They both had a lovely religious ceremony to Assunta Church in Orta and then a charming reception to San Rocco Hotel.

Soo’s idea of the perfect wedding was a very simple and romantic event. She chose a romantic big wedding dress in white with a happy sunflower decoration for the church and reception.

The only exception was her cascade bridal bouquet designed by Monika Andenmatten from La Piccola Selva. This bouquet is actually in La Piccola Selva web site gallery. Soo had a look at it and fell in love with it so she wanted it for her wedding.

Soo is a Chinese-British violinist living in Australia with Jason. Since her passion for classical music she wanted a ceremony and reception totally accompanied by the sound of a classical string trio.
The reception ended with some more classical and jazz music played to the wonderful long piano in San Rocco hotel. The only exception was Soo and Jason’s first dance: Undisclosed Desire by Muse. But we know Muse’s music has a lot of violins in their backgrounds!

Soo really wanted a classical and romantic dream have a look to her wedding photos – by Independent Pictures.
Aren’t they just a sweet dream?

Lisa and Emmett had the same wedding scheme but a totally different attitude towards the event.
Lisa has a big and happy family with brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. They are all coming from Ireland and they arrived here to spend a wonderful vacation o the Lake.

The ceremony involved all family: bride’s nieces sang a psalm, father of the bride sang a hymn and Lisa and Emmett little daughter sat between them all ceremony long!

After this moving ceremony the joy exploded!
The complete family went to the Island for family pictures….not only the bride and groom but all of them!

Happily reception was held to Hotel San Rocco where Ezio Lucchini entertained the aperitif with a joyful guitar background.
Let’s have a look to Enrico Mocci’s photographs.

But the party did not end there!
After dinner the whole group moved to a local beer factory to drink home made beers, dance and party until 4am!!
We will come back soon talking about this great idea. We are sure you will love it!

Same venues could give birth to very different events. So do not hesitate to choose again what we suggest here. We will help to personalize it and make your destination wedding in Italy really unique!

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 any information about wedding on Lake Orta please CONTACT US.

All images © Italian Lakes Wedding and:
Soo and Jason’s wedding: Independent Pictures, Torino.
Lisa and Emmett’s wedding: Enrico Mocci – ArtefotoArona, lake Orta.

Today I would like to tell you about Piazza Motta, Orta Main Square. Lots of people just love sitting here in a lovely bistro admiring the lake and St. Julius island, thanks of its elegant and charming appearance.

As in many other ancient Italian villages on the lakes, Piazza Motta has its three sides made up by ancient buildings where you will find bistro, cafes, hotels, restaurants or little boutiques. The forth side is just on the lake shores. You will enjoy the lake and St. Julius Island through a row of horse-chestnuts trees.

If you are thinking about getting married in Orta San Giulio, consider Piazza Motta a lovely spot for your wedding photographs. It is just few minutes walk from Villa Bossi, the town hall for civil ceremonies or Assunta Church for religious ones. Photographers loves the setting too and most of them have pictures of couples on the square on their portfolios. From the boat pier bride and groom and maybe the bridal party, could take a motorboat and reach St. Julius Island. Thanks to its intimacy and quiet atmosphere it offers a perfect frame for other stunning pictures.

Piazza Motta is the vital center of Orta San Giulio. Can you imagine?
Every Wednesday you could see the local market since 1228!
On North side of the square there is a building called Il Palazzotto the Community Place. It was built in 1582 with the same style of ancient Town Halls in other bigger Italian cities. It has a portico below and a wide room with windows at the first floor. In this room Community Council used to meet and discuss. It has a wonderful fresco depicting “Holy Mary with St. Francis”. The lovely little tower bel on the top was added later just as Count Bishops of Novara coat who ruled San Julius Riviera for more than a century. This building was the Community court house too. Every Wednesday, same day of the market, the governor used to open the court managing justice. Among many coats and frescoes there is one of the mysterious lady facing on a window on the rear side of the Palazzotto. Her smiling face gives a joyful idea to the building in spite of the utilization this building had.

Italian Lakes Wedding have worked for many here and still works in Orta San Giulio. Hiring one of our wedding coordinators means relaxing and working with high level professionals that will follow you step by step in every single legal and planning aspect of your wedding on Lake Orta.

Valentina Lombardi is the Italian Lakes Wedding coordinator for Lake Maggiore area. She follows Italian and foreign bridegrooms who wish to celebrate their wedding in Piemonte and Italian Lakes area.
For more information about Weddings in Orta San Giulio please contact us.

All Images © Italian Lakes Wedding and:
Photo 1: Ivana Porta, Torino
Photo 2: Enrico Mocci – ArteFotoArona
Photo 3: Estella & Diego – Photo27.com
Photo 4: Raffaello Mazzoleni – ArteFoto Omegna
Photo 5: Giorgio Gnemmi – ArteFoto Omegna

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!

We hired Estella & Diego for our wedding in Varenna, lake Como in July 2008. They really worked hard for us all day long and were very discrete. Their charm, quick thinking and patience immediately put us at ease.
We received our photos and were delighted; they captured every detail of the entire day.
The quality and creativity of their photographs were very impressive. I would highly recommend them.

Of the recent new hotels in the region of the Italian lakes, the Hotel Cortese in Armeno represents a uniquely successful example of the skillful blending of tradition and modernity. A perfect synthesis which, when expressed through the charm of this authentic architectural jewel at the heart of an incomparable location, provides the ideal setting in which to celebrate your wedding in refined style.

The use of local stone, precious woods and wrought-iron (typical crafts of the area) create a unique and charming atmosphere in which time seems to stop, allowing us to recover the pleasures of life at a slower pace – and thus to savour that most special of happy days.

Immersed in the tranquil scenic surroundings of Lake Orta and Lake Maggiore, only minutes away from the village of Orta San Giulio, the town of Stresa and the spectacular panorama of Mount Mottarone, the Hotel Cortese enjoys the magical atmosphere of a little historic village: the use of local stone, precious woods and wrought-iron (typical crafts of the area) create a unique and charming atmosphere in which time seems to stop, allowing us to recover the pleasures of life at a slower pace – and thus to savour that most special of happy days.

Thanks to these characteristics, the Hotel Cortese offers the perfect special location in which to hold your wedding reception; the ideal ambience for that once-in-a-lifetime occasion, where the meticulous and impeccable organization of your reception will be sure to make it an exclusive and memorable occasion. At Hotel Cortese we offer bridal couples, and others who wish to hold a special celebration here, the chance to enjoy their special day to the full, while we dedicate our passion and professional expertise to all those details which contribute to the success of the event, calling on our long experience in this sector.

Another great merit of our hotel is without doubt its cuisine; not for nothing is Armeno known as ‘the village of hotelkeepers’. For more than four centuries this area has sent thousands of talented cooks out into the best restaurants and hotels across the world, many of them making their name as leading chefs of international repute. You can be assured therefore that our chefs at the Hotel Cortese of Armeno will know how to delight your guests’ palates, preparing your wedding banquet with the utmost professionality and expertise. All our dishes are prepared at the last moment to guarantee maximum freshness and quality. You can choose to have the banquet served in the atmospheric internal courtyard of the hotel, by the pool-side, under the gazebo or in the hotel’s main hall, which has a grand piano.

For the bridal couple and their guests we have available 34 rooms with panoramic views of the hills of Lake Orta or of the chain of the Alps. The religious ceremony can be celebrated in the nearby Romanesque Church of Santa Maria Assunta, in Armeno, – one of the oldest and most beautiful churches of the area, or in the Sanctuary of the Bocciola, also close by, from where you can enjoy a spectacular panorama of the lake and the island of San Giulio.

For those who have chosen instead a civil ceremony, there is the possibility of celebrating the wedding at the romantic Villa Bossi at Orta San Giulio, only a few minutes by car from Hotel Cortese — this venue, too, immersed in some of Italy’s most beautiful scenery. After the ceremony and the photographs on the village square, on the charming slopes of the Motta and at Sacro Monte di Orta, Hotel Cortese will be waiting to welcome you for a joyful and unforgettable celebration of the occasion.

View more pictures about Wedding at Hotel Cortese, lake Orta.