Our readers surely remember that we spoke about this wedding in our Just Married section. We promised a longer post and here we are.
We come back to you speaking about Victoria and Richar’s wedding thanks to Enrico Mocci, the photographer bride and groom chose for their day.
Enrico Mocci gave us in short time the full service of the event. So I selected some lovely images but do not forget to see the entire PHOTO GALLERY. You will find 32 great shots describing this special day.

Victoria and Richard are a lovely couple came from UK and as often all decorations were decided via email. I had the pleasure to meet Victoria only few days before the wedding. She is a lovely and pretty girl.

Since the very first emails Victoria knew what she wanted: roses in two color with a predominance of red.

Red, color of passion and love was the main theme of all floral arrangements I created for Victoria and Richard. Red was in bridal and bridesmaids’ bouquet, groom’s tie and buttonholes and of course in the decorations of the ceremony.

Another color was present too: blue.
it was not in the flowers but on groom and groomsmen’s suits, bridesmaids’ dresses, and Victoria’s father suit too. They were all in blue with a touch of red!

Civil ceremony was held in the gardens of Villa Bossi. It was an intimate and cosy ceremony with three moving wishes made by Victoria’s bridesmaids!

Have a look to Victoria’s hair do.
It is more than refined and surely very elegant. It perfectly matches her face and her wedding dress: a masterpiece of style!

After the ceremony Victoria and Richard took the occasion to have lovely pictures in the narrow roads in Orta village and St. Julius Island.

The party was held in a little restaurant just on the shores overlooking St. Julius Island.
Victoria threw her bouquet to start the party!
Once at their tables guests found a sweet surprise: a little rose blossom in their napkins. Little details made an event charming and pretty!

Victoria and Richard’s wedding was certainly one of the most elegant wedding I worked for in the first part of 2010 Summer season wedding!
Blue like the lake, Red like love!

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 turin your wedding in an even more special day!

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.
I was telling you about the decoration of the legendary Ferrari, although it was in fact quite a minimal decoration so as not to distract attention from the bride and the famous red car, the superb Ferrari California, the latest new model out and the car chosen to take the bride to the ceremony. Talk about arriving in style!

The Ferrari is without doubt the ultimate symbol of truly Italian style and aplomb, a true winner enjoying victory after victory at the hands of top drivers, among whom Michael Schumacher, Phil Hill, Niki Lauda and Gilles Villeneuve.
After arrival at Orta San Giulio on board the Ferrari, admired by the curious tourists crowding the the medieval village, Elena and Giorgio strolled around the romantic cobbled little streets of Orta, an ideal place for timeless wedding pictures.

And then … the feast! Elena and Giorgio chose the widely acclaimed cuisine and stunning location of the Hotel Approdo at Pettenasco.
The photo shows the cutting of the cake which had no less than four tiers and was prepared by the skilful pastry chefs at the Hotel Ristorante L’Approdo.

The reception was accompanied by music from the duo SG sound: Giovanna accompanies Stefano’s voice with her versatile keyboard. They are a superb duo who are able to play a fine selection of music for all tastes and occasions, from piano bar to the latest hits, both Italian and international. With Giovanna and Stefano your guests are guaranteed the top in entertainment!

Best wishes go to Elena and Giorgio from the Hotel L’Approdo, the photographer Raffaello Mazzoleni, the duo SG sound and the florists La Piccola Selva. As well as our thanks for having been chosen for their Most Important Day on Lake Orta!

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 more information about weddings on Lake Orta please contact us.

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.

The religious ceremony, a mixed catholic-orthodox service, was celebrated in the beautiful church of Sacro Monte in Orta. As the flower designer I was in charge of the floral arrangements, which I created with the precious assistance of my colleague, Manuela.
The entire design, begun with bride’s bouquet. It was based on large Lilium Longiflorum and various types of greenery, in particular Aspidistra and Bear Grass.

When the religious ceremony ended, bride and groom left the church in a bright red Fiat 500 from the 60s. While driving the legendary Italian car, Mariana and Matteo reached lake shores for the must-have, keepsake photos. Then they kept on driving to Villa Ortea, where their guests were waiting for them.

Villa Ortea is certainly one of the most beautiful settings on Lake Orta. It is surrounded by a wide park it has a fantastic view of the lake. A warm summer evening helped organize the reception in the garden. Special retro-lit tables were decorated with candelabras that Manuela and I had covered with various greenery, white rose buds and large slices of old movie film.

CINEMA, in fact, was for Mariana and Matteo’s wedding theme. Wedding soundtrack was made up by music and actors’ voices by famous films from the past, just like like Gone with the Wind, On the Waterfront, and the Dolce Vita by Federico Fellini.

On the tables, in addition to the candelabras and old movie film, there were glass table mats imprinted with a famous picture of Charlie Chaplin. A magnificent, gigantic table chart displayed photos of the guests as if they were pictures from an old film.

An original and truly amusing idea for one of the most enjoyable weddings I have worked for in 2009.
Mariana e Matteo: Get Married… and have a good time on Lake Orta!

All pictures were taken by Ollmann/Ottaviano Photography Studio in Torino. For further details please visit the site www.photographi.it
For information contact the Studio at the email address marenollmann@virgilio.it
or call +39 349 63 66 903.

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 more information about weddings on Lake Orta please contact us.

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.

Amy and Tom walked to Orta Main Square to congratulate with relatives and friends.

After many kisses and hugs, Amy and Tom decided to take some time for themselves on a motorboat to reach St. Julius Island.

St. Julius Island is the perfect setting for unforgettable wedding pictures. Have a look to this wonderful “stolen” shot taken by Andrea Dapueto Photographer!

A very special mention to bride’s dress. Amy choose a simple dress for sure but it was very detailed indeed! It had on laces and bright crystals matching tiara in her hair. Tom had on a wonderful Italian suite, what else? Perfect Italian style.

We can not forget about bridal bouquet! Simply amazing!
Monika created for Amy a romantic teardrop bouquet based on bride’s colors. It matched perfectly bridesmaids’ dresses, groom’s tie and many other details. Monika used mainly Roses, Lisyanthus Eustoma in many shades from white to purple-lilac. Final touch were falling Bear Grass and ivy greenery that gave a romantic and vintage touch to the bouquet. All was studied in perfect harmony with bridal dress and style of the event.

Right after their boat trip, bride and groom reached their guests to Hotel San Rocco for a nice aperitif on the terrace accompanied by classical music and followed by a gourmand dinner prepared by skillful chef and his staff.

Monika Andenmatten created lovely centerpieces for dinner reception. They were simple but elegant with floating candles and flowers such as rose blossoms, Hyrdangea petals and Steel Grass on a base of little stones similar to little diamonds.

Thanks to wonderful a summer night, party continued on the terrace with music, dances and lot of fun under a wonderful sky of Lake Orta.

A fairly tale scenery for a very sweet couple!

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 more information about weddings on Lake Orta – please contact us.

Maria and Chris chose to celebrate their ceremony in the garden of Villa Bossi first and the in the wonderful church of Assunta for a moving blessing.

Maria and Chris’ wedding was a simple and cosy event, they just wanted to have it this way! They came here with few friends and close family from United Kingdom.
Maria and Chris decided to arrange a different event but at the same time it was really really romantic!

For once in Orta history bride did not arrived by boat but from narrow and medieval roads in Orta village.
She was with her father and at their arrival a lovely flower girls was waiting for her as a surprise!

The ceremony was held in front of few people and it was very touching!

After the ceremony bride and groom with their guests took they road in Orta to reach Maria Assunta church one of the pearls of this medieval village.

Maria and Chris arrived in front of the church on the top of the hill among Orta inhabitants’ congratulations and smiles.

In the church Maria and Chris wanted a blessing that was performed by their own parish priest who come directly from UK for the occasion.

Bridal bouquet was created by Monika Andenmattern, La Piccola Selva’s flower designer.
She followed Maria’s wishes and created a tear drop bouquet using colors Maria loved. It was made of red roses and cream lilies.

Wedding reception was organized in a traditional restaurant inside ancient part of Orta village. Here bride groom and their guests tasted a totally eco-firendly menu close to the local traditions.
Tables for reception followed the same style Maria wanted for the ceremony and bridal bouquet.
They were enriched with sweet favors for guests: little organza bags with delicious heart shaped chocolates.

An intimate and evocative party, in a real Italian style.
Wedding cake at the end was a romantic two tiers one prepared by Costantino Guardia, maitre chocolatier di Torino.

Is is Orta and its magic!

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 more information about weddings in Orta San Giulio please contact us.

Even if these couples chose similar options they personalized their wedding making it unique and very different from each other.

Laura and Kieran chose for their wedding cranberry red as theme color. They added a touch of this shade of red in every detail starting from bridesmaid dress. She was nice Laura’s sister.

Cranberry Red was the color that Manuela the flower designer used to create bridal bouquet. It was made of wonderful Lily Stargazer.

At the end of the ceremony newly weds and their guests had a pretty walk along the pretty roads of Orta village up to the main square to take wonderful wedding pictures.

I have to really thank Laura’s brother for the simple but very pretty decorations he did for the wedding! He was really kind and creative!

He created for Laura and Kieran’s lovely reception centerpieces to Hotel San Rocco.
They were made with many candles, rose petals, sparkling crystals and butterflies.

After few weeks Laura and Kieran’s wedding another couple chose red as theme color: Shawn and Raul.
Even if they chose the same color it was really different again! I will talk about them soon!
See you there!

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 more information about weddings in Orta San Giulio please contact us.

Loretta and Scott are a very nice couple from England who decided to get married at Lake Maggiore. Both have origins in Italy, both are born in London but the bride’s parents are from Parma and Piacenza and the groom’s father is British but his mother is from Salerno.

Both have Italian origins, that’s why they met for the first time in St Peter’s Italian church in London. After 9 years finally they wished to become husband and wife. Their decision to come to Italy for the wedding was crystal clear, but where? They wanted somewhere which is neither near his or her family backgrounds, so it was the beautiful setting of Villa Rusconi Clerici and the fantastic landscape around Lake Maggiore.

Their choice of photographer was also made with the highest attention, he had to be professional, very special and with a photo-reportage style. Indeed, it is very important to select a good photographer, because what he is producing will last forever.

So it was Luca Rajna, one of the most appreciated and best photographers in the lakes area.
Have a look yourself www.ajn.it.

The church for the wedding was San Leonardo’s at Pallanza, built in 1537, it overlooks the Piazza San Leonardo and the lakeshore.
For the flowers Loretta wanted a focus on the main altar with 2 large compositions of ivory Rose Vendela on some high basements of metal.

Then some smaller compositions combined with tulle and organza in white, emerald green and ivory on the ends of each row of pews. This was the colour theme throughout all the decoration, sometimes added by a touch of lilac.

The bridal bouquet of Loretta was round and very compact and resembled the colours used in church, from the white and ivory of the roses into the emerald green of the ribbons that hold it all together, decorated with some pearls here and there.

A fantastic advantage of this church was the small walking distance to Villa Rusconi Clerici, just 300m.
For Loretta and Scott it was easy to decide for the Villa Rusconi Clerici, they were in love with the location from the beginning. It is really a wonderful place as the villa is situated directly on the shore of the lake, has splendid views and a huge garden. As the wedding day was very warm, the welcome drinks were prepared outside on the lakeshore. Accompanied with some wonderful music from a string quartet.

The dinner itself was inside the white gazebo, this is an elegant structure of tents finished with metal that was normally used at the beginning of the 19th hundred century.

Here the theme of the wedding was taken from well known Italian-American films like “La dolce vita” from Federico Fellini, “Once upon a time” from Sergio Leone and “Cinema Paradiso” from Giuseppe Tornatore.

For the decoration on the tables we used compositions that were based on glass structures and around them petals of roses and tealights. But I surely will return and speak more about this part of the marvellous decoration.

When the dinner ended, everybody went over to the tavern where they danced until the early morning.

During the evening, Villa Rusconi Clerici has a very special attraction with all the lights you see along the lake and with a quiet island in front of the villa that gives a romantic touch. What is more exciting for a flower designer than to work in such a wonderful location?

Click here to see the PHOTO GALLERY of the whole wedding, 40 fantastic photos may be admired which were chosen by the photographer Luca Rajna as the best of this splendid wedding.

I would like to finish off with a citation of what Loretta and Scott did tell me after the wedding day: “This day was much nicer then we ever were expecting it, this day was a dream”.

We wish Loretta and Scott all the best and much happiness; this comes from all of our Italian Lakes Wedding team.

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.

For more information about weddings at Villa Rusconi Clerici please contact us.

In the first one you see one of my classical compositions, rose cube with crystal gel. Skilled usage of flash gave to my arrangement new life! It has a great impact thanks to to soft light photographer caught.

I think that lights photographer was able to create are absolutely great! Look at the picture taken in Sala del Bertelli of Castello di Miasino: bride and groom at the table with centerpiece I created and all around just a soft and smooth atmosphere.

Third example shows the table chart from a different side.
Photographer was very inspired and was able to catch the event from another point of view which is very different and unusual.
Naturally these are just three teasers from Sandra and Mirko’s wedding to Castello di Miasino. I will come back to you talking about it very soon. As soon as the entire Alessandro Ambrosetti’s gallery of images will be ready you will have a complete vision of it!

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.

For more information about wedding flower arrangements on Lake Orta and Lake Maggiore please contact us.

Clearly, quite apart from the flowers and finger food, the ambiance is of major importance too. Your wedding reception on Lake Orta deserves the Ristorante Hotel L’Approdo at Pettenasco which offers a stunning gazebo on the lake shore, with a view over the Bagnera Gulf and the Orta promontory, with Villa Crespi’s evocative minaret standing out on the horizon.

Maria and Simone are a Hispano-Italian couple who chose the Hotel L’Approdo for their wedding reception. They decided on two large floral arrangements placed on a tall tapering glass base for the aperitif table. I wanted the most natural, free style possible on this occasion, with dominating shades of pink and white.
The finishing touch was given by the pink Gypsophila and the Godetia, a gorgeous summer flower which is not all that well known but is extremely versatile.
Not only is Godetia a flower of genuine simplicity but it is also most effective and, believe it or not, very good value for money. That is why I always advise my brides to use flowers that are in season for their weddings, they will remain fresh longer and they will be remarkably cost effective too!

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.

For more information about wedding flower arrangements on Lake Orta and Lake Maggiore please contact us.