Mark is professional plane pilot and for this reason he wanted arrive to his wedding with the mean he loves: an airplane of course!

All guests and Judith too, were amazed and surprised! Mark glided with his seaplane on the lake just in front of Villa Rusconi gardens where all was read for the ceremony. Such a great entrance!

Scott was excited too looking at Mark arrival! Scott was the special guest of the wedding, the most wanted and pampered! Scott had a wonderful flowers collar with white and lilac freesias. He was simply proud of that!
It was a great satisfaction for this wonderful Broholmer dog…it doesn’t happen every day to be the special guest to a wedding!

As usual Villa Rusconi garden on the shores was a stunning scenario for wedding photographs.

The rooms inside the villa with grand staircase, antique furniture and frescoes were lovely spots too. Thanks to owner’s special permission Judith had the pleasure to have some pictures taken in this fairy tale frame. Doesn’t she look like a princess?

Symbolic ceremony was held in the wide garden facing the lake.

Party went on until late at night with music, dances and lot of fun.

Our deepest congratulations to Judith and Mark from all Italian Lakes Wedding Team and… congratulations to Scott too for his wonderful flowered collar!

For more information about weddings in Villa Rusconi Clerici – lake Maggiore – please contact the Italian Lakes Wedding Team.

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.

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.

During the day Pescatori Island could be reached with ferry lines of Navigation of Lake Maggiore or with a motorboat of taxi boat services.
For your dinner reception the restaurant will offer a free boat shuttle from Isola dei Pescatori to Stresa and vice versa.
This way you and your guests could be free to decide how and when leaving the Isle.

Bride and groom will have the possibility to have for them a traditional boat: a great opportunity to remember magic moments!

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 Pescatori Island – Lake Maggiore, please contact us.

All images © Italian Lakes Wedding and:
Photo 1: Italian Lakes Wedding
Photo 2: Giorgio Gnemmi – Studio ArteFoto, Omegna
Photo 3, 4 and 5: Hotel Ristorante Belvedere, Isola dei Pescatori – lake Maggiore
Photo 6: Enrico Mocci – ArteFotoArona, Arona – lake Maggiore
Photo 7, Piero Gatti – Foto Smile, Baveno – lake Maggiore

September it’s a lovely month for a wedding on Lake Garda: the weather is mild and sunny, and all the guests can really enjoy the outdoor sceneries.

Our lovely bride Hayley and his father decided to reach the Castle by a funny blue Ape Car, sipping a glass of champagne.

The white dress shined under the sun and the groom Chris couldn’t wait to see her arriving!

After a short walk she finally came in the Castle and crossed the terrace at her father arm, accompanied by the Wedding March notes.

The ceremony, personalized with readings, poetries and music was really touching and unique.

After the wedding, the newlyweds were attended to the Castle main entrance to receive the applause and the soap bubbles of their relatives and friends.

The cool Ape car lead Hayley and Chris to the lake view restaurant they chose for their reception and where they shared this special moment with the family.

We’re always very happy and proud to make a dream come true!

Alessandra Fabi is the Italian Lakes Wedding’s coordinator for Lake Garda and lake Como area. If your idea of wedding is refined, sophisticated and with a special attention to details, she’s your perfect wedding planner!
She makes each client feel unique and she treats each wedding as if it were her own.
For more information about weddings in Malcesine – Lake Garda please contact the Italian Lakes Wedding TEAM.

Right in this green area you will find a lovely venue for your wedding on the lake: Hotel Conca Azzurra in Ranco close to Varese.
A wonderful view, a wonderful garden with many flowers and delicious cuisine will welcome you.
These are the main features of Hotel Conca Azzurra, a pretty venue for your wedding if you are thinking of getting married on Lake Maggiore.

Let’ s see together all the pearls of the hotel.
The great view on the lake: from here you could see the center of the Lake and great chain of Mt. Zeda. You could enjoy this perfect panorama in every month of the year from Restaurant La Veranda. During summer season it opens completely becoming a open air terrace for romantic dinners under the stars.

La Veranda restaurant offer a high level cuisine with local and traditional dishes of the Lake Maggiore and surrounding countryside. It has a very good service and wide cellar with selected wines for every request.

You could sip your aperitif or arrange an informal buffet reception in the wide garden with lovely view on the lake. You will be surrounded by palms and flowers and you will taste delicious lake fish and Piedmont wines.

Hotel Restaurant Conca Azzurra can host reception up to 200 guests.
The area is available for just one wedding per day with the possibility to have the venue on complete disposal during the wedding day.
Hotel Conca Azzurra has also a wonderful Wellness and Beauty Center named Il Canneto, a wide parking area and an independent entrance for bridegroom and their guests to park and terrace.

If you will choose Hotel Restaurant Conca Azzurra for your wedding you will surely have a lovely party in a peaceful and green place. You will enjoy a perfect wedding day with the great view on Lake Maggiore and some relaxing moments on the garden that goes towards the swimming pool and private beach on the lake.

As special gift for our bridegrooms: first night and breakfast on the terrace of the room in one of the superior rooms of the hotel.
A fairy tale wedding to Hotel Conca Azzurra …a night like a princess and a breakfast like a queen.

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 Maggiore, please contact us.

Thanks to photographer Piero Gatti’s – Studio Foto Smile Baveno – images, we can show you this wonderful idea.
Piero Gatti is an experienced photographer who worked many times at Grand Hotel des Iles de Borromées and in general on Lake Maggiore. Hiring him means having by your side a skilled professional who knows every secret of these places.

Stresa Mayor recently agreed for the possibility of a “twin ceremony” . Legal ceremony to be held to town hall building of 1700 in Stresa main center before and an extra ceremony conducted by Mayor himself, directly to Grand Hotel des Iles de Borromées.

Celebrating a wedding to Grand Hotel des Iles de Borromées means breath Belle Epoque atmosphere among rich tapestries, antique forniture, mosaics, Murano chandeliers and wonderful plants and flowers.

If you would like to have your civil ceremony outside, stunning gardens of the hotel could be the right frame for an unforgettable service among statues, marble fountains and azaleas, magnolias and oleanders.

At the end of ceremony you could each Isola Bella with a motorboat for amazing wedding pictures.
In the meanwhile your guests could have a boat tour too visiting Borromeo archipelagos and taste a lovely aperitif on board.

And then back to the reception at the hotel! It will be arranged in one of the stunning function room. This is really a dream….one of the most famous venue on Lake Maggiore: Grand Hotel des Iles Borromées.

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 civil legal weddings in Stresa, Lake Maggiore, please contact us.

Times changed but atmosphere you can breath there is still the same!
Stresa is one of the most famous touristy Northern Italy destination thanks to its wonderful nature and easy accessibility.
Grand Hotel des Iles Borromées is located right into a stunning secular park with precious marble statues. Its beautiful fountains at the entrance with its elaborated statue is one of the most famous places on Stresa lake sidewalk.

Hotel is just in front of the lake just fews steps from Stresa main center. The view from its rooms is simply spectacular: you can see beautiful Borromeans Islands ad Alps surrounding the lake.

Across the years the hotel has been constantly renewed, just keeping its Belle Epoque style. Common areas are decorated with wonderful plants and flowers, Murano chandeliers, colored mosaics.
At night atmosphere is even more elegant thanks to piano bar playing.

Marble restrooms, antique furniture, rich tapestries and Murano chandeliers create a rich and conformable atmosphere. Every stage of the hotel has a own gallery inspired by a certain period of italian art.

Function rooms are able to host up to 350 people. Fine and elegant restaurant can offer a gourmand cuisine with many traditional courses too. Very skilled staff, chef and modern equipments are able to guarantee a wonderful and qualified service.

Chef composed wedding menu suggestions for every kind of taste and need. As far as the organization of the event is concerned, hotel is able to provide suggestions on menus, photographers, florist and solve all little concerns related to the planning of the event.

Hotel has also two swimming pools, tennis court, indoor swimming pool, a bright gym, steam bath, hammam and wellness center that can assist bride and ladies during the preparation for the wedding with professional hair style and make up.

The majority of people who know Lake Como are actually most familiar with the picturesque western shore of the lake, stretching north from the city of Como, half-way up the length of the lake to the picturesque town of Cernobbio and Menaggio… and not just because George Clooney owns a villa on this stretch of the lake shore! Then, just a short ferry ride from Menaggio is the famous village of Bellagio, a better known tourist and wedding destination.
What most people do not know, is that it takes just another short ferry ride from Bellaggio to reach the most picturesque town on Lake Como: the delightful old village of Varenna, on the eastern shore of the lake, built on a rocky promontory it was for centuries a sentinel at the heart of the lake.
Varenna today is a quietly refined town with romantic panoramas, beautiful old houses and balconies filled with flowers. Varenna is the perfect choice for couples seeking all the charm of an ancient fishing village, and the relaxed atmosphere of this hideaway.
Varenna has a long, shaded lakeside promenade, like Menaggio. But it also resembles Bellagio in the narrowness of its lakefront and the way in which the waterside is linked to the old centre higher up by steep, narrow alleyways. But what distinguishes Varenna from both of the other towns – except on Sunday and August – is a calmer, more peaceful atmosphere. The peace of life in Varenna is somehow slower and more relaxed, especially at its lakeside cafes and restaurants.
Just above the town is the ancient castle Castello di Vezio where Theodolinda, Queen of the Lombards, is said to have died in the 7th century.
On the opposite side of the town centre from the road and pathway to the castle, the route out of town passes the Villa Monastero and the Villa Cipressi.
Villa Monastero, originally a Cistercian monastery built in 1208… and now a wonderful place to visit, with its gardens, arcaded terrace, and arched windows and balconies overlooking the lake.
Villa Cipressi is a public building but managed as a hotel and wedding venue, with beautiful gardens where one can sit, relax, and enjoy the gorgeous views.
Varenna is simply too lovely and pleasant to get married. A destination wedding set in Varenna lends instant ambiance because of the region’s unmatched beauty. With vibrant greens within a lush garden-like setting,