For this reason they decided to have a little pre wedding photography service, just the two of them to live and explore the little romantic and charming corners of Orta village!
They simply took a walk with their friend Fwad Afzal Photographer in Orta village and got magic pictures that they will never forget!
Have a look at them isn’t it a great idea?

Niamh and Stephen got married the day after, our last wedding of 2011 summer season.
Niamh was simply beautiful in her romantic dress and have a look to the four bridesmaids too in ivory beige long dresses!
The dresses matched perfectly the color of the flowers Niamh chose for them, ivory cream roses and gerberas created by La Piccola Selva with the other floral arrangements of the day.

Civil Ceremony was held in Villa Bossi, Orta town hall and Niamh and Stepehen were so lucky to have a wonderful weather and many guests present to this special day, about 100 guests!

After a little walk in the little roads of Orta with some drinks for guests and some more fun pictures in the village the whole group took the boats to take a lovely trip on the Lake and then reached the restaurant on St. Julius Island.

In our older posts we showed smaller parties to this rustic restaurant by the shores but the wide terrace can fit up to 100-120 guests and this is what happened for Niamh and Stepen’s wedding!

A great dinner and party to follow with a huge chocolate cake too!

Our couple took also the chance to have a lovely walk on the Island to have some other great shots in this quiet and special place: St. Julius Island.

If you really like wedding pictures Niamh and Stephen idea could be surely great to keep a special memory of your day.
A intimate shooting on the day before, casual relaxed and romantic and some great shots on your wedding day with your friends and family a memory that will last a lifetime!

A special thanks to Fwad Afzal photographer – Niamh and Stephen’s good friend and photographer who kindly provided these lovely shots for our post!

Valentina Lombardi is the Italian Lakes Wedding coordinator for Lake Orta and Lake Maggiore area.

She follows Italian and foreign bridegrooms who wish to celebrate their wedding in Piemonte and Italian Lakes area.
Valentina is Italian; she has worked in event organization business for years before becoming a wedding planner.

For any information about wedding on Lake Orta please CONTACT US.

We arranged the civil wedding at the historique townhall called Villa Bossi. The civil wedding takes place outside in the beautiful garden. With the sun shining so nicely, a blue sky, we all waited for the arrival of the beautiful bride Louise. She came with her father in a rowing boat and was welcomed by her 2 bridesmaids before she walked down the natural path which suited as an aisle like in a church.
Happily both said yes in the right moment, our interpreter Irmi was much more in tears then bride and groom!

Look at her beautiful bouquet that was prepared by our preferred florist La Piccola Selva. Same colors and shape for the bridesmaids and lots of white and pink rose petals for the newly weds.

After the ceremony we had 2 boats fetching us and bring us over to the island San Giulio. On the terrace of the small restaurant San Giulio we had a toast with Prosecco and typical Italian fingerfood.

Only after a relaxing stay there we proceeded on with the boat along the coastline with wonderful views on lots of historique villas of noble people. Just to be in time for an welcome drink at the Ca dal Rat, a charming trattoria with good local food.

Here again we repeated the color code of white and pink for flowers and the table decoration. A cage pinned to a tree indicated the seating plan. Everybody enjoyed the good food and the attentive service. And our dj had the good music to create a very festive atmosphere.

How bad that at midnight we had to go back on the boats and return to Orta village. But there awaiting another highlight from our part, we let flew the skylanterns. These are coming from Japan and will transport all best wishes for Louise and Robert into the nightly sky – so they will come true.

Britta Hartmann-De Marchi is german and therefore the specialist for German, Austrian and Swiss couples coming to the lake Region for getting married.

She herself got married 10 years ago and choose an Italian husband. Enjoying to live here in Bella Italia and coming from 14-years-experience in international advertising and marketing, she liked to change her job into becoming organizer of weddings for german-(and english-) speaking people coming to Italy for their marriage.

Coming from Germany and knowing what to expect in Italy, she is the perfect organizer between bride and groom and the Italian service partners. Correctness, flexibility and a easy hand to plan all details around a wedding make her work very appreciated.

The most emotional part is, when I become almost the best friend of the bride during all the planning time you share with each other. So we both do enjoy the wedding day in its best form and this is important for my work.

For their civil ceremony red was the theme color. This was used for the bridesmaids dresses and floral arrangements and especially on Elisa’s bouquet. This was made only with red GRANDE AMORE roses in a round and tight shape.

The reception was held in wonderful Villa Pestalozza in Miasino, on the hills above lake Orta.
To match amazing rooms of the villa Elisa opted for white and green, very elegant and charming.

We will come back soon talking about Elisa and Alessandro’s wedding as soon as official images of the event will be available.
Our congratulations to Elisa and Alessandro from all of us at Italian Lakes Wedding!

Monika Andenmatten is La Piccola Selva’s floral designer.
Based in lake Orta, has worked with brides for over 20 years to create floral arrangements for weddings in the Italian Lakes district.
His wedding arrangements are creative, elegant and sophisticated. Monika will be able to help you choose how best to incorporate floral design into your wedding celebrations. From the initial consultation to the wedding day, she will make your wedding flowers truly an expression of your dreams.
For any information about wedding on Lake Orta please contact us.

Viviana and Alessandro’s color scheme matched elegant bride’s wedding dress.
It was in all the shades of lilac, pink and white.
A dream!

Floral arrangements for Villa Bossi took inspiration from these shades just like Viviana’s bouquet and centerpieces for the wedding reception.
It was arranged to the evocative terrace of the Restaurant on St. Julius Island.

Congratulations Viviana and Alessandro!

This morning Ilaria and Giovanni got married here.
For their floral arrangement in the church bride and groom asked us pink and white peonies with Avalanche roses and Dendrobium Orchids.
In this pictures you can see a detail of the long arrangement placed on the altar of the church.

Ilaria and Giovanni’s reception was held in Sala Toscanini of Grand Hotel Majestic where bride and groom had a wonderful wedding lunch with their friends and relatives.
For this occasion we created big rounded centerpieces with lilac and scentful Freesias, Avalanche roses and pink Gypsophila.

Our best wishes to Ilaria and Giovanni for a lot of happiness from all of us at Italian Lakes Wedding.

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!

Yellow is a joyful, energic color which brings optimims light and transparency.
On the other side Pink is very feminine and fine, it recalls elegance, class, refinement, sensuality and seduction.
The final effect is absolutely gorgeous and unique just as for Siobhan and Stuart’s wedding.

Every floral arrangement Siobhan and Stuart chose recalled pink and yellow. Villa Bossi columns arrangements, flowers on the table of ceremony, petals on the aisle and centerpieces for reception to Hotel San Rocco.

In order to create this lovely scheme we opted for Aqua roses in a deep pink shade and some yellow gerberas with a delicate touch of Alchemilla.

To match light yellow bridesmaid dress we opted for little bouquet of Aqua roses that in its semplicity gave a natural and smooth appeal to all.

Have a look to Siobhan’s arm sheaf bouquet. We realized it in the same shades of the entire event!
The arm sheaf bouquet is more or less like a bunch of flowers created to be carried on an arm, just like a baby.

Let’s not forget about the Royal table arrangement in Rotary room of San Rocco Hotel.
We realized it with little candles, roses and floral arrangements in different shapes and dimensions to give a dynamic and joyful aspect just like Siobhan and Stuart wanted.

If you would like to give a special and different touch to your wedding being far from usual schemes then a pink and yellow themed floral arrangement could be a great idea!
The colors need to be matched with taste and elegance to create smooth and charming arrangements!

As flower designer I think that a theme matching sensual pink and lightful yellow could be the perfect choice for a joyful happy and bright wedding!
After all it is just like this a wedding should be! Fun joy and a wonderful sweet party!

Monika Andenmatten is La Piccola Selva’s floral designer.
Based in lake Orta, has worked with brides for over 20 years to create floral arrangements for weddings in the Italian Lakes district.
His wedding arrangements are creative, elegant and sophisticated. Monika will be able to help you choose how best to incorporate floral design into your wedding celebrations. From the initial consultation to the wedding day, she will make your wedding flowers truly an expression of your dreams.
For any information about wedding on Lake Orta please contact us.

This was perfectly highlighted by glorious sunshine which thankfully arrived after a few days of bad weather. Their wedding was characterised by a limpid blue lake, a light breeze that chased away the clouds and bright green of the landscape all around. An exceptional contrast of colour made the various yellow hues used in the arrangement designed by Monika and myself, stand out even more.

The event was organized by Valentina, Italian Lakes Wedding’s experienced wedding planner, who has become a true expert in weddings taking place at Villa Rusconi Clerici.

I planned this event in collaboration with my lovely and valued colleague, Stefania who is based in the Southern Lakeside regions of Italy, (including Lake Bracciano) but who occasionally assists us here in the Northern Lakes.
It was such a pleasure to have assisted Melanie, who was one of the most co-operative brides of this year. As a couple our bride and groom ‘to be’ complemented one another perfectly. Melanie was an incredibly stylish American Bride and David, a very handsome British Groom. They had enjoyed their first vacation together in our country and so had their hearts set on Italy as the destination for their special day. We had to plan certain details at relatively short notice but Melanie was precise and punctual, which made working with her a sheer delight!
Valentina – wedding planner

I was inspired by Melanie’s creative ideas and pleased to offer suggestions based on my vast experience of organizing weddings in the area. It was fulfilling to collaborate with the Bride and help make her dream of a stunning and sophisticated wedding at Lake Maggiore come true.
Melanie and David expressed a desire for a romantic blessing ceremony, (tastefully and thoughtfully conducted by Celebrants, Giuseppe and Diane) and their vision of an elegant and chic countryside event was realised at Villa Rusconi Clerici, one of the most romantic locations in the area.

Paola from La Piccola Selva helped us to achieve the required atmosphere by designing beautiful arrangements of country style flowers with a touch of elegance, a consistent trademark of La Piccola Selva.

We selected only the most professional catering service, whose culinary skills contributed to the overall success of the event held exclusively at the Villa. The Bride and Groom were treated to a sumptuous aperitif with their wedding guests in the grounds, followed by an enchanting dinner by the majestic lake. This was an intimate wedding and certainly one of the most romantic of the season!
Valentina – wedding planner

When Valentina introduced me to Melanie, I soon realised that our bride had precise ideas concerning the theme of her wedding. She wanted a flower arrangement with a typical mediterranean flavour, cheerful and sunny, based on yellow tones. The choice was soon made to include the complementary characteristics of lemons and sunflowers.

Lemons and sunflowers, together with elegant ‘Bottom Green’, became the main elements of all the floral arrangements, including those for the ceremony aswell as the chairs and table centre pieces used for the reception.

Sunflowers in particular played an important part in the design of the event. The sunflower is a rustic, vigorous and sunny flower, perfect for an outdoor wedding event such as Melanie and David’s.
Thanks to their impressive size, the sunflower stands out even from afar and is perfect for an effective floral composition. The sunflower is a true protagonist and for this reason we decided not to add other kinds of flowers. In Melanie and David’s case, the combination of lemon fruit was not only natural but further enhanced the beauty of these striking mediterranean flowers.

Instead, for the informal aperitif in the beautiful gardens of Villa Rusconi, we created lovely centrepieces with glass cube vases, in which we arranged lemons in an asymetric manner.

The only exception was the Bride’s bouquet, for which we used mini ‘calle bianche’ as Melanie wished. The bouquet was refined and elegant, perfectly suited to the bride’s slender silhouette and glamorous wedding dress.

Last but by no means least, I would like to give special mention to our Celebrants Diane and Giuseppe, who skillfully conducted the ceremony, held in the spectacular grounds of Villa Rusconi, overlooking the shores of the lake.
It gives me great pleasure to conclude this article with some beautiful words written by Diane Wheeler regarding our bride and groom.

We travelled to Lake Maggoire the day before the ceremony to meet Melanie and David at an informal pre-wedding gathering at a restaurant in Stresa. We received a warm and enthusiastic welcome and were immediately introduced to their wedding party, including Melanie and David’s gigantic but cute dog, Dexter!

Melanie was most definitely a bride who knew what she wanted and took a keen interest in all aspects of her wedding. She was very involved in the construction of her ceremony, which also involved a ‘sand ceremony’, which took place directly after the bride and groom exchanged their mutual vows.

Incidentally there was a moment during their vows when we all thought the heavens were going to open but only a few drops fell to bless the bride… and the umbrella that had hastily been offered by a gallant best man was soon gratefully put to one side!
Diane – celebrant

While Giuseppe performed original words (scripted by us) describing the beautiful symbolism of the event, Melanie and David each poured bottles of different coloured sand in turn, which combined within one vessel to form a striking momento which they would be able to display at home.

The bride and groom also adapted vows to make them more personal, which not many couples do. We think this kind of involvement demonstrates imagination and great personal interest in the content of their ceremony. Melanie in particular was very creative and gave us some great personal information to work with.

The story of how they met was highly entertaining and we were provided with ample material from which to compose a touching script. One thing became quite clear…there was definitely a third party in the relationship and Dexter was not only present during the ceremony (albeit in the background) but also featured in sentiments expressed by David… who wanted Melanie to know ‘that on seeing her beautiful face every morning on the pillow next to his, that he is reminded that he is the happiest man in the world’…when Dexter doesn’t obsure the view!
Diane – celebrant

For further information on a wedding to Villa Rusconi – Lake Maggiore please CONTACT Italian Lakes Wedding Team.

All Images © Italian Lakes Wedding © All rights reserved.

Together with Monika, Paola is La Piccola Selva floral designer. She is part of La Piccola Selva team who are specialized in floral arrangements and lovely bridal bouquets on Lake Orta and Lake Maggiore.

After her graduation in English language her passion for nature and flowers brought her to a long and successful career in floral design.
Thanks to her long experience and creativity Paola will be able and happy to suggest you best flowers, color, details, shapes and styles that could match your tastes and ideas.
She will be able to add a final touch that could turn your wedding in an even more special day!

Lilac was theme color of the event. It was used for Hannah’s bouquet, Villa Bossi and Restaurant on St Julius Island floral arrangement and even for James’ tie.

White bride and Caribbean bridesmaid wearing dark purple was just a perfect match!

As special thank to Enrico Mocci photographer from ArteFotoArona who gave us very first images of this lovely event in no time!
We will come back telling you about Hannah and James in another post for this amazing wedding on Lake Orta.

Liam and Leigh’s theme color was purple.
You could see it in bridesmaids dresses on floral arrangements, even in Leigh’s shoes and in the wonderful bridal bouquet created with purple lysianthus.

These are the first images that Photo27 kindly shared with us. They were very quick.
We often talked about this prestigious Studio in Milan directed by Diego and Estella which is able to provide great wedding photo services.

We will come back telling more about this purple themed wedding and in the meanwhile our best wishes to bride and groom!

Nicole and Euan’s wedding was held in the romantic garden of Villa Bossi in Orta San Giulio.
Nicole’s color scheme was white and blue because she loved blue but also to celebrate St. Andrew’s Cross Scottish flag.

White and blue were just everywhere: in bridesmaids and flower girls dresses and in all floral arrangements. Have a look to Nicole’s bouquet, a long teardrop bouquet with white roses and blue gentianas.

To our couple who decided to not care about Friday 17th Italian superstition our best wishes for a new life full of joy and happiness!

Images © Italian Lakes Wedding. All right reserved.