Traditional English details for an Italian Wedding on Lake Orta

Adele is a perfect bride! She is joyful, smiling and with a great style!
She had very clear ideas for her wedding on Lake Orta and I was so happy and pleased to help her to make her dream come true.

I leave speak Adele:

I’d always dreamt of marrying in Italy – the idea of sunshine and a beautiful location was more appealing than a traditional UK wedding to me.
My grandmother is Italian, so it’s in my blood. When I broached the subject with my fiancé about the idea of an overseas wedding, he was delighted! We wanted somewhere warm, somewhere rustic, and most importantly somewhere with an incredible backdrop for us and our guests to enjoy.

We started the planning process about a year before our big day by looking online at wedding planning companies who could help us with the different rules and regulations which applied to marrying overseas. As a result of our search we found our wedding planners Valentina and Ernesto; we fell in love with Lake Orta by simply looking at the photos in Valentina’s proposal.

For her getting ready Adele chose Hotel San Rocco. As I mentioned above Adele has a special love for little fine details and you can appreciate this in these wonderful photos.
A huge special thanks to Cecelina Photographer. She is great! Adele wanted her directly from UK and for us was a real pleasure working with such a good professional and lovely lady.

I’m a trained make-up artist so this was a really important part of the day for me. I played with different hairstyles for months before the big day, and in the end decided I wanted all my hair up and off my shoulders.  A local hairstylist, Cristina was recommended by our wedding planner, Valentina. I was so impressed with what she’d done, it was incredible. It lasted all day, and was so utterly elegant, I couldn’t stop looking at the creation!

I actually bought my dress soon after our engagement, although it wasn’t intentional! I used to drive by a boutique in Weybridge called Swoon and one day a particular dress in the window caught my eye. The next day I called for an appointment to try it on. I had no idea at the time it was a Jenny Packham gown (Arianna) – it was simple and elegant with minimal detail which is what I was looking for. However the only detail on the dress was beautiful – sparkling and intricate, and I can’t help but be drawn to anything that glistens! It was the first dress I’d tried on and I loved it.

I found a local dressmaker, Ning Cooper in Weybridge who specialised in delicate designer gown alterations and was recommended to me by the boutique. Ning was fabulous, and together we adapted the dress slightly as I wanted to include a touch of lace, and make the dress unique. The back of the dress was originally open, but she added a lace panel was which just made it even more glamorous.

I also had two pairs of shoes – a low peep-toe heel by Dune, with a large crystal knot for the day and a high pair of orange peep-toes by Ted Baker for the evening.

From these little details you can understand a little of Adele’s color palette: orange, green, yellow and fuchsia. Such an original choice! It was simply perfect for a Summer event on Lake Orta. Orange was the main color of these and you could see everywhere: in bridal bouquet, flowers and decorations and wedding favours for the reception, Adele’s shoes, men’s ties and groom outfit details.

Roses are my favourite flower so they were an essential part of my bouquet.

We were guided by Valentina and our florist – La Piccola Selva floral designer – about seasonal flowers. Hydrangeas featured in my bouquet too, alongside calla lillies.

Our female guests were treated to a pink rose corsage, and our male guests wore an orange rose on their lapels. I wanted everyone to really feel included in the detail, so these small touches were important to me.

Todd had a great outfit for the day! Everybody was looking at him in Orta. He was super handsome! He was a typical English man with a twist of color just respecting Adele’s palette. He had a bowler hat with orange plume, pocket watch with chain – he is a watches lover! – and a gentlemen’s London umbrella to complete the look! His suit was navy pinstripe one from a Swidish designer… a little touch of Sweden the country were Adele and Todd used to live.

Adele arrived by boat to Villa Bossi with her father as the traditions wants on Lake Orta!
She was really nervous about it but at the end she had a great fun…you can see it in her eyes in lovely Cecelina’s photos!
Adele and Todd tied the knot saying “Sì” in Italian rather than “I do”… it was a little surprise for all moved guests!

After the ceremony and some pictures Adele and Todd wanted to offer another taste of Italy to their guests. They all moved to Orta main square to have a traditional Italian ice cream – gelato! What a fun idea!
As a little gift by the ice cream man, Adele and Todd received two balloons… they were just perfect in Orta peptic setting for stunning wedding photos.

Then everybody moved to St Julius Island where all guests could taste some Prosecco and canapés and Adele and Todd could spend a little time together for their wedding photos! Have a look at them aren’t they simply gorgeous?

It is time to get on the boat again and surprise Adele and Todd’s guests once again! They actually did not have a clue of what was happening next!

Reception was planet at Ustaria Ca dal Rat. An unusual setting that we are glad and proud to show you here!
I let Adele speak once again:

We had one long table at the venue and it was decorated with burning scented lemon candles, beautiful flower arrangements, individual bottles of Limoncello, personalised orange scented candles for everyone, as well as organza bags filled with pink and orange personalised m&m’s!
The vases were filled with cut lemons – to add that special touch of yellow and match Limoncello favours – and limes and our flowers included roses, cala lillies, hydrangeas and berries. From the ceiling of our restaurant on the lake, Valentina had hung a selection of orange and pink paper pompoms in different sizes.

Ustaria was different from the usual settings we planned there….it could be a perfect choice for a more intimate event. A long table with everybody sitting together is a fun way to stay close to all your guests. Adele and Todd’s guests were really happy about it.

After a wonderful Italian aperitif and dinner and an Italian wedding cake it is time to dance!
Adele and Todd wanted a live band and they opted for a 3 element swing band that made everybody dance!

Planning a day like this for us was a pleasure… after that I remember telling Adele that I was going to miss her and miss our emails and believe me I do. Even if we still write emails to say hello.
It was great working for such a lovely couple and great guests they had.
Thank you Adele and Todd and congratulations once again! That was just perfect to me!

My name is Valentina and I work as wedding coordinator on Lake Orta and Lake Maggiore.
Before being a wedding planner and coordinator I worked for an American company planning events. I turned into wedding planning for SposiamoVi group, more than 5 years ago. Since Italian Lakes Wedding was founded I work with them to make bride and groom’s dreams come true on this wonderful Lakes of North West Italy and Piemonte region.

l love creating with my couples the perfect event for them following their wishes and needs, helping to find the best solution for their ideas and budget.
I like meeting people talking with them and know more about their cultures and traditions. I do like sharing Italian customs with them and working in team with couples to let them experience a real and dreamy Italian wedding!

I will be pleased to guide couples along lovely traditional and pedestrian roads of Orta village discovering the beauty of this romantic Lake between villas, traditional restaurants wonderful churches and enchanting St. Julius Island.
I will be happy to let couples discover bigger and charming Lake Maggiore with its Borromeo Islands, wonderful hotels and villas overlooking the waters.

I’m sure you would be amazed by the beauty of these special corners of Italy so I’m simply wait for you for a lovely experience to create and live together.

For any information about wedding on Lake Orta CONTACT ME