Italian Lakes Wedding Blog - Destination Weddings Italy

As floral designer I’m always looking for interesting and creative solutions but this always depends on bridegrooms choices!
To give you an example Rossella and Giorgio’s wedding was a great occasion to work on a charming theme to me: autumn colors.
Rossella and Giorgio got married last Saturday in Orta San Giulio, lake Orta. A simple ceremony at Villa Bossi followed by a nice reception in wonderful atmosphere of Palazzo Penotti Ubertini.
Bridegroom’s wishe was having a color scheme that could reflect intense Autumn colors with some elements recalling this romantic season that lots of poets love.
As far as the floral arrangements, bouquet and ceremony table arrangement were concerned I opted for a strong contrast between chocolate brown and purple smoothen by soft shades.
I used Black Baccara rose, Leucodendron with Hypericum berries, dry Hydrangea and Gypsum leaves.
On tables at Palazzo Penotti Ubertini I completed the arrangements with rose petals, pine cones and chestnuts.
You can see the final result above. I really hope you like it too!

Right after Janet and Ian’s wedding at Villa d’Este, Italian Lakes Wedding Team organized another important event: Bianca and Mills’ wedding to Villa dei Cipressi in Varenna - East side of Lake Como.
Have a look to Bianca and Mills’ photo gallery realized by photographer David Christian Lichtag.

Lake Como recently arouses a certain emotion on people coming from the States. In the last few years famous people like Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie or Sarah Larson visited Lake Como and contributed to let world know the beauty of this magic place, consacrating it as one of the most requested destinations for weddings in Italy and Europe.

Bianca and Mills are from Los Angeles, they work in the movie business.
Bianca is blond so pretty and charming, Mills is a movie director that, among the other commitments, worked as co-director and producer of Lethal Weapon 2 and 3. This was an exclusive wedding that Bianca and Mills reserved for a small number of friends and relatives.
For the organization of the even American couple hired Italian Lakes Wedding Team. Valentina Lombardi from SposiamoVi Torino was the wedding planner and floral designer Monika Andenmatten from La Piccola Selva Lake Orta. Continue Reading »

Thinking about getting married on the Italian Lakes area? You love flowers? You want a bright wedding theme? You like the sun? “Chiste o paese do sole,” says a popular old Neapolitan song, Italy is the land of the sun! So why don’t you use sunflowers for your main wedding theme? Since the flower itself reaches up to the sun, it symbolizes warmth, happiness, adoration and longevity, a sunflower wedding theme is perfect! What more can you wish for your marriage? If you want to have a bright-yellow sunflower wedding, be aware that the best time to get real sunflowers is July to October.

Probably the most sunny cheerful flowers you can find for your wedding. Sunflowers are big, bold, cheerful and brash and have summer written all over them. Bright, vivid colour and long, strong stems make the Sunflower a fantastic focal flower for summer and autumn events, wedding bouquets, table centrepieces and floral arrangements.
If you want to see my floral works with Sunflowers, please take the time to browse my portfolio at La Piccola Selva’s Wedding Flowers Gallery. The florist La Piccola Selva has been creating innovative and exclusive designs for over 20 years, supplying flowers to the leading hotels and wedding venues on Lake Orta and Lake Maggiore. Continue Reading »

Lake Orta has always been one of the best destination for bridegrooms coming from all over the world. But not only!

Often is the trait d’union between different culture, very far from each other.
This is the case of Cristina and Derek. She comes from Genova and he is from Scotland.
A long love story and then the decision to getting married. Considering the wonderful places they both come from it is not easy making a decision. Portofino, Five Lands, Porto Venere or even some legendary castle in green Scottish country side.
What a difficult choice! And here it comes Lake Orta. They immediately fell in love with it. The perfect destination for their wedding.

Considering the distance it was not easy organizing all the event: ceremony, reception, flowers, music, invitation, guests coordination coming from Scotland and Ligura.
They decided to hire a wedding planner specialized in Lake Orta area. Their natural choice went on Valentina Lombardi from SposiamoVi – Torino. Valentina is a wedding planner with long experience on Lake Orta and she works with skillful professionals on the territory.

The photographer is Raffaello Mazzoleni who is the author of beautiful photojournalistic pictures that you can see in the SCOTTISH WEDDING PHOTO GALLERY for Cristina and Derek.

Floral arrangements are from La Piccola Selva thanks to the fantasy and creativity of floral designer Monika Andenmatten. La Piccola Selva has been leader for more than 20 years in floral arrangements and bridal bouquet creation for churches and best venues on Lake Orta and Lake Maggiore.
Cristina and Derek for their reception venue decided for Hotel San Rocco in Orta San Giulio.
Continue Reading »

Calla lilies, with their crisp white flowers and brilliant green stems, are among the most symbolic flowers you can choose for a wedding. The calla lily is the epitome of elegance. All fresh flowers are beautiful, but few offer the elegance and versatility of the calla. They stand for charm, magnificence, grace, beauty and bounty. They are elegant and symbolize passion. A sophisticated atmosphere at a wedding ceremony is a sign of calla lilies. Maybe you’ve thought of designing your own wedding bouquets, centerpieces or church arrangements. In that case, the calla can provide all the style, color and beauty you’ve ever dreamed of. One simply has to glance at a white calla to think of weddings. It occupies a strangely rich space that’s both classic and totally modern.

With their long and meaningful history, calla lilies are a popular choice for a spring or Easter wedding, although they are perfect any time of year. These graceful flowers are reminders of our past generations when grace and beauty were the rule. Associated with elegance and charm, a calla lily would be the perfect flower if you wanted to create a sophisticated atmosphere for your wedding in the Italian Lakes. Continue Reading »

Our wedding was in spring which I thought should be reflected in the floral scheme. I had some very unique and specific ideas regarding what I wanted which unfortunately meant I couldn’t simply show a florist a photograph and ask her to copy it.
I spent a lot of time with Monika explaining my vision and I think the challenge of trying out something new appealed to her. She was prepared to follow my requests but wasn’t afraid to give her input. We had to have a contingency plan in case the flowers I wanted weren’t available at the time of the wedding so it was nice to be given updates as to what was in the bloom the weeks before the big day.

The result was spectacular - my first tears on my wedding day was when I saw my bouquet! Monika is a perfectionist and I could tell on the day that he too was pleased with her work.

Of course, I couldn’t have achieved such results without Clara who firstly introduced us and secondly spent endless hours translating between the two of us and coordinating with the other suppliers so they would know how their products (car, wedding cake etc.) would be presented. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, I arrived back from honeymoon to see that mine was bouquet of the month!

We were so scared our wedding would fly by that we decided to have a weekend of celebrations instead of a day. Felix worked tirelessly the entire weekend so that we now have an excellent reportage of the entire time, from the preparations right through to the celebrations. By the end he had lots of new friends (he was more of a guest than a photographer!) and we have some of the most amazing photos.

Continue Reading »

Whatever the season of your wedding, you’ll want to make sure that the flowers you choose are in season.

I know sometimes brides struggle over which flowers to choose for their bouquets and centerpieces. If you don’t have a favorite flower, your best bet is use the flowers that are growing in that particular season. Two reasons why: they are plentiful and they may be less costly than a flower that is not normally grown during the Spring. Lucky for you, Spring has some of the most gorgeous flowers of the year. The old-fashioned Peony it is one of these.

If you are planning on getting married in the Italian Lakes area - lake Orta, lake Maggiore, lake Como and lake Garda - peonies offer a showy and fragrant option for a bridal bouquet for a late May or June wedding.
Peonies grow best in areas with cold winters and summers that are not too hot.
In the right climate, peony plants produce an abundance of flowers, which may eight or nine inches across. Colors range from white to cream to yellow, and from the palest of pinks to reds to the deepest maroons. Some varieties have deep accent colors in the brown and maroon range at the base of the petals.
The fragrance of peonies is reminiscent of an intense rose scent. Continue Reading »