Italian Lakes Wedding Blog - Destination Weddings Italy

What is the perfect flower for a Winter Wedding?
According our opinion there is no doubt! Helleborus Niger: the Christmas Rose!
It is romantic, elegant, old fashioned. It is the ideal choice for a perfect winter wedding bouquet. It is made up of five petals around a golden corolla.
Helleborus is an ancient flower for its medical characteristics, there are many legends about this. One of those tells that those flowers come out the first time from the snow by a Bethlehem young girl’s tears that could give any present to Christ Child.
Christmas Rose is sometimes called the Snow or Winter Rose. It was very used in 1800 in Great Britain and then forgotten. It was re-discovered in the last few years becoming a symbol of stile elegance but also simplicity and naturalness.
Helleborus’ flowers boom right in Winter between December and February and the last for long time on its plant. Most know color is white but there are also beautiful hybrid rose, purple and violet. They are just perfect for a bridal bouquet or bridesmaids ones. Those flowers could be also used for refined and little centerpieces. Continue Reading »

Among the wedding venues of the Italian Lake District the Castello di Miasino (Miasino’s Castle) is one of the most well known and requested ones by Italian couples. Some of the reasons might be its panoramic position (with a view to one of the arms of lake Orta), its parking facilities for guests and the possibility to celebrate your wedding with a civil ceremony.

Being a highly attended venue I often happened to work there in my function as floral designer. Visiting my website www.lapiccolaselva.it you can easily find a whole section dedicated to my floral arrangements at Castello di Miasino with hundreds of photographs. My decor proposals are ranging from centre table ones to the big staircase leading to the upper apartments and finally to the hall where the wedding ceremonies are celebrated with civil rite. Please also have a look into the garden where my floral compositions might beautify your reception buffet , not forgetting the entrance area of the Castle with the statue of Santa Sofia. To her feet I would advise a creation consisting of flowers, ferns and rose petals.

I have recently updated my photo gallery of floral arrangements at the Castle of Miasino including a selection of the most beautiful ones from all the weddings I realized there during 2008. Please take a look and enjoy!

As floral designer I’m always looking for interesting and creative solutions but this always depends on bridegrooms choices!
To give you an example Rossella and Giorgio’s wedding was a great occasion to work on a charming theme to me: autumn colors.
Rossella and Giorgio got married last Saturday in Orta San Giulio, lake Orta. A simple ceremony at Villa Bossi followed by a nice reception in wonderful atmosphere of Palazzo Penotti Ubertini.
Bridegroom’s wishe was having a color scheme that could reflect intense Autumn colors with some elements recalling this romantic season that lots of poets love.
As far as the floral arrangements, bouquet and ceremony table arrangement were concerned I opted for a strong contrast between chocolate brown and purple smoothen by soft shades.
I used Black Baccara rose, Leucodendron with Hypericum berries, dry Hydrangea and Gypsum leaves.
On tables at Palazzo Penotti Ubertini I completed the arrangements with rose petals, pine cones and chestnuts.
You can see the final result above. I really hope you like it too!

Right after Janet and Ian’s wedding at Villa d’Este, Italian Lakes Wedding Team organized another important event: Bianca and Mills’ wedding to Villa dei Cipressi in Varenna - East side of Lake Como.
Have a look to Bianca and Mills’ photo gallery realized by photographer David Christian Lichtag.

Lake Como recently arouses a certain emotion on people coming from the States. In the last few years famous people like Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie or Sarah Larson visited Lake Como and contributed to let world know the beauty of this magic place, consacrating it as one of the most requested destinations for weddings in Italy and Europe.

Bianca and Mills are from Los Angeles, they work in the movie business.
Bianca is blond so pretty and charming, Mills is a movie director that, among the other commitments, worked as co-director and producer of Lethal Weapon 2 and 3. This was an exclusive wedding that Bianca and Mills reserved for a small number of friends and relatives.
For the organization of the even American couple hired Italian Lakes Wedding Team. Valentina Lombardi from SposiamoVi Torino was the wedding planner and floral designer Monika Andenmatten from La Piccola Selva Lake Orta. Continue Reading »

Italian Lakes Wedding team is proud to present Janet and Ian’s wedding at Villa d’Este, one of the most exclusive and known Italian wedding venues.
Villa d’Este is located in Cernobbio on Lake Como. It is a fascinating place where history, nature and architecture create an unforgettable frame.
Villa d’Este is set into 10 hectares of private park and it is for sure Lake Como’s jewel. Among woods and meadows facing the lake Como, in 1442 Bishop Gerando Landriani founded here a nun’s convent. After mid 1500 Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio transformed it in a luxury residence for holidays and after a long period of decadence in 1815 Princess Carolina of Brunswick future King George IV of England established here.
In 1868 Maria Feodorowa Empress of Russia adquired it and in 1868 it was changed in a fancy hotel that become one of the most known worldwide.

Many of Villa d’Este guests are famous artists and important people.
Alfred Hitchcock shot here his first movie “The Pleasure Garden” and then, Kind Edward VII, King Vittorio Emanuele, Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini and Ranieri family from Monaco were among its guests.
Among Hollywood actors we could remember: Greta Garbo, Gregory Peck, Clark Gable, Cary Cooper, Eddie Murphy, Liza Minelli, Sylvester Stallone and Bing Crosby.
And some famous singers too: Madonna, Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, James Taylor, Rod Stewart and Elton John.

Italian Lakes Wedding team is proud to present Janet and Ian’s wedding at Villa d’Este, one of the most exclusive and known Italian wedding venues.

Did you know that being chic means getting married or spend your honeymoon in Villa d’Este?
Famous couples spent some time here: Dukes of Windson, Elizabeth Taylor and Nick Hilton, Rita Hayworth and Orson Wells, Clark Gable and Carol Lombard, William Randolph and Marion Davies, Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra, Aristotele Onassis and Maria Callas, Tyron Power and Linda Christina and many others up today. Continue Reading »

As a wedding coordinator I travel a lot in Piemonte organizing events: Langhe, Monferrato, Olympic valleys near Sestriere, up to Stresa and Pallanza on Lake Maggiore.
Every single place has a special appeal but nowhere is like enchanting Lake Orta to me. Planning a wedding in Orta San Giulio is always a magic emotion…

This was also in for Luisa and Massimiliano’s wedding.
A Saturday in the beginning of this summer. The day begins with a shady sun that soon turns in a wonderful, sunny and warm day. Just like Luisa wished.
Luisa and I have worked together for months, just one close to the other to plan her wedding in every single detail. Continue Reading »

Casablanca Lilies, the largest blooms of all Lilies!
A very fragrant flower, Casablanca Lilies are perfect for large wedding flower arrangements. From a decorators point of view Casablanca Lilies are important because they fit modern and traditional situations so well. They are individually unique and mass pleasingly and they are so fragrant. They are long lasting, holding up well when manipulated into wired floral pieces. Brides find them magically expressive of the beauty they are looking for and popularity makes Casablanca Lilies stylish and trendy.
The image on the left shows a flower arrangement with Casablanca Lilium and Roses created by me at Hotel Dino in Baveno, lake Maggiore.
The beauty of fresh Casablanca lilies offers a sweet fragrance and statuesque grace. No flower is more frequently used at weddings than this hybrid. These lilies were originally found in China and Japan. The first known use of lilies at weddings was by the Ming dynasty in China. A breathtaking lily, the Casablanca is known for its dramatic white blossoms and irresistible scent. Among the most famous of Lilies from the Oriental family, it’s as elegant as the name implies. The Casablanca takes its name from the Spanish “casa” (house) and “blanca” (white). These pure white Lilies exhibit three-to-five stunning flowers per stem, for a total of 30 or more flowers per bunch. A plentiful amount well suited for a truly spectacular display, gala event or thoughtful gift.

Warning: put a protective shield under the lily when using them as corsages. The anthers which project from the center of the flower will easily stain fabric. It is safest to remove the anther prior to using them in this manner. Continue Reading »

Dear Monika,

I just wanted to say thank you for doing such a wonderful job with the flowers on our wedding day. They were absolutely beautiful and you did a great job organising everything, right down to scattering the petals a few seconds before we arrived in case they got soggy! The bouquets and buttonholes were perfect, and the arrangements and centerpieces were just lovely.

Also, although I forgot to say it on the day, the guitarist was really great and we were so happy with the way things turned out. (although we could have done without the rain!)

So many thanks again, and best wishes from Neasa and Richard

Roses the flower of love, it has been a proven fact that roses are the unique way to say “I love you” without having to say the words. There’s no getting around it, the rose says romance like no other flower. If course roses are the most popular types of wedding flower that are used in weddings.

Continue Reading »

Whatever the season of your wedding, you’ll want to make sure that the flowers you choose are in season.

I know sometimes brides struggle over which flowers to choose for their bouquets and centerpieces. If you don’t have a favorite flower, your best bet is use the flowers that are growing in that particular season. Two reasons why: they are plentiful and they may be less costly than a flower that is not normally grown during the Spring. Lucky for you, Spring has some of the most gorgeous flowers of the year. The old-fashioned Peony it is one of these.

If you are planning on getting married in the Italian Lakes area - lake Orta, lake Maggiore, lake Como and lake Garda - peonies offer a showy and fragrant option for a bridal bouquet for a late May or June wedding.
Peonies grow best in areas with cold winters and summers that are not too hot.
In the right climate, peony plants produce an abundance of flowers, which may eight or nine inches across. Colors range from white to cream to yellow, and from the palest of pinks to reds to the deepest maroons. Some varieties have deep accent colors in the brown and maroon range at the base of the petals.
The fragrance of peonies is reminiscent of an intense rose scent. Continue Reading »