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 »

A wedding on the Lake Orta can be romantic, like Rachel and Mark’s wedding, celebrated at sunset, on the lake shore…
Or it can be intimate like Silvia and Giorgio’s wedding for 3 celebrated in the garden at Villa Bossi…
But a wedding on the Lake Orta can also be fun and festive…. Just like the one celebrated by Mariana and Matteo, the fantastic couple I will tell you about today.

Matteo and Mariana are an Italian-Armenian couple who live and work in London. Matteo is originally from Torino and he is just like every good boy coming from Piemonte, he is in love with his own homeland. Over time, Mariana was infected with this love as well, and thus their decision to choose one of the most charming places in Piedmont for their wedding: the Lake Orta.

Fun and joy are two words which perfectly describe Mariana and Matteo’s wedding. You will certainly see that in the photos accompanying this post: pictures that tell of their friend’s feast and fun, the first pranks of marriage, the couple’s happiness after the ceremony… emotions and feelings captured by Maren Ollmann’s lens from the Photography Studio Ollmann/Ottaviano in Torino. In the PHOTO GALLERY you will find 27 exceptional shots filled with the passion and magic which bring together the most wonderful emotions of Mariana and Matteo’s Big Day.

Mariana and Matteo’s wedding on the Lake Orta took place in 3 venues: Hotel Villa Crespi, where the bride and groom and their relatives stayed, the Church, Sacro Monte di Orta, where the religious ceremony took place, and finally Villa Ortea, where the wedding reception continued till the early lights of dawn.

For their stay in Orta and their first wedding night, Mariana e Matteo chose the Executive Suite in Hotel Villa Crespi. It was a fantastic room overlooking the lake with XVIII century furniture, a refined marble bathroom with a hydromassage and a magnificent four poster bed.
Continue Reading »

Silvia, the bride. Giorgio, the groom. Angela, their pretty daughter.
They are the main characters of an intimate wedding on Lake Orta.

Silvia and Giorgio both come from Rome.
For their civil ceremony they were looking for a romantic and intimate destination to celebrate this special day. What’s better than Lake Orta?

A wonderful idea. Lake Orta gave to this lovely couple a great Spring day, warm and sunny.
They choose for a week day ceremony so atmosphere was even more intimate and cosy.
During week days village of Orta is very quiet and relaxing with very few tourists.
Very different from week ends on July and August which are much more busy!

As floral designer I had to create bridal bouquet, buttonhole and ceremony floral arrangements.
Enrico Mocci of ArteFotoArona, a wedding photographer specialized on Orta weddings, and with many years of experience, was the photographer of the day.

For their Orta staying Giorgio and Silvia choose the best: Hotel Villa Crespi.
Villa rooms are just enchanting and they were the perfect frame for stunning pictures.
You can see the bride and the bouquet I created for her. It was made of a long and wonderful fall of Phalaenopsis orchids.

Civil ceremony was held to Villa Bossi, Orta San Giulio town hall. Continue Reading »

On the 21st of October 2009, Sandra and John get married at Villa D’Este.
Their story is very romantic and the atmosphere that rainy day brought to their special day was magical and incredibly touching. We were all excited and the time went so fast!

The ceremony was originally organized outdoor, but because of bad weather, it was moved inside the beautiful Column Room.
While Sandra was getting ready, all of us were waiting in the room welcoming the guests and John, the groom.

He reached the altar accompanied by the music of great song La vita è bella.
The florist made an incredible job, we were all astonished…

Finally Sandra appeared, she was beautiful and radiant as John’s son who had the honor to lead her to his father.

Thanks to the great job of our lovely celebrants celebrants Diane and Giuseppe, the whole ceremony was touching and real, and the newlyweds were very happy and surprised!

After the ceremony Sandra, John and their guests had a long walk inside the Hotel to take unforgettable pictures, before coming back to the room for a delicious reception dinner. 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 »

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 »

Last but not least part 5 of our Summer Season Weddings on Lake Orta.
Today I will tell you about one of my favorite weddings of this year: Gillian and Louis’ special day.

Gillian and Louis chose as theme color pink and apple green but what made the event special were multicolored kilts of guests.

She is Scottish and he is Italo-Scottish and they both chose Orta San Giulio for Louis’ family Piemonte heritage.

Sweet and lovely Gillian look like a pretty princess when she walked on aisle of Villa Bossi Garden.

Her father was by her side wearing a kilt, but he wasn’t alone!
All guests had it on to bring a corner of Scotland in Orta.

As all the other weddings that I mentioned in Summer Season Wedding in Orta session, Gillian and Louis had a great sunny day. It was the perfect weather for an outdoor civil ceremony in the town hall of Orta San Giulio.

Floral arrangements were created by Paola one of the florist designers of La Piccola Selva.
She created fresh and natural bunches of flowers for the decoration of the gate and the columns of Villa Bossi.
Bridal and bridesmaid bouquet had the same style Gillian wanted. A perfect match between baby rose, apple green and white.

After the ceremony Gillian and Louis walked along ancient pedestrian roads of the village.

A wedding in Orta is not complete without a tour on the lake to discover the landscapes and beautiful St. Julius Island.
Here you can find amazing spots for unforgettable wedding pictures. Continue Reading »