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 »

The Italian Lakes provide a beautiful location to host a destination wedding. A few beautiful areas are Lake Como and Lake Iseo. These Italian lakes provide you with a breathtaking view that should not be forgotten. If you are planning a destination wedding in Italy, you should choose from wedding dresses that compliment the scenery. The designer dresses at Priscilla of Boston are an excellent location to begin your search because of their selection from many top designers.

Since your wedding will most likely be outdoors, you may want a shorter style such as the Minnie by Melissa Sweet or Priscilla of Boston Style 4402.

A wedding in Lake Como provides a quiet location with many luxurious hotels for your guests. You can get married on an island of Lake Como. To make this experience more memorable you may choose to arrive at the wedding destination by boat.

Wherever you decide to host your wedding at the Italian Lakes, be sure to find the correct dress because it can increase the beauty of this special moment.

Varenna is very popular on Lake Como for Catholic Weddings.
And its fame it’s easily understandable: San Giorgio Church it’s absolutely fascinating and, above all, this is one of the few churches of Lake Como which allow to marry the non – residents.
Ancient, charming and impressive at the same time, this masterpiece lies in the heart of the village and represents the focus of the place itself.

Varenna it’s reachable by private boat or ferry from most of the other towns of the Lake.
This means that although Varenna is lovely you can decide to spend your wedding holidays not necessary based in Varenna itself.

Helen and Steve, our elegant Asian couple for example, chose to stay in Bellagio with their guests at the well renowned Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni.
After their ‘getting ready’ and some beautiful shoots, they reached Varenna by boat: a unique occasion to enjoy the lake!

Once arrived in the main Varenna square, a long stair leads you in front of the main entrance.
This is a perfect setting for the wedding decorations: white and long aisle, flowers and candles create a special and evocative atmosphere.
How can you forget the moment when you step inside the church accompanied by the wedding march notes?
I think this is one of the most touching and unforgettable moments in our life….
Crossing the aisle, hearing the people you love murmuring excited, somebody’s crying and…finally you reach the altar for your forever promise of respect and love.
The sound of the Ave Maria, the exchange of the rings, every moment will remain in your mind for the rest of your life.

At the end of the ceremony you cannot miss the petals through as good luck from all of your friends and relatives.
Now that you’re married, the party moment should begin.

Helen and Steve, decided to go back to Bellagio by private boat and have their wedding reception, welcoming their guests at Villa Serbelloni. Continue Reading »

Villa Rusconi in Pallanza, is a beautiful setting by any standards for a Blessing Celebration. The famous and stunning Lago Maggiore glistened in the warmth of an exceptionally strong September sun on the day, much to the delight of the wedding party from England, who had been suffering from a washed out summer!

Nicky and Chris appeared perfectly matched bright young things. The groom had previously written to us, describing his bride as a typically English Rose and when Nicky arrived by boat to greet an eager crowd our first impression was just that. Tall, slim and blonde, Nicky looked stunning in a simple but elegant dress worthy of a film star… talking of which, the groom reminded us of a younger dashing English actor named Charles Dance!

An expert guitarist performed the Wedding March and the ceremony was beautifully punctuated by an original poem composed and recited by Amy, a dear friend of the happy couple. The weather was beautiful, the grounds of the Villa absolutely gorgeous and the guests elegantly attired. A curious Italian boat crew waved and cheered ‘Auguri’ (an Italian wish for happiness.) Continue Reading »

Isola Bella, Isola Madre and Isola dei Pescatori: they are Borromeo Islands.
Three precious jewels rich in charm and history now among the most know touristy destination of Italian Lakes.
Someone said that gossip of possible wedding between George Clooney and Italian showgirl Elisabetta Canalis here increased the appeal of these places making them “exclusive”.
We do not have to forget about another fairy tale wedding that took place on Borromeo Islands: John Elkann – ceo of Fiat – and princess Donna Lavinia Borromeo.

If Isola Madre and Isola Bella are known for their great palaces and gardens and could be the perfect frame for your wedding pictures, Pescatori Island could be the best location for a perfect reception on the lake shores. This thanks to its wonderful position and rich gastronomic tradition.

Pescatori Island is the only one that is not part of Borromeo Family properties.
It is a liggle village with no more than 50 inhabitants. Fishing was the main occupation in the past some members of local families are still fishers.
You can see this heritage all over here starting from the little port where you will see many fishing boats.

It is such a peaceful place so you will meet many cats and frogs especially in July. Little nice frogs jump all over the narrow roads of the islands.
In this idyllic place there is a quite corner: a little garden with a terrace on the lake. You will read a big white sign with the name Belvedere on it.

Hotel Ristorante Belvedere is located on North East part of Pescatori Island far from busy port.
It has been managed from the same family for 4 generations. In 1921 restaurant hosted Charles De Gaulle who had lunch there during his honeymoon.

Today Belvedere Restaurant can host up to 200 guests inside the charming rooms and on its two gardens on the lake. Your reception to Hotel Ristorante Belvedere can be arranged on the open air by the lake shores, in the wide garden under the porch of booming flowers or inside the charming and bright veranda. You could also choose the lovely dining room once called La Grotta (the cave) because walls were all in stones.
The venue has been just refurbished but still preserves the charm of the ancient appeal. From all corners, including the dining room you could see Isola Madre and its great botanic park.

Belvedere Restaurant mainly serves fish dishes hand made prepared combining precious ingredients of Lake Maggiore and close valleys. Cheese lovers will taste Toma of Ossola valley and natural Gorgonzola. While wine lovers could choose among great Piemonte wines such as Barolo, Dolcetto, Barbaresco or pick great local wines of Novara valley. Continue Reading »

I have to tell you about my latest wedding at Lake Como. It was September 2009 and we only had 16 guests at all. But with a quite good structure of the day, we had lots of wonderful moments.

Let me begin with their hotel at Menaggio, Grand Hotel Victoria. Everybody including their dog was waiting outside for the bride. Then she came down the stairs like a queen, kissed the groom and came to me saying: Oh my god, my knees are trembling, without you I would not affront this day today. Continue Reading »

Here I am again to talk about Villa Rusconi Clerici, this time I will describe the gorgeous symbolic ceremony of Nicky & Chris. As flower designer, I have had the great pleasure and honour of handling the decoration of this special event, which took place in September in Verbania Pallanza on the shores of Lake Maggiore.

I would like to start by thanking the photographer Carlo Conti, who has kindly provided these fabulous images of the day. After many years of experience as a fashion, still life and architecture photographer, Carlo Conti has founded RPS Studio – Reportage Per gli Sposi – choosing to continue his career as a specialist wedding photographer. His style is characterised by a great ability to capture the most natural and spontaneous moments of any event in order to compose a fresh, modern and lively album…the pictures of Nicky and Chris’ big day are a very good example of his creativity.

Nicky & Chris are both born and bread in London. Nicky is pursuing a successful career in human resource, while Chris owns a recruitment agency focusing on the sports sector.
Being two very busy young professionals, they did not have a lot of free time to dedicate to the organisation of their wedding and decided to rely on the expertise and professionalism of Chic Weddings, a leading wedding design agency that works with the team of Italian Lakes Wedding.

Nicky and Chris were dreaming of a wedding by the water, informal and elegant at the same time. An event that matched their personality, not too flashy but very fun. After evaluating various options, they opted for Villa Rusconi Clerici for its wonderful position right on the shores of Lake Maggiore.

The colour theme chosen by Nicky & Chris focused on ivory and lilac, with a hint of purple. This successful combination is very much on trend recently and is often requested by my clients.

The ceremony at Villa Rusconi Clerici started with the arrival of the bride, Nicky, by speedboat. She was accompanied by her father and her lovely bridesmaids. The location benefits from a private jetty which offers the possibility of organising an extremely scenic entry as well as lake tours for the guests during the cocktail reception.

Nicky chose a sleek and modern bouquet, in perfect harmony with her dress: to design it I mixed mini white Calla Lilies, purple Lysianthus and Rose Tibet, enhancing the long shape of the bouquet with a few leaves of Beucarnea. 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 »

We’ve told you many times about wonderful medieval Orta village and how cosy and intimate it is.
Now let’s imagine a more intimate, cozier and more romantic place just mystic and legendary:
here you are San Giulio Island.

St. Julius reached this land for first around 1600 sailing on his mantel. He arrived here and found it haunted by dragoons and snakes.
He sent them all away and built a little church that after become the nowadays cathedral.
This is what the legend tells….

After that a castle, Bishop Palance and villas for priests.
About half of 1800 a convent was built and it cancelled the last symbol of a powerful past let the island becoming more religious.
Today a small group of nuns live in the convent. They are Benedectines and they are totally dedicated to manual works and spiritual hospitality.

St. Julius Island is a silent an mystic place rich in history and traditions.
If you take a look to the island from the hills high tower bell, gardens and ancient roads look like a fairly tale castle born from ancient ruins of a castle.

On this very Italian corner of paradise we would like to suggest a unique opportunity to arrange your wedding reception: a little cosy restaurant with terrace on the lake inside one of the most ancient villas of the island.

We love to imagine a romantic civil ceremony to Villa Bossi or a lovely religious ceremony in one of Orta churches (Maria Assunta or Sacro Monte) with a pleasant trip on the boat to follow.

You and your guests will have the opportunity to completely know and savor the beauty of the lake.
Cruise from Orta to St. Julius Island is a show you can not miss.
From the waters could admire ancient villas on the shores and their aristocratic and alter appeal.

After this lovely trip you will arrive directly on the pier of a little restaurant just on San Giulio Island or you could get there from the little road that goes across the Island.

Ristorante San Giulio (St. Julius Restaurant) is located inside Villa Tallone date back to 1700.
It is well know to host a rich summer concert season in which you could listen to great concerts in such a wonderful frame. Continue Reading »