Italian Lakes Wedding Planner

Together with Orta San Giulio, Pettenasco is one of the most touristy location on Lake Orta.
Mild weather, pleasant and relaxing atmosphere, charming Medieval House located in the main square, a long and relaxing walk on the shores of the lake among villas, gardens and quiet little beaches… these are the best features of Pettenasco and let’s not forget its lovely hotels!

When we speak about hotels in Pettenasco we really need to mention Primatesta family that manage some of the best hotels in the area since 1930.It is a guaranty of courtesy, experience and professionalism.
Hotel Giardinetto is one of Primatesta family pearls.

Restaurant has wonderful terraces on the shores and the cuisine that you can taste here is really good and creative. Cellar has more than 450 labels and young smiling and professional staff will welcome you!

During summer an outdoor gazebo and tables with flowers and candles make it a romantic venue for your dinners and your special moments. Continue Reading »

Under the strange and special light of a cloudy sky with gorgeous reflections on Como Lake’s waters, Jenny and Giles’ wedding took place. They made a very long trip to make this dream come true. Jenny comes from Singapore and Giles comes from England, but they both live in Singapore.

The bride chose as accommodation a luxury hotel in Bellagio, with a stunning sight on Lake Como. Here, between ancient rooms full of history and precious furniture, bride got ready with gorgeous make up and wearing her wonderful Vera Wang dress.

Three different groups left Bellagio by boat leading ceremony venue: Villa del Balbianello.

The first group was made up by groom and his best men and ushers, who had the important task to verify that everything were perfect… a great help for the wedding planner, thank you very much guys!
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Wedding color schemes are often based on trends or bride and groom’s tastes and wishes. But not always! Sometimes brides and grooms decides about their theme basing on something they are very close to such as colors of their region or home country. Do you remember about Cristina and Derek and more recent wedding of Sonja and Allard. Today is Nicole and Euan‘s turn.

Nicole is Australian and Euan is from Scotland. It is just for Euan’s home country that the couple decided for a blue and white schemed wedding.

Blue and white recalls the legendary St. Andrew’s Cross national flag of Scotland. This is one of the most ancient flags in the world dated back to 800 a.c. Flag is made of a diagonal cross representing St. Andrew Martyrdom’s cross on a blue background. St. Andrew is the patron saint of all Scotland. Blue and White are in all national sports wears of Scotland starting from national soccer team.

In Nicole and Euan’s wedding blue and white were just everywhere: in floral arrangements, on flower girl’s dresses and in Nicole’s bridal bouquet. This was a special cascade bouquet that Monika – La Piccola Selva Floral designer – created with white roses and blue gentianas.

The event was coordinated and planned by our wedding planner Valentina Lombardi who works on Lake Orta and Lake Maggiore. Valentina will tell us more about this event.

A very special interesting and sweet couple!
Euan is Scottish and beautiful Nicole is Austalian they both live and work in Dubai. For their special day they opted for Italy because they simply love the food the rustic and quaint atmosphere and also because Euan worked here for about one year.
Nicole also wanted a wedding by the waters of the sea or the lake. Putting all these elements together we thought that Orta could be perfect, so intimate, medieval, romantic and just on the lake shores!

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There are many couples who decide for a very intimate wedding.
If you are looking for a romantic wedding for two you could consider many ideas such cities of art like Rome – as Stefania mentioned in her past post – some exotic beaches or isolated villages.
However if you love lakes but want to keep it private, romantic and unique Lake Orta could be the perfect choice!

Orta is a pretty little village. It is completely pedestrian, medieval, facing quiet lake and it is tiny St. Julius Island.

Best option is a romanic civil ceremony to Villa Bossi. We suggest to opt for a wedd day when narrow roads of Orta village are less crowded and more intimate.
You will discover real Italy here. You can choose to get ready in one of the lovely hotels in Orta overlooking the lake.

Bride could arrive alone with a rowing boat while groom is waiting for her to Villa Bossi. Just like Suzanne and Russell did.

They stayed to Villa Crespi to get ready. Then they had a romantic ceremony to Villa Bossi and after a romantic boat tour on the lake, they landed to the restaurant on St. Julius Island for a cosy dinner for the two of them. Continue Reading »

We’ve mentioned this lovely news in our Just Married section. This was one of the most important event of 2010 Summer Season on Italian Lakes: Daniel and Tessa’s wedding on Lake Maggiore.

Tessa Brix is a Dutch model. She is also famous in her country for many TV spots and catwalks.
In 2003 she was Miss Netherlands Universe and she represented Netherlands to selections for Miss Universe in Turkey.
In 2005 she was chosen again to represent the Netherlands to Miss Europe in Paris.

It was a real honor for Italian Lakes Wedding Team hosting Tessa Brix wedding. We worked hard to make this happen and to let Tessa and Daniel enjoy their event in every single detail.
Valentina Lombardi – our planner for Lake Maggiore – followed the planning event, Monika Andenmatten followed floral design. Enrico Mocci was the photographer chosen by Tessa and Daniel to be their official photographer for their Big Day.

You will see here just few images of all the pictures but do not hesitate to see Tessa and Daniel’s PHOTO GALLERY. There are more than 60 images taken by Enrico Mocci who calibrated colors, lights and shades in a perfect way. Continue Reading »

The part of the coast from Verbania that comes along until the swiss border is certainly one of the most spectacular places of the Lake Maggiore. Some years ago there were forests and terraces with cultivated plants, so at the end of the 18th century this area was attractive for lots of rich families coming from all over Europe. Therefore most wonderful villas were constructed with luxury gardens surrounding them. The mild climate did its part to let all flowers grow easily like Gardenia, Lemon-trees and Bougainvillas. They find an ideal start and do mix with the plants so special for this area which are the Camelies and Rhododendrons. Nowhere else is this special mix of flowers to be found around lake Maggiore.

So in this surrounding we find the Villa Margherita. Its special view on the lake, its beauty and its calmness with its huge garden and a refreshening swimming pool do create the special atmosphere of Villa Margherita.

The villa is situated in the hills above Oggebbio, near Verbania, just some k´s from Ascona and Locarno and only 90 k´s from the international airport Milan Malpensa.

Villa Margherita is a location dated back to the 19th century, freshly restored, an ideal location for any kind of reception. The interior is well thought, modern and charming with particular attention to all details, so this makes your moments so fascinating. Continue Reading »

Just Married!
A couple of hours ago Vicky and Ugo’s dream come true on Lake Orta.
The ceremony was held in Sacro Monte church with reception to follow to Villa Crespi Hotel.
Italian Lakes Wedding team wishes Vicky and Ugo the very best for their special day.
Good on them!

We will tell you soon more details!

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 »

Isola Bella, Isola Madre and Isola dei Pescatori: they are Borromeo Islands.
Three precious jewels rich in charm and history now among the most know touristy destination of Italian Lakes.
Someone said that gossip of possible wedding between George Clooney and Italian showgirl Elisabetta Canalis here increased the appeal of these places making them “exclusive”.
We do not have to forget about another fairy tale wedding that took place on Borromeo Islands: John Elkann – ceo of Fiat – and princess Donna Lavinia Borromeo.

If Isola Madre and Isola Bella are known for their great palaces and gardens and could be the perfect frame for your wedding pictures, Pescatori Island could be the best location for a perfect reception on the lake shores. This thanks to its wonderful position and rich gastronomic tradition.

Pescatori Island is the only one that is not part of Borromeo Family properties.
It is a liggle village with no more than 50 inhabitants. Fishing was the main occupation in the past some members of local families are still fishers.
You can see this heritage all over here starting from the little port where you will see many fishing boats.

It is such a peaceful place so you will meet many cats and frogs especially in July. Little nice frogs jump all over the narrow roads of the islands.
In this idyllic place there is a quite corner: a little garden with a terrace on the lake. You will read a big white sign with the name Belvedere on it.

Hotel Ristorante Belvedere is located on North East part of Pescatori Island far from busy port.
It has been managed from the same family for 4 generations. In 1921 restaurant hosted Charles De Gaulle who had lunch there during his honeymoon.

Today Belvedere Restaurant can host up to 200 guests inside the charming rooms and on its two gardens on the lake. Your reception to Hotel Ristorante Belvedere can be arranged on the open air by the lake shores, in the wide garden under the porch of booming flowers or inside the charming and bright veranda. You could also choose the lovely dining room once called La Grotta (the cave) because walls were all in stones.
The venue has been just refurbished but still preserves the charm of the ancient appeal. From all corners, including the dining room you could see Isola Madre and its great botanic park.

Belvedere Restaurant mainly serves fish dishes hand made prepared combining precious ingredients of Lake Maggiore and close valleys. Cheese lovers will taste Toma of Ossola valley and natural Gorgonzola. While wine lovers could choose among great Piemonte wines such as Barolo, Dolcetto, Barbaresco or pick great local wines of Novara valley. Continue Reading »

I have to tell you about my latest wedding at Lake Como. It was September 2009 and we only had 16 guests at all. But with a quite good structure of the day, we had lots of wonderful moments.

Let me begin with their hotel at Menaggio, Grand Hotel Victoria. Everybody including their dog was waiting outside for the bride. Then she came down the stairs like a queen, kissed the groom and came to me saying: Oh my god, my knees are trembling, without you I would not affront this day today. Continue Reading »

Lake Garda is the largest Italian lake, so large as to seem a sea. One of the advertising slogan says, The Lake Garda, more than a sea. The Garda in fact, more than the other lakes of northern Italy, has a “marine”connotation and a vocation. Where for marine is intended the atmosphere created by the presence of beautiful equipped beaches, the endless opportunities to play sports, the good food and the many facilities for young people. In particular, good food can count on excellent local produce: delicious olive oil, fresh-water fish, citrus fruits, vegetables and wine.

At the northern end of this “small sea”, where the Garda ends and just beyond to the Brenta Dolomites, lies the picturesque town of Riva del Garda. Its mild Mediterranean climate, its beautiful sunny beaches and its beautiful old town of Riva del Garda have made an internationally known tourist destination since the late nineteenth century. From the harbour, which overlooks the square and the tower Apponale, develops the medieval part of town with its narrow cobbled streets lined with boutiques and cafes, Venetian palaces, arcades and octagonal Baroque church.
Not far away is the Scaligera Fortress, a castle on the lake surrounded by a canal with a drawbridge.

Due to its beauty and charm, Riva del Garda is the perfect destination for your wedding on Lake Garda, appreciated by many couples who want a more sophisticated and cosmopolitan atmosphere.

In this beautiful town we found for you a pleasant hotel near the lake, within the ancient city walls: the Hotel Ancora is a family run company, with a magnificent restaurant where you can enjoy home made pasta, variety of cuisine ranging from fish to meat, the traditional Italian pizza baked in wood-fire oven, all accompanied by excellent wines to be tasted in the restaurant,on the beautiful terrace or in the garden. Continue Reading »