Italian Lakes Wedding Planner

Flowers and balloons? Why not?
If flowers are a very important element in a wedding balloons could add a touch of fun to the event going out from the schemes.

First of all I would love to introduce you the main actor of wedding I will tell you about: Desiree and Sander a very nice couple coming from Holland.

For their Italian wedding Desiree and Sander chose Villa Bossi and magic atmospheres of Lake Orta.
Enrico Mocci from Artefoto Arona was their photographer. He took a fresh and dynamic reportage. Just have a look to Desiree and Sander’s PHOTOGALLERY to experience Enrico Mocci’s unique skills.

As for Mariana and Matteo, wedding took place in three different places. First Villa Crespi where bride and groom got ready and came back.

For their first night as married they choose Suite Regina Vittoria. Just a dreamy rooms embellished with red fabrics, furniture dated back to 1700 and a fine marble bathroom with Jacuzzi bath.

After a short walk Desiree and her friends reached Orta Main square. From here bride and father got on the traditional rowing boat to reach Villa Bossi where Orta town hall is located. Here a lovely civil ceremony took place. Continue Reading »

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 »

As floral designer one of the most important moments during a wedding planning is the decision to take for floral arrangements and colors to use. During first contacts I always try to understand bride and groom’s tastes and needs to suggest the best solution for them.
Sometimes they have very clear ideas in their minds. Basing on this and on my experience and creativity i try to develop a floral arrangement project that will be just perfect the day of the wedding.
This is what happened with Jennifer and Oliver a British couple whose wedding was planned for September 2009.

One year before Jennifer told me about the floral scheme she had in her mind. All was based on purple matching with ivory. The very good hint arrived in following emails when Jennifer mentioned about the idea of adding Mediterranean aromatic herbs among flowers.

I was delighted with the design and colours they were truly beautiful. One of my many memories from our special day is the scent of the mint and rosemary in the flowers. I kept getting scents of the mint throughout the day and it is something that will always remind me of my wedding day.
All the guests commented on the amazing table displays – it was better than how I’d imagined – romantic and elegant with the candles and petals.
I even managed to fly home with my bouquet and we are drying it out to keep as a memento of the day!
Thank you once again for your fantastic work – the flowers were truly beautiful.
Jenny and Oliver

This was planned to recall Italian style and the wonderful scents she loved in her childhood. Just a little great idea that gave me the occasion to work on a floral arrangement based on purple and ivory with fresh and perfumed Mediterranean herbs such as rosemary, sage, mint and lavender. They could be a perfect green base to create the bouquet on but also centerpieces and ceremony decorations. Aromatic herbs offer an evocative range of colors from green to silverish of sage and lavender up to deep green of peppermint. Last but not least little lilac-blue lavender blooms could be the trait-d’union between purple and ivory flowers of the compositions.

This was my proposal for Jennifer and Oliver’s’ wedding floral arrangement. Jennifer feed back came back very quick. She was really excited for that: she loved all details of my proposal, she was literally looking forward to see and smell the flowers on her wedding day.

We started a planning that lasted few months and leaded to final result that you can see in this post.
Everybody and especially bride and groom loved the floral arrangements. Jennifer and Oliver after their honeymoon sent also a lovely email to thank us for all. You can read a piece of that here.

But I also want to tell you something more about Jennifer and Oliver’s wedding!
They arranged all in Pallanza on Lake Maggiore. Ceremony was held in Villa San Remigio while reception was arranged to Grand Hotel Majestic where almost all guests spend their Italian days.

Wedding coordinator was Valentina Lombardi who is part of Italian Lakes Wedding Team. Photographs were taken from Photo27 from Milan that I thank you for giving us the beautiful images you can see here.

The civil ceremony has been celebrated in wonderful Music Room (Sala della Musica) of Villa San Remigio. String quartet classical music created a wonderful romantic atmosphere.

Big Jennifer and Oliver’s day begun with a cloudy day but after few hours sun decided to come back again turing into a wonderful summer end day!

Villa San Remigio wide park and its secular tress, fountains and statues are the perfect settings for wonderful wedding pictures. Have a look to the natural style and great impact of the picture here below, simple but wonderful!

At the end of the ceremony Jennifer hanged on her bouquet a funny “Just Married” sign with two hearts, what a funny idea! Continue Reading »

After Suzanne and Christopher, Loretta and Scott, Nicky and Chris we are on Lake Maggiore again to tell you about another magic wedding: Simone and Stephans’ wedding. They were such a lovely couple coming from Zurich, Switzerland.

First of all a big thank you to Andrea and Marcus a great couple of Swiss photographers that kindly put on disposal their great images of Simone and Stephan’s wedding. A vintage and really unconventional service that we found really unique. The yellow shade gives to images a sense of warm and cosy brightness.

Simone and Stephan wanted a unique and unforgettable wedding. They looked for a real elegant and Italian style event to give their day a touch of glamour. After visiting many venue they choose Lake Maggiore and little town of Pallanza.

Bride and groom opted for a religious ceremony to Sacro Monte church in Ghiffa and a wonderful reception to Villa Rusconi Clerici in Pallanza just few minutes far from the church.

For all guests Simone and Stephan wanted a week end long event.
They started with a lovely dinner on friday night in a traditional pizzeria facing the lake.
Saturday the day of the wedding they decided for a big party to Villa Rusconi sipping champagne, delicious Italian cuisine and fun dances up to early hours of Sunday.

The big day of Saturday begun early in the morning to Grand Hotel Majestic where the group stayed for all the wedding week end.
Dividing herself among make up and hair trial Simone spend some hours with her mother and maid of honor Rachel.
On late morning they all reached Ghiffa where all guests and Stephan were waiting for them.

Simone and Stephan got married in the tiny romantic 1600 church of Sacro Monte of Ghiffa.
Floral decorations were arranged by Manuela the floral designers who works in partnership with La Piccola Selva.
Roses were main flowers. Arrangement at the church included external columns, pews, balusters, and aisle to the altar totally covered with rose petals. Continue Reading »

I’ve already told you some months ago about the wonderful hotels on Lake Maggiore. These are ideal venues for an elegant wedding on these magic shores.
Chris and Suzanne choose Grand Hotel Majestic for they big day.

They came here with relatives and friends from United Kingdom to celebrate a wonderful event that was studied in every single detail.

Suzanne choose a theme inspired on lilac and café au lait enriched by many little crystals.

Suzanne designed personally Bridesmaids and flower girl dresses just thinking about these details.

Flower arrangement Suzanne wanted was very detailed.
All arrangements were created by Manuela one of the floral designer who work in close collaboration with La Piccola Selva. Basing on the theme Suzanne wanted, Manuela created a rich vintage arrangement.
She used Freesias blooms and Aqua Girl roses for lilac, and Cofee Break rose for cafe au lait shades. Purple was made with wide Trachelium and classic Vendela roses and Stephanotis made the white accent.
Little fabric Stephanotis were on all wedding stationery Suzanne and Chris had on their tables: invitations, names card, table chart and trivia boxes.

Crystals were on the tables to match Kartell chairs rented for the occasion and crystal vases supporting flowers decorations.

Some other little crystal were inside the Stephanotis flowers in centerpieces and bridal bouquet, just a little compact and rounded jewel.

Suzanne matched crystals on her dress too. There were crystals on the veil, on the dress and the wonderful vintage pin she had on her waist. Bridal dress was italian by Spose di Gio. Continue Reading »

After the wedding to Villa San Martino we come back to Lombardy side of Lake Maggiore. This time we are going South. Here you will find sweet hills going smoothly towards the lake. This are is very well known from nature and water sports lovers. There are also artistic and cultural places to visit such as historic residence of Villa della Porta Bozzolo with its grand Italian gardens or Rocca di Angera, great Borromeo family castle or even Santa Caterina del Sasso, a monastery on rocks peak.

Right in this green area you will find a lovely venue for your wedding on the lake: Hotel Conca Azzurra in Ranco close to Varese.
A wonderful view, a wonderful garden with many flowers and delicious cuisine will welcome you.
These are the main features of Hotel Conca Azzurra, a pretty venue for your wedding if you are thinking of getting married on Lake Maggiore.

Let’ s see together all the pearls of the hotel.
The great view on the lake: from here you could see the center of the Lake and great chain of Mt. Zeda. You could enjoy this perfect panorama in every month of the year from Restaurant La Veranda. During summer season it opens completely becoming a open air terrace for romantic dinners under the stars.

La Veranda restaurant offer a high level cuisine with local and traditional dishes of the Lake Maggiore and surrounding countryside. It has a very good service and wide cellar with selected wines for every request.

You could sip your aperitif or arrange an informal buffet reception in the wide garden with lovely view on the lake. You will be surrounded by palms and flowers and you will taste delicious lake fish and Piedmont wines. Continue Reading »

In summer 2008 I had the pleasure to meet Amy and Tom for the first time. She is a lovely Irish girl and he is a handsome English guy. Such a great couple! After visiting many venues across Northern Lakes area they reached Orta San Giulio and they fell in love with that immediately. Amy and Tom thought that Lake Orta incorporated the precise idea they had for an intimate and romantic wedding on the lake.

My first wedding of Summer Season 2009 was Amy and Tom’s: 3rd July 2009. Amy arrived some days before to settle in Orta and define some last details.

She spent some lovely days before the event, with her parents and family in a lovely villa on the lake that I often suggest to my couples. It is just in front of Ortello Gulf.

And finally the wedding day came!
Amy and her father took a nice walk from the lovely house on the shores to reach village church. Tom, flower girls, purple dressed bridesmaids and all guests were all waiting for her there. Lilac was the theme of whole wedding.

Amy choose this wonderful color for her main theme and Monika Andenmatten from La Piccola Selva created wonderful arrangements to accomplish her desires. She based her work on a color palette going from white to purple-lilac. Monika created wonderful church arrangements for the balusters and external columns of the church itself.

At the end of the ceremony… just a lovely kiss of bride and groom! Photographer Andrea Dapueto took a wonderful shot of it. Andrea Dapueto was the perfect reporter for such a wonderful event. Continue Reading »

It’s the 3rd of October 2009: the weather is mild and spectacular and all the family is very excited for Andrew and Severine wedding day! The Groom comes from Malta and the Bride is Suisse, they both love the Lakes and especially Lake Como.

The wedding organization started last winter and the first step to do was the choice of the Church.
When I first show Andrew and Severine Mezzegra Church, it was love at first sight!
The impressive terrace in front of the majestic Church, the atmosphere and the kindness of Don Luigi cancelled any doubts!
After the catholic ceremony, the newlyweds wanted to offer their guests the unique emotion of reaching the reception venue by boat, cruising between the incredible Lake Como landscapes and Villas.

To realize their dream, we choose a location centrally located in Como.
A lovely ancient private Villa, surrounded by and accurate garden.

The rooms still maintain their original furniture which really gives the charm!

The big day has arrived!! Continue Reading »

It’s sometimes hard to find time to dedicate to our dears. A wedding day is often the occasion to bond our families and closest friends.
The idea of spending together not only one single day but one whole week it’s absolutely lovely.

Lake Como offers the opportunity of fabulous weekly rentals.
This means combining an incredible escape with a romantic wedding or party.

Directly on Bellagio lakeshore, there’s a fantastic private Villa which seems created to realize this combination.

This liberty style Villa stands majestically on the water and it’s surrounded by a beautiful park overlooked by centuries old trees complete with swimming pool.
The accommodations and living areas are located on the ground and first floor of the villa.

The property is very elegant, with marble fireplace and frescoed ceilings.
First floor study has an elegant terrace overlooking the lake and Grigna Mountain ranges.
The furnishings are a clever combination of family heirlooms with the finest antiques, all carefully restored to ensure the visitor a most comfortable stay.
The seven bedrooms, each with their own bathroom and air conditioned as the rest of the property can be reached by elevator or stairway.

The other guests can easily find an accommodation in Bellagio center or surroundings and reaching the Villa by a private boat transfer.

Laura decided to celebrate here her 40’s Birthday and what a party!

The lake view park and terrace are the perfect setting for a romantic symbolic ceremony.
If you prefer a civil ceremony instead, this can be celebrated at Bellagio Town Hall.

After the celebration the private boat will lead you to the Villa while sipping a glass of Italian Prosecco!

A private pier will let you drop off the boat and the party goes on! Continue Reading »

As a flower designer, we have to admit that the wedding of Loretta and Scott were one of the most stimulating ones. It was months of work, 3 meetings with the bride and groom, lots of emails with decisions and re-decisions before arriving at the final go.

Loretta and Scott are a very nice couple from England who decided to get married at Lake Maggiore. Both have origins in Italy, both are born in London but the bride’s parents are from Parma and Piacenza and the groom’s father is British but his mother is from Salerno.

Both have Italian origins, that’s why they met for the first time in St Peter’s Italian church in London. After 9 years finally they wished to become husband and wife. Their decision to come to Italy for the wedding was crystal clear, but where? They wanted somewhere which is neither near his or her family backgrounds, so it was the beautiful setting of Villa Rusconi Clerici and the fantastic landscape around Lake Maggiore.

Their choice of photographer was also made with the highest attention, he had to be professional, very special and with a photo-reportage style. Indeed, it is very important to select a good photographer, because what he is producing will last forever.

So it was Luca Rajna, one of the most appreciated and best photographers in the lakes area.
Have a look yourself www.ajn.it.

The church for the wedding was San Leonardo’s at Pallanza, built in 1537, it overlooks the Piazza San Leonardo and the lakeshore.
For the flowers Loretta wanted a focus on the main altar with 2 large compositions of ivory Rose Vendela on some high basements of metal.

Then some smaller compositions combined with tulle and organza in white, emerald green and ivory on the ends of each row of pews. This was the colour theme throughout all the decoration, sometimes added by a touch of lilac.

The bridal bouquet of Loretta was round and very compact and resembled the colours used in church, from the white and ivory of the roses into the emerald green of the ribbons that hold it all together, decorated with some pearls here and there.

A fantastic advantage of this church was the small walking distance to Villa Rusconi Clerici, just 300m.
For Loretta and Scott it was easy to decide for the Villa Rusconi Clerici, they were in love with the location from the beginning. It is really a wonderful place as the villa is situated directly on the shore of the lake, has splendid views and a huge garden. As the wedding day was very warm, the welcome drinks were prepared outside on the lakeshore. Accompanied with some wonderful music from a string quartet.

The dinner itself was inside the white gazebo, this is an elegant structure of tents finished with metal that was normally used at the beginning of the 19th hundred century. Continue Reading »