Italian Lakes Wedding Planner

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 »

Welcome to part 4 of our Summers Season Wedding in Orta appointment.
I will give an overview on some of the events we followed during 2009 summer in 5 posts.
The thing Summer Season Weddings have in common brides and groom choice to opt for Villa Bossi and its wonderful garden to celebrate their civil ceremony.
Every single couple personalized and made their event different and unique in all senses.
And so Maria and Chris did.

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! Continue Reading »

There are many couples that during Summer 2009 chose Orta San Giulio as their wedding destination. I will tell you more about some of them in following posts, such as Amy and Tom or Cassy and Gary.
In the meanwhile I’m here to tell you some of the details I will always keep in my heart of several lovely couples I’ve planned the wedding for.

Starting from today we will present here short posts in which you will know some couples that this summer chose Orta San Giulio.

Side to Orta as destination these couples all chose the same venue for their civil ceremony:
Villa Bossi the town hall of Orta San Giulio.

Villa Bossi is an extremely appealing venue. There is no other venue like this in Italy. Bride arrives with a rowing boat (or motor boat) with bridesmaids, by herself but most of of the times with her father.

Just after getting off the boat, bride walks on the aisle with a hundreds of rose petals on. Groom and guests are all waiting for her under the villa porch where the civil ceremony is going to be held.

Each of the couple that chose Orta and Villa Bossi for their wedding personalized every single detail of the ceremony itself and reception to follow making it unique and wonderful.

The first couple I would like to tell you about are Nathalie and Tim. The images you see here are taken from their wedding.

Theme color Nathalie and Tim chose was lime yellow wonderfully worn by pretty bridesmaid, the sister of the bride.

Both bridal and bridesmaid bouquets were lime yellow too. Nathaile chose a great color for her wedding! Continue Reading »

As a flower designer, we have to admit that the wedding of Loretta and Scott were one of the most stimulating ones. It was months of work, 3 meetings with the bride and groom, lots of emails with decisions and re-decisions before arriving at the final go.

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. Continue Reading »

Today I am going to talk to you about Yvonne and Savino’s wedding event: she is German and he is Italian, both living in Milan, and they are among the many couples who this year have made Lake Orta their chosen venue for their special day.

The wedding ceremony was performed against the enchanting backdrop of Orta’s Sacro Monte while Yvonne and Savino chose the elegant Hotel Ristorante L’Approdo in Pettenasco.
The photographer who recorded the event was Alessandro Balossi, certainly one of the best portrait photographers on Lake Orta. The two pictures we have published here are a splendid example of his ability to capture his subjects spontaneously and naturally.

I was asked by Yvonne and Savino to be their flower designer and to take care of every aspect of the floral decoration for their wedding. The color scheme was white and lilac , certainly one of the most popular combinations over the last year. Yvonne particularly wanted a bouquet which featured these colours but which at the same time would be special and quite unique, elegant but natural.

This gave me the idea to use the flowers of the lilac Hebe, which has always been one of my own favourite flowers.
The Hebe grows wild in New Zealand but can also live quite happily in our own gardens, above all the lilac flower is one of the most delicate and natural we can find in existence. Quite perfect for the bouquet that Yvonne wanted!

Apart from the Hebe, the other lilac flowers I used for Yvonne’s bouquet were Freesia and Lysanthius, while the white flowers were Avalanche roses and the Cymbidium orchid . Continue Reading »

Little details can often make a wedding really unforgettable. Some original and pretty details can give a special touch to the event to make it really unique. This what happened for Kerry, the pretty girl in Yellow I would like to tell you about.

First of all pretty Kerry opted for a trendy wedding dress for sure.

Her designer made it for her and she did such a wonderful job.

It was an ivory prom dress with little details in yellow, just like the sun: a little embroidery on the bustier, a big ribbon at the back and lovely details for the under-skirt.

Kerry also wore a tiara with veil and pretty rounded pointed shoes.

For her bouquet Kerry decided for a round classic shape which has always appeal. Monika Andenmatten floral designer created for her a perfect match between white and yellow roses to go with the same colors of the dress.

The groom too, Alistair, was really handsome in his light grey kilt as Scottish tradition wants.

For their religious ceremony Kerry and Alistair chose Sacro Monte church on the top of the hill just up Orta village. Continue Reading »

Did you noticed that flowers are often the main characters of wedding photographs? After bride and groom of course!!
Very often photographers love choosing little details from bouquets or centerpieces. Every professional photographer has his/her personal style. As flower designer I love seeing my creations best Lake District photographer’s shoots. Skills of these professionals add new shades and different suggestions to my creations! Today I show you some beautiful Alessandro Ambrosetti’s pictures taken to Sandra and Mirko’s wedding to Castello di Miasino on Lake Orta last May.

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. Continue Reading »

Right after Valentina and Diane, I would like to tell you something on Bevin and Steven’s symbolic wedding in Villa Gippini, too.
As floral designer my task was taking care about floral arrangements for this lovely event my colleague and friend Valentina organized.

I personally thank Italian Lakes Wedding wedding planner Valentina, Diego and Estella photographers and San Rocco Hotel for the stunning floral images they put on disposal.

I never met Bevin before her wedding.
All we did was dealing via email. Bevin wrote me from United States telling here wishes.
I got her back trying to advice at my best always keeping in mind her needs.

Bevin decided for a simple but elegant arrangement which was perfect for such an intimate and cosy wedding.

At the very beginning we thought that tulips were the right choice. Tulips are very seasonal in April.

At the end her big love for roses came out so we decided to go with them.

So it was all about Red Roses! Red was Bevin and Steven’s theme just like LOVE.

Red was the color of Bevin’s bouquet. I created it with Red Berlin roses. This kind of roses come with blooms. They are round shaped petals. But most of all they are deep red.

Bevin wanted a Nosegay style bouquet without any greenery where Red Berlin roses were the main character.

Red were centerpieces for the reception to Hotel San Rocco. I used Red Berlin roses too.
The shape was rounded but a littel bit wider than the bouquet. In order to obtain this effect I used acid green Alchemilla and Chamaelacium greenery. All was laid down on a base of deep green ferns.

The only different color I used was white.
I used Iceberg white roses for the four bridesmaids’ bouquets, too. I loved Bevin’s choice to create a lovely contrast between bouquets and beautiful cherry red dress.

I used it to decorate columns at Villa Gippini, too. I realized it with long festoons of Ruscus embellished Iceberg white roses and Gypsophilia. Continue Reading »

One of the most beautiful weddings I worked on was Victoria and Daniel’s one last year. Victoria herself talked about it in a post she wrote for Italian Lakes Wedding site.
It is with pleasure that I come back talking about Victoria and Daniel’s wedding just in occasion of their first anniversary. I still recall the real satisfaction I felt for that event as floral designer.
On my website www.lapiccolaselva.it you could also see Victoria and Daniel’s photo gallery realized by Felix Segovia coming from Madrid.

Victoria is an kind English girl, very nice and simple. She is literally in love with Italy and its lakes. This was the reason because she choose to organize her wedding in our lovely country. It took almost a year, traveling across all lakes to take the final decision for her destination wedding. At the end she picked up Lake Maggiore.

Religious ceremony was held in San Martino church in Lesa, a tiny village on Piemonte side of Lake Maggiore, between Stresa and Arona. San Martino church is beautiful cosy and intimate and it is just few steps from the lake.
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Villa Muggia was elected as reception venue. It was simply stunning! Villa’s park was embellished with all spring blooming that bridegroom and their guests really loved. Villa Muggia ‘s park is full of azaleas and camelias. These are all lake plants that are exceptionally beautiful in Spring.

As floral designer I would like to tell you the most importan part as far as my job is concerned of Victoria and Daniel’s wedding: floral arrangements!
From the very first meeting Victoria was really decided on her wedding theme. She wanted a solar theme that really could recall Italy.
So we choose together LEMONS as main theme of the wedding. I think Lemons could be the right element for all that Victoria was looking for!
Since the color theme was really strong, I decided to smooth it a little in order to match wedding feeling of such a wonderful day.
I suggested Victoria some pastel colors she agreed with me.I picked up Vendela roses and peonies. I love peonies they make me think about vintage style, romanticism, Belle Époque, fascinating ages and elegance.
This flower is really delicate and it has a limited blooming period: April/May until mid June. Of course nowadays we can have flowers like this in every single period of the year, but consider that ordering them out of season could be very expensive and most of all the flower itself will last for very few time. Peonies cannot stay for long time under summer sun and in just 2 hours they will be totally burned. Continue Reading »

I’m sure that I won’t exaggerate telling that Bevin and Steven’s symbolic wedding to Villa Gippini was a wonderful event for a wide range of reasons.
First of all the wonderful sunny day that delighted bride and groom and their guests coming from US. Valentina Lombardi was the wedding coordinator, Monika Andermatten was the floral designer for ceremony and centerpiece to San Rocco Hotel reception.
In the next days Valentina and Monika will tell you more about the event. Just as soon as photographers Estella and Diego from Photo27.com will give us images of Bevin and Steven’s wedding.
Today I just wanted to give you a little detail that I was able to “steal” during the symbolic ceremony in Villa Gippini’s garden. Some of the guests decided to to take away their shoes to enjoy the wonderful garden, just leaving them under the big kaki tree. Isn’t it fun?