andenmatten for Australian couple Josh and Bronwen’s wedding on Lake Orta.
Picture was taken by Photo27 – Milan.


Among the trivia or the contest we can say that the simple and natural ones were more successful than the more elaborated ones.
Round shapes was preferred rather than teardrop or cascade bouquets.
Preferred colors were pink and white.

At the second position we find white hydrangeas bouquet from British couple Louise and Antonin who got marred to Villa del Balbianello on Lake Como.
Bouquet was reated by Figli dei Fiori and the photography is by Studio Morlotti – Milan.

Third prize went to roses of the bouquet of Italian couple Daniela and Mauro created by La Piccola Selva floral designers on Lake Orta.
On the contest page you can find the complete list of all votes for each bouquet.
A great thank you from Italian Lakes Wedding Team to everybody who joined our contest helping us growing and getting new and better ideas.
Next appointment for the contest is next year with Bouquet of the Year 2011.
Save the date!
admin on Feb 14th 2011 Wedding Flowers
Dear Brides and Grooms,
today is Valentine’s Day and many of you are surely celebrating it!
We wish you all a Happy Valentine’s Day!
On this special day we would like to introduce our brand new contest: Bouquet of the Year 2010.
This is a new on line contest to choose the best bouquet of the wedding we had on our Lakes region on 2010.
We selected 33 bridal bouquets….they are all wonderful!
Would you like to be the one to choose the best one with us?
Our selection is has been made among all bridal bouquets of the wedding Italian Lakes Wedding Team planned in 2010 and presented on our blog.
For Valentine’s Day lovers and brides and grooms to be on Italian Lakes it could be a great opportunity to get inspiration for your wedding flowers!

Which is your favorite? You can choose up to 3 bouquets checking the box side of the name of matching bride and groom’ s names.
The contest will end in 3 weeks at 0.00 of 7 March 2011.
Thanks for vote your favorite bouquet! Continue Reading »
paola on Feb 6th 2011 Wedding Flowers
The dare to be different! Today we would like to tell you about Sonja and Allard a lovely couple who chose a very different color scheme Orange and fuchsia.

Even if fuchsia and orange are two very different colors if you match them in the right context they could made up an absolutely different and beautiful scheme that could be so fun for your wedding!
In order to recall Summer nothing is better than bright colors such as fuchsia and orange. These colors could be the perfect frame for a natural wedding in a garden, on a beach or just by the lake shores like Sonja and Allard did.


Sonja and Allard ara another lovely couple coming from Holland who chose Lake Orta for their wedding in italy. Do you remember about Desire and Sander and they sweet balloons themed wedding? Or do you recall about Danielle and Silvain the groom with the top hat?

Choice for colors was not accidental. Orange is the color which represent Holland, Prince of Orange and National Football Team, soccer players are called Oranges (Oranje in Dutch).

Sonja contacted me via email a couple of months before the wedding and she had very precise ideas on her colors scheme. As floral designer my task was advising Sonja about the most suitable flowers to use considering that the couple had not a huge budget. Continue Reading »
monika on Oct 20th 2010 Wedding Flowers
Today let me go back in time for a while to last Spring to talk about Josh and Bronwen wedding on Lake Orta. It was a very intimate and romantic event with a very special atmosphere.
This was a wedding for two: Josh and Bronwen nobody else!

It is not the first time that a couple chose Lake Orta for an intimate and romantic wedding for two. Valentina will post soon a brand new article on this and the wedding for two she planned on Lake Orta.

Josh and Bronwen are a young couple coming from Australia. Continue Reading »
monika on Sep 16th 2010 Wedding Flowers
Flowers and red fishes why not?
Sometimes very simple ideas could turn into great and original solutions and this without spend a fortune!
This is the case of Francesca and Sebastiano’s wedding we mentioned last Saturday in Just Married section. The reception was held to one of the best hotels in Stresa just by the lake Hotel Astoria.

The original idea was using as centerpiece the classical fish bowl with some red fishes and a special decoration with Bear Grass, ivy rose petals, little stones and white Avalanche roses.
Nothing more simple! Continue Reading »
monika on Aug 14th 2010 Wedding Flowers
Big hydrangeas flowers were the main characters of Dana and Nicola’s wedding on Lake Orta.

We have already given a preview of this event on our Just Married section.
Waiting for Enrico Mocci‘s entire photo gallery I would like to spend few words on Nicola and Dana’s wedding floral arrangement.

Nicola and Dana’s color scheme varied from pastel pink to cream with the frame of big hydrangeas flowers.
Hydrangeas are simple but elegant flowers. They are very local on lakes. You can find many here thanks to climate and soil.
Hydrangeas are ideal on a summer wedding. They can match every situation: open air, garden receptions or romanic or baroque churches you can find on lakes region.

The religious ceremony was held in Sacro Monte church on top of Orta hill overlooking the lake.
For this occasion I created a white hydrangeas based arrangement with some cream and pastel cream roses adding some greenery too. Continue Reading »
monika on Apr 14th 2010 Wedding Flowers
It is always so nice thinking that more than being a romantic and happy moment, weddings could be a meeting between different people and different customs.
This wedding I will tell you about is a real example for that.
Francesco is Italian from Verbania on Lake Maggiore and Sarah has Indian heritage. Both live and work in London but chose to get married in Italy with Jehovist ceremony.

As Mariana and Matteo (main character of the picture who won the contest Shot of the Year 2009) Francesco deep love for his hometown affected Sarah. So this is the reason because they chose Lake Maggiore as frame for their wedding.

As floral designer I managed all flower arrangements for Sarah and Francesco’s wedding: from their ceremony who was held in Sala del Regno in Verbania and reception to Grand Hotel Dino in Baveno. Last but not least I created also bridal bouquet with red roses and wonderful sparkling Swarovski that Sarah brought from UK. Such a perfect choice! The lovely sunny weather made them sparkling all thay long just like little diamonds.

Religious ceremony with Jehovah service has been held in Sala del Regno in Verbania. It is a big and bright building with lovely garden.
Religious service of Jehovah’s Witnesses is very simple but surely strict. It follows rules that founder Charles Russell established in middle 1800 and spread through religious magazine The Watch Tower. Continue Reading »
monika on Feb 21st 2010 Wedding Flowers
Today I have the pleasure to introduce you a lovely Italian couple: Marialisa and Matteo.
Their wedding was a real mid summer wedding arranged between Mountains and Lakes.
First the ceremony on Church of Madonna del Boden and then down to Stresa on Lake Maggiore shores.

Church of Madonna del Boden is located on the road leading to small village of Ornavasso (close to Verbania – Piemonte). It climbs on top of one of the most spectacular Alps mountain: Monte Massone. From Mt. Massone peak the view is gorgeous. You can see Mt. Rosa, Mt. Weissmiess, Mt. Adamello and Mt. Bernina. On South view runs over River Po Plain and on 5 lakes such as Lake Orta and Lake Maggiore. Just amazing!
Church of Madonna del Boden has been built on 500 mt of altitude right inside chestnuts woods. A fresh oasis that Marialisa and Matteo simply loved during the hot August day of their wedding. Continue Reading »
monika on Sep 26th 2009 Wedding Flowers

Today I am going to talk to you about Yvonne and Savino’s wedding event: she is German and he is Italian, both living in Milan, and they are among the many couples who this year have made Lake Orta their chosen venue for their special day.

The wedding ceremony was performed against the enchanting backdrop of Orta’s Sacro Monte while Yvonne and Savino chose the elegant Hotel Ristorante L’Approdo in Pettenasco.
The photographer who recorded the event was Alessandro Balossi, certainly one of the best portrait photographers on Lake Orta. The two pictures we have published here are a splendid example of his ability to capture his subjects spontaneously and naturally.

I was asked by Yvonne and Savino to be their flower designer and to take care of every aspect of the floral decoration for their wedding. The color scheme was white and lilac , certainly one of the most popular combinations over the last year. Yvonne particularly wanted a bouquet which featured these colours but which at the same time would be special and quite unique, elegant but natural.

This gave me the idea to use the flowers of the lilac Hebe, which has always been one of my own favourite flowers.
The Hebe grows wild in New Zealand but can also live quite happily in our own gardens, above all the lilac flower is one of the most delicate and natural we can find in existence. Quite perfect for the bouquet that Yvonne wanted!

Apart from the Hebe, the other lilac flowers I used for Yvonne’s bouquet were Freesia and Lysanthius, while the white flowers were Avalanche roses and the Cymbidium orchid . Continue Reading »
monika on Jul 13th 2009 Wedding Flowers
As we promised, Alessandro Ambrosetti photographer put on disposal full Sandra and Mirko’s wedding PHOTO GALLERY, the wedding where I worked as floral designer. In today’s post I’m pleased to show you some of the photos I just love.

I start with this wonderful shot taken inside Castello di Miasino, the venue bride and groom choose for their reception. A perfect combination of elements: bright chandelier and the big coat of arms on the wall behind loving bride and groom. This is for sure a first prize photograph! Very good Alessandro Ambrosetti!

Sandra and Mirko are a young italian-german couple who choose Lake Orta as their wedding destination. Religious ceremony was held in Orta San Giulio village inside the lovely church of Maria Assunta. Bride opted for a classical floral arrangement choosing just a main flower: big Lilyum Longiflorum with simple Aspidistra leaves and Gypsophila.

Following bride’s wishes, I created for Sandra’s bouquet: a round and compact shape using Avalanche roses without any other greenery except for Gypsophila on the basis. Just a trendy style, what brides are looking for, now. Thanks to beautiful day, after the ceremony Sandra and Mirko took a walk in tiny Orta village roads and lakeshore, the perfect frame for magic wedding pictures.

Orange was the main color for the reception to Castello di Miasino. A solar and happy color, one of the most requested for summer 2009. I created glass cubes centerpieces with floating roses and gel crystals, adding some spread orange rose petals on the tables. Continue Reading »
monika on Jun 17th 2009 Wedding Flowers
Did you noticed that flowers are often the main characters of wedding photographs? After bride and groom of course!!
Very often photographers love choosing little details from bouquets or centerpieces. Every professional photographer has his/her personal style. As flower designer I love seeing my creations best Lake District photographer’s shoots. Skills of these professionals add new shades and different suggestions to my creations! Today I show you some beautiful Alessandro Ambrosetti’s pictures taken to Sandra and Mirko’s wedding to Castello di Miasino on Lake Orta last May.

In the first one you see one of my classical compositions, rose cube with crystal gel. Skilled usage of flash gave to my arrangement new life! It has a great impact thanks to to soft light photographer caught.

I think that lights photographer was able to create are absolutely great! Look at the picture taken in Sala del Bertelli of Castello di Miasino: bride and groom at the table with centerpiece I created and all around just a soft and smooth atmosphere.

Third example shows the table chart from a different side.
Photographer was very inspired and was able to catch the event from another point of view which is very different and unusual. Continue Reading »