Italian Lakes Wedding Planner

A fantastic panorama and real Italian cuisine these are the main features that Ristorante Settimo Cielo in Stresa offers for your wedding on Lake Maggiore.

Ristorante Settimo Cielo is located in Campino a little village above Stresa and Baveno.
Its panoramic position is simply unique. Here you would have an enchanting view on Lake Maggiore overlooking Stresa, Baveno, Borromeo Gulf, Isola Bella, Pescatori Island, Isola Madre, Feriolo, Fondotoce, Suna, Pallanza, Laveno, Alps up to Switzerland border.

The amazing position of the restaurant makes it one of the most spectacular venue for weddings on lake Maggiore. Your guests will be just amazed!

At Ristorante Settimo Cielo you will find a wonderful scenario. A timeless venue where you will really feel the scent of the Lake, a real party for your soul!

Translation for Settimo Cielo is Heaven on Earth and you will really feel like you are there.
Heaven on Earth not only for the view on Lake Maggiore but even for the famous cuisine. No creativity or innovation only traditions, ancient tastes and perfumes of traditional Italian cuisine.
Ristorante Settimo Cielo in Stresa was one of the 4 restaurant on Lake Maggiore who received from Ministero delle Politiche Agricole (a governmental agency) the award for Ristorante DOP (Denomination of Protected Origin). Continue Reading »

Imagine a romantic restaurant on the shores of Lake Orta, in the green, in a relaxing area far from tourists.
Imagine a lunch or a dinner under a lovely portico and a garden that goes down to the lake.
Think about a simple and genuine cuisine close to traditions but elaborated with creativity.
All this has a name: Ustaria Cà dal Rat.

Ustaria Cà dal Rat is a unique wedding venue in the area of Lake Orta and Lake Maggiore. It is a building of 1900. Ground floor has been turned in a lovely restaurant by the lake shores and in a total natural context.

These are the main features of Ustaria Cà dal Rat: its position on the lake shores, with a perfect portico for a lovely reception and the possibility to be far from tourists in the village and on St. Julius Island especially in Summer.
This means having a relaxing day by the shores with dances and music until late.

As alternative, Ustaria Ca dal Rat offers two pretty and intimate rooms inside.
The first one with fireplace can host up to 30 guests and the second with stone floor and wooden beams on the ceiling can host up to 25 people.
Both rooms face the lake to enjoy this wonderful spot of Lake Orta. Continue Reading »

Today we are pleased to introduce you one of the most quaint restaurants on Lake Maggiore: Ristorante Verbano on Pescatori Island.

It faces the lake in the heart of Borromeo Gulf just few minutes boat ride from Stresa. Hotel Ristorante Verbano’s appeal fascinated artists and writers of the past who found in this special place inspiration and peace.
Today thanks to its magical position this little romantic hotel is one of the most evocative destination for weddings on Lake Maggiore.

If you are looking for an outdoor reception Ristorante Verbano has a wonderful terrace facing Isola Bella and its magnificent Borromeo Palace.
Your guests will love the charm o this place just romantic and spectacular!

Ristorante Verbano has also two wide rooms for your receptions, both facing the lake who can host up to 190 guests. Continue Reading »

Instruction for use: take Mariana and Matteo’s wedding Get married… and have a good time on Lake Orta, then take Browen and Josh’s wedding… do you remember it?
The young couple who eloped to Lake Orta secretly? Let’s shake… and here we are Rebecca and Marcus’ wedding a perfect mix of romanticism, intimacy and… fun.

Just like Bronwen and Josh, Rebecca and Marcus are coming from Australia too.
They always had a deep love for Italy and they choose it for their wedding!
First they opted for Rome but then Rebecca found out intimate atmosphere of Lake Orta and that was their final choice!

Rebecca and Marcus a love elope for an intimate wedding on Lake Orta!
It was romantic but also fun and you can really feel it from great pictures taken by Maren Ollmann and Piero Ottaviano who perfectly took the spirit of the event!
The photos you can see here speak from themselves but we invite you to have a look to the amazing PHOTO-GALLERY with the entire service this lovely couple of photographers realized for the event.

From a photographic point of view a wedding for two could be difficult. The only characters are bride and groom and nobody else. There is no reception, emotion of the guests, flower girls, bridesmaids and their wonderful dresses and all the typical atmosphere of a wedding.
In spite of that Maren and Piero are able to do a lively photo service where you can see emotion and lot of joy. This is not common at all! Continue Reading »

A lot of couples have the same problem: who and how many guests to invite to their wedding: the most important day in their life. The problem becomes even more important if we talk about a destination wedding abroad. Logistics and budget issues may be added to the “to do list” of the wedding preparations.

On 31 May 2010 Judith and Stephen decided to simplify it all and satisfy both their needs: an intimate wedding ceremony with just close family and celebrate it all afterwards with all the other family, friends and colleagues. They simply “split” the event in 2: a little romantic wedding in Italy, and then once back home, have a great party with all.

For their Italian wedding, they chose sunny, tiny little town of Torri del Benaco. In Torri del Benaco you can keep it original genuine despite of the fact that it is very touristy. Coming here, you will find original local cuisine of the many restaurants of the historic centre around the Castle, dominating the town.

Judith and Stephen’s ceremony was held in the Lemon Garden of the Castle under the refreshing shade of some lemon trees. Stephen had some “long minutes” to wait for Judith’s arrival, as she absolutely wanted to stop in the church on the way to the castle to tell a prayer, and ask the blessing of God to her wedding. Continue Reading »

It certainly doesn’t happen every day to decorate a Ferrari for a wedding. But a few days ago this is exactly what I did for Elena and Giorgio’s wedding on Lake Orta.

Elena and Giorgio tied the knot on a lovely warm April day, just perfect for a photographic tour of the lake thanks to the motorboat their chosen location for the reception, the Hotel Ristorante L’Approdo, made available to them.

Although it is just a few days since the event, I am delighted to be able to show you a preview of their photographs, thank to the rapid work of Raffaello Mazzoleni of Studio ArteFoto Omegna.
In fact the rapid delivery he ensures is photographer Raffaello Mazzoleni’s winning card as he will hand over the DVD of a wedding in a maximum of three days and at a very competitive price too, especially considering that he is one of a small number of Italian professional photographers who belong to the WPJA, the prestigious American association which makes a worldwide selection among the finest photographers operating in journalism and weddings.

I was the flower designer who organised the decorations for the civil wedding ceremony, for the bride and for the table centres at the Hotel Ristorante L’Approdo. Elena wanted red and white as her colours and chose the rose as her principal flower. 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 »

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 »

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 »

Since hotel opening in 1863, Grand Hotel des Iles Borromées was one of the leading hotels in Stresa Lake Maggiore, offering a luxury atmosphere for its famous clients discovering Italian Northern Lakes.

Times changed but atmosphere you can breath there is still the same!
Stresa is one of the most famous touristy Northern Italy destination thanks to its wonderful nature and easy accessibility.
Grand Hotel des Iles Borromées is located right into a stunning secular park with precious marble statues. Its beautiful fountains at the entrance with its elaborated statue is one of the most famous places on Stresa lake sidewalk.

Hotel is just in front of the lake just fews steps from Stresa main center. The view from its rooms is simply spectacular: you can see beautiful Borromeans Islands ad Alps surrounding the lake.

Across the years the hotel has been constantly renewed, just keeping its Belle Epoque style. Common areas are decorated with wonderful plants and flowers, Murano chandeliers, colored mosaics.
At night atmosphere is even more elegant thanks to piano bar playing.

Marble restrooms, antique furniture, rich tapestries and Murano chandeliers create a rich and conformable atmosphere. Every stage of the hotel has a own gallery inspired by a certain period of italian art. Continue Reading »

Are you looking for a smart lakeside restaurant for your wedding reception? Is your budget on the low side and not up to the extravagant Italian wedding organised by Tom and Katie Cruise?
Are you on the look out for a restaurant that will go a long way to finding the right solution for you, with a gift for the bride and groom, a gesture that makes all the difference?
Picture this: the hotel motor boat taking you to the Island of San Giulio for your wedding photos. And, on request and according to your budget, the hotel will arrange the room for you, with chair covers and big bows, if that is what you wish for.

If you have chosen Lake Orta, then the Approdo at Pettenasco is the right place for you with its a restaurant with a fine garden on the lake shore, well known for its excellent cuisine, and with the assistance of a native English speaker, and a large sunny banqueting room overlooking the lake.
Last week, Laura and Michele chose the Ristorante L’Approdo for their reception, while they chose the professional work and life-long experience of Raffaello Mazzoleni for their photos: We have selected just a few of the magnificent shots he took in the lovely Calle Room, beautifully dressed up for the occasion.

Raffaello Mazzoleni is an experienced photographer who has specialised in weddings and has state of the art equipment to assist him: the award-winning Olympus E3 with superb accessories such as the Olympus Zuiko 7-14 mm wide-angle lens.

The last picture shows Laura and Michele on board the motorboat made available for their use free of charge by the Hotel Ristorante L’Approdo:
a gift offered to all newly-weds so that they can immortalise their magic moment on the lake, a superb reminder of their truly perfect day on Lake Orta.

It is most satisfying for us to be able to announce that the Hotel L’Approdo at Pettenasco, one of the finest on the lake, joined Italian Lakes Wedding at the beginning of March.
Just a short distance from Orta San Giulio, the Hotel Ristorante L’Approdo enjoys an unrivalled position on the lake shore and is the ideal location for a smart, stylish wedding that still has an attentive eye on budget.

Excellent value for money is in fact the Hotel L’Approdo’s winning card, offering all the services of a fine 4 star hotel, and the comforts and quality of a top rate restaurant at a decidedly competitive price.

If you dream of an al fresco wedding party, consider that the hotel’s lakeside garden offers opportunities for scenic symbolic ceremonies, cocktail parties and aperitifs.

Indoors, the Calla Room has an elegantly calm atmosphere as well as a magnificent view over the lake. The hotel also takes the bride and groom to the Isle of San Giulio in their motorboat, a quite special place for quite unique wedding pictures. This is the hotel’s wedding gift to the newly weds, a detail not to be overlooked.

The Approdo also offers the expert assistance of their Marketing Manager, an English native speaker. She can assist you with everything from transfers from Milan’s Malpensa airport to the hotel, to the arrangement of tables, and the flower arrangements to put on them, and the choice of wedding cake, and photos on the island in the hotel’s private motorboat.

The Ristorante La Terrazza is well known for its cuisine, fine wedding menus featuring traditional and regional specialities with a touch of creativity and an excellent range of fine wines selected for the occasion. Continue Reading »