For this last week end we start from Niamh and Stephan, Irish bride and French groom who got married in the magic gardens of Villa Bossi.
Wonderful weather and lovely three bridesmaids.

Three other bridesmaids were present to Francesca and Jose’s wedding. Italian bride and Spanish groom.
The ceremony was held in the wonderful church of Assunta in the village of Orta with a lovely reception to Villa Ortea.

Last but not least Isabella and Mario both Italian who choose Villa Bossi for their civil ceremony and a lovely lunch to Restaurant on St Julius Island.
In the picture above you can see the lovely Isabella’s bracelet bouquet that Monika from La Piccola Selva created for her.

For Lake Orta and all of us working for weddings over this wonderful place September was a very busy period!
We apologize with our readers if we “forgot” somehow some of the wonderful events we had in the magic end of this season.

We want to remember here Louise and Robert, Piera and Davis, Dora and Andrea, Julia and James, Anna and Joachim, Holly e James, Laura and Craig, Lucy and Mike, Liz and Paul, Sonya and Gareth, Sofia and Henrik, Elizabeth and Reidar and Lorna and Alex.

Unfortunately we did not have enough time to speak about all of them but do not worry we will come back to speak about many of these events, it is a promise!

Viviana and Alessandro’s color scheme matched elegant bride’s wedding dress.
It was in all the shades of lilac, pink and white.
A dream!

Floral arrangements for Villa Bossi took inspiration from these shades just like Viviana’s bouquet and centerpieces for the wedding reception.
It was arranged to the evocative terrace of the Restaurant on St. Julius Island.

Congratulations Viviana and Alessandro!

This time we want to tell you about that in a unique way: Eve-Marie and Roland’s wedding will be described directly by bride and groom!

Roland and I are both from Dublin. We met in college and had been great friends for almost a year before we starting going out and that was seven years ago now.
We had planned a big wedding in Ireland and were ready to start paying deposits when we realised that we didn’t want a big wedding with lots of people who we hadn’t met or who didn’t know us. We sat back and really thought about what we wanted and decided we’d love to have a relaxed wedding in Italy with those that matter most to us both. We focused on the northern lake region of Italy because it would have lovely weather in September when we wanted to get married and it was close to airports.
We started searching for planners online and Valentina kept coming up.
The Italian Lake Weddings site instilled us with confidence that these planners were the real deal, so we started emailing Valentina and arranged to come over and view some possible venues on the Italian Lakes.

Roland and I arrived in Orta the night before we were due to meet Valentina (and her colleague and husband Ernesto) and decided to go for a walk down the town. Within 5 minutes of walking through the cobbled village with the beautiful coloured buildings on either side and entering into the stunning piazza with it’s view of the lake and San Julius island, we had decided that Orta was the prettiest place we’d ever seen, that we wanted to share it with all our friends and family. We just had to get married there.

We decided to stay in the hotel San Rocco with our 45 guests. The hotel staff were so accommodating. As a special treat they gave Roland and I the suite in the Villa Gippini which really made the start of our wedding visit magical.

Our wedding was a 3 day affair and the Italian Lakes Wedding Planners helped us to organise all.
We had a Welcome Lunch for our 45 guests in Due Santi Restaurant in the centre of the piazza looking out over the lake. Later that day we took 2 boats across to the island for an amazing rehearsal dinner on the terrace at the Restaurant on St. Julius island, in the middle of the lake. The day after the wedding, we went for a leisurely pizza in La Campana Pizzeria, before we headed home.

We had quite a large bridal party, with four bridesmaids and both of our mothers. Our dresses were all made by a truly gifted woman name Gay DePaor in Ireland who worked so hard on the seven dresses and gave us exactly what we asked for.
My duchess Satin and Chantilly lace dress was perfect to match the 1950s Hollywood style I wanted and she was able to make each of the bridesmaids a different designed dress which allowed the four of them match, but also to show their own personal style.
On the wedding day the make-up artists at the San Rocco wellness center took exceptional care of the seven of us and our local Italian hairdresser Cristina worked wonders with her assistant so that we were all ready to go by 2pm.

There are so many beautiful churches in Orta and Valentina brought us to visit them all, but when we saw the breathtaking view from the Sacro Monte church we were totally smitten. Our guests are still raving about it and it was a lovely way to take out first steps of married life out into that wonderful vista.

The guests and most of the bridal party made their way up to the stunning Sacro Monte church on the fun tourist train that drives around Orta. This was a great treat for our guests.
My father and I followed in a beautiful vintage Bentley car that really felt in-keeping with our 1950’s Hollywood glamour style.

The very talented floral designer Paola from La Piccola Selva arranged our flowers and decorations and all our guest commented on what a superb job she did. I hadn’t been sure what flowers I wanted and she helped me to decide by showing me many of the wonderful weddings she had done previously.
I loved my bouquet which was made of blue hydrangeas and cream roses and the table settings later at the reception were superb. I must admit my favorite part were the heart shaped bushes outside of the church, I just adored these.

The wedding ceremony itself was magical. We had brought our own priest from Ireland who was a close family friend and the string trio we had really added to the atmosphere with their beautiful music. I had been quite concerned about the music in the church because all I had heard was a few songs they had preformed, but they truly were exceptional, providing not only the few songs I had asked for, but also filling in with music wherever it suited the ceremony. They then followed us outside and played to our guests as we congregated around the church and took some photographs.

The photographers from Silver Stars Photo were exceptional. Roberto and assistant Alice were so patient and took so many photos but at no point were they in any way intrusive. They worked wonderfully with the videographer Vera. We haven’t seen photos yet, but I’m sure they’ll be wonderful.

Click here to EVE-MARIE & ROLAND’S PHOTO-GALLERY by Silver Stars Photo

We went through a number of venue choices and Valentina (and her husband Ernesto who takes care about booking and logistics) was very supportive before we finally decided on having the ceremony in the Castello and we certainly made the right decision. The Castello is a beautiful venue with an old world charm. The stairs and stain-glassed window provide a lovely backdrop for photos, as do the pool and the amazing terrace. It was also lovely to feel that it was ours for the day.

We had lovely aperitifs under the trees in the grounds, sitting and relaxing with our guests, while the Hot Club Trio serenaded us. It was so nice to be able to relax with our guests and leave all the organizing to the planners now that the excitement of the wedding ceremony was behind us.

The food throughout the wedding day was provided by Delicatezze a Casa Vostra Catering Service and was truly marvelous. We had an amazing variety of hor d’ourves when we arrived at the Castello, followed by a scrumptious Wedding dinner. Then there was a delectable dessert buffet, followed by cake and cheese. The food really was top class and our guests are still talking about it.

Valentina went to a lot of trouble to add some personal touches to our wedding day. They set up a beautiful heart made of candles on the lawn in front of the terrace and we had an amazing escort card tree with crystals and ribbons that I was really excited about. The biggest surprise of all was the incredible cake, which was a total surprise and tasted as great as it looked.

After we had danced and ate and drank our fill, we all went out to the terrace and set off 25 paper lanterns into the night sky with our guests.

This felt like the perfect end to a perfect day!

Italian Lakes Wedding Team really wants to thank Eve-Marie and Roland for their kindness and friendship.
Thank you Eve-Marie and Roland from all the team for your lovely and sweet words that we all appreciated!

And… Italian Lakes Wedding team really wants to wish a wonderful and sparkling 2011 to Eve-Marie and Roland, all our brides and grooms, all our readers, friends and collaborators!

Italian Lakes Wedding Team is made up of several professional wedding planners and floral designers with a long experience on Italian Lakes locations.
The Team knows the territory in every single detail and will be able to follow you on every important choice you will take.
Our coordinators are based locally in the areas we serve so whether you decide for a wedding in Rome or Bracciano, a wedding in Como or Stresa, or a Wedding on lake Garda or Lake Orta, we will grant the same level of service.
Our Team will be able to provide you every kind of supplier, florist, photographers, musicians, designers celebrants, witnesses and help as far as your documents are concerned, and anything you may think of.
Italian Lakes Wedding Team will literally pamper you!

For any information about wedding on Lake Orta – please CONTACT US.

It was special also for wedding images: Helen and Daehun chose Luca Rajna – Ajn Luca Rajna Progetti Fotografici – as their photographer. We met him in occasion of Loretta and Scott’s wedding on Lake Maggiore last year. Luca Rajna is a creative and innovative photographer.

For this occasion all images has been edited with a special technique called Polaroid Transfer.
Polaroid is the legendary camera of the 70s which was able to develop pictures immediately.
Polaroid transfer technique is simply pressing a just-shot photo with a Polaroid on watercolor paper. The result is really artistic an vintage with some irregolar shaped edges. Luca Rajna created the same effect for great shots of Helen and Daheun’s wedding. Have a look to PHOTO GALLERY with 70 polaroid transfers photo in it.

Helen was born in Illinois she is optimist and loves nature. She is vegetarian and loves colors and scent of flowers. After her degree to Columbia University in Manhattan she moved to South Corea where met Daehun her groom.
Helen loves South Corea and people there. After the wedding she came back over there where she teach English to elementary school to Siheung City.

Helen wanted to get married and have a lovely honeymoon across Europe. She never been over here.
It was not easy choose the right destination… then browsing on the internet Helen found out Italian Lakes Wedding and decided immediately for Madonna del Sasso church.

This lovely church was built on a rock right above Lake Orta. Madonna del Sasso church is one of the most wanted churches on the lakes and one of the most scenographic in Italy.
The inside of the church is grand, rich of works of art of 1500 and 1600.

Helen and Daehun’s wedding was intimate and simple.
Together with the couple there were only Helen’s parents, two bridesmaids (Maria Isabel and Stephanie) and Katie bride’s best friend.

There was another guest: Nellie the cute doggy girl who is the guide of Helen’s mother Wilma who is sightless.
For this reason Helen chose for the church arrangements lavander and freesias so her mother could smell the perfume of the nature!

Deep love for nature also for the bridal dress choice. it was really eco friendly.

Helen describes it like this:

My dress is made by Lindee Daniel, who is in California. It is made from two types of organic peace silk. This means, the silk worms are allowed to naturally complete their life cycle rather than being boiled alive so as to preserve the cocoons. The silk is woven by a women’s cooperative in India. Her label used to be called Puridee, but now she is changing it to her name, Lindee Daniel. The design I got is called the “Rebecca,” named after Rebecca from the Bible. It is her most popular design. She made it to measure for me and mailed it to me in Korea. 

I wanted an organic dress, so it made shopping for one easier. I didn’t have to look at millions and millions. I fell in love with this dress as soon as I found it, which was only the second day I started searching online for dresses.

Cuff Helen wore was really original. It was created by Estonian artist Krista Silvia Raak.
Wearable art for the romantic soul – this is how Krista Silvia Raak describes her works.

I am inspired from different vintage materials and of course – colors! I love all colors and feel excited about to create different color harmonies. I get lots of ideas from historical costumes- ball gowns and accessories of past centuries-Baroque, Victorian Era and Art Nouveau rich decorated dresses and elaborate embroideries. Sometimes I watch movies over and over to see beautiful vintage dresses exposed there : I love embroidered flowers- roses, orchids and all kind of fantasy flora. Old mansion interiors, antique costume jewelry and vintage millinery techniques are an endless source of inspiration.

Helen adds:

The cuff is by Krista Raak in Estonia. Her cuffs are unique designs, hand embroidered and beaded from vintage materials. She also made the earrings worn by my friend Katie in the flowered dress. The hair comb is from Million Design Company in the UK.

Ceremony in Madonna del Sasso church was really cosy accompanied by touching Psalm 104 of the Holy Bible read by Maria Isabel.
There was a light Smentana’s Moldau music as background played by a string duo. Smentana’s Moldau was written by Bohemian composer Bedrich Smetana, ad brought to fame by Italian tenor Giuseppe Cenci with Fuggi fuggi da questo cielo as title.

The violins also played the Bach Double [violin concerto], first movement. It brought back a lot of memories for me and my mom of Suzuki Institutes at Steven’s Point, WI.

At the end of the ceremony Helen and Daehun went out of the church with Mendlesshon Wedding March as background. Their guest threw petals and lavender. Mother of the bride Wilma was more then happy!

Nellie the little dog wanted to join the party too. Isn’t it cute this picture her paw together with bride and bridesmaids?

Madonna del Sasso church yard is a special place to have wonderful pictures and Helen and Daehun did not want to miss the occasion!

Bridal bouquet was really lovely. It reflected the spirit of Helen and Daehun’s wedding.
It was created by Paola one of the floral designer of La Piccola Selva with Red Passion roses and amazing Dominique callas in a bordeaux-purple shade.

Helen and Daehun reception has been arranged on St. Julius Island and cruising from Orta to the Island Daehun was the captain of the ferry too!

We told you about many times about St. Julius Island, it is a magic and ideal for more wedding pictures.
St Julius restaurant hosted bride and groom with their guests with a vegetarian and perfect eco-friendly menu.

When lights went down the group got back to Orta village.
On Summer nights Orta is really lively and appealing. Helen and Daehun took another chance to remember forever their special eco-friendly wedding on Lake Orta.

Italian Lakes Wedding Team follow the event with Valentina Lombardi and Stefania Zen as coordinators. Stefania Zen is our planner on Lake Bracciano and Rome but she often follows some weddings over Northen Lakes. So for once she forgot about Sistine Chapel and Odescalchi Castle to get into romantic atmospheres of Lake Orta… but always with a great success!
Great Teamwork and great job Stefania!

Italian Lakes Wedding Team is made up of several professional wedding planners and floral designers with a long experience on Italian Lakes locations.
The Team knows the territory in every single detail and will be able to follow you on every important choice you will take.
Our coordinators are based locally in the areas we serve so whether you decide for a wedding in Rome or Bracciano, a wedding in Como or Stresa, or a Wedding on lake Garda or Lake Orta, we will grant the same level of service.
Our Team will be able to provide you every kind of supplier, florist, photographers, musicians, designers celebrants, witnesses and help as far as your documents are concerned, and anything you may think of.
Italian Lakes Wedding Team will literally pamper you!

For any information about wedding on Lake Orta please CONTACT US.

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.

The same choice was taken by Bronwen and Josh – we mentioned about this lovely couple is a recent post Monika wrote.

They came from Australia to get married here. They did not tell anybody about that. This is what a real elope!
It was the most romantic wedding of all and it was also the starting point of a one month long honeymoon across Italian country: Portofino, Tuscany, Amalfi Coast. What a great idea!

Marcus and Rebecca did the same but added more. They took the occasion to have a special dinner to Villa Crespi which has a 2 Michelin restaurant inside.
A romantic ceremony to Villa Bossi first and then a romanic and gourmand dinner to celebrate this event.

There are many special little corners to celebrate a wedding for two on Lake Orta. The location will make it even more special thanks to its intimacy cosines and quaint style.
Do not worry we will be able to provide you celebrant, witnesses and help as far as your documents are concerned, a great photographer to make it eternal, a pretty bouquet for the bride and anything you may think of.
We will literally pamper you!

We are sure you will remember it forever and you will have great shots to show everybody when you will come back.
They will be all willing to do the same!

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:
photo 1, 8, 9 and 10: Ollmann-Ottaviano photographers, Torino
photo 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7: Estella & Diego photographers PHOTO27.COM – Milan

Lilac was theme color of the event. It was used for Hannah’s bouquet, Villa Bossi and Restaurant on St Julius Island floral arrangement and even for James’ tie.

White bride and Caribbean bridesmaid wearing dark purple was just a perfect match!

As special thank to Enrico Mocci photographer from ArteFotoArona who gave us very first images of this lovely event in no time!
We will come back telling you about Hannah and James in another post for this amazing wedding on Lake Orta.

We have already given a preview of this event on our Just Married section.
Waiting for Enrico Mocci‘s entire photo gallery I would like to spend few words on Nicola and Dana’s wedding floral arrangement.

Nicola and Dana’s color scheme varied from pastel pink to cream with the frame of big hydrangeas flowers.
Hydrangeas are simple but elegant flowers. They are very local on lakes. You can find many here thanks to climate and soil.
Hydrangeas are ideal on a summer wedding. They can match every situation: open air, garden receptions or romanic or baroque churches you can find on lakes region.

The religious ceremony was held in Sacro Monte church on top of Orta hill overlooking the lake.
For this occasion I created a white hydrangeas based arrangement with some cream and pastel cream roses adding some greenery too.

Have a look to the floral columns I created to embellish the main aisle heading to the altar.

Dana chose a round shape for her bridal bouquet.
It was made of pastel pink roses on a base of white hydrangeas and falling Ficus Benjamin leaves.

She wanted the perfect bouquet for her wedding dress.

Wedding reception was held to St. Julius Restaurant on St. Julius Island.
Table arrangement was very pretty. I used three different shapes of glass vases to create a elegant and pleasant effect.

For the top table I opted for a a little variation.
I placed a base of glass with water and crystal inside. I added then two little bunches of flowers facing one another as a symbol of the unity of newlyweds.

As floral designer I loved work and build with Dane and Nicola floral arrangement for their wedding. Day after day, decision after decision we reach a great result that you can see in this post.
We will come back speaking about this lovely couple to enjoy their wedding photo gallery.
Do not miss it!

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 any information about wedding on Lake Orta please contact us.

Religious ceremony was held on late morning in Sacro Monte church.

After the ceremony Dana and Nicola together with their friends and families are going to celebrate their wedding to Ristorante San Giulio, a quaint corner of St. Julius Island.

The photos you see here are the very first images of the event given by Enrico Mocci photographer. We will come back to you to tell you more about Dana and Nicola’s wedding.
You will see even more pictures! Stay tuned!

March is such a perfect day for a romantic wedding in Orta San Giulio. Village is not crowded by tourists yet and enchanted intimacy make it a different world.
Do not forget that March could also have wonderful sunny days!

At first sight it could seem curious but Giuseppe and Daniela live close to Como. But they actually chose Lake Orta.
We would like to let them speak about that:

We chose Lake Orta even if we live close to Como. This because it quiet, romantic and more intimate. Walking in the narrow roads of Orta Village seems to live again ancient times experiencing unique atmospheres. They are just perfect for a wedding. We were more than happy of our choice.

From Como to Orta for a romantic wedding: a simple choice.

The civil ceremony has been held to Villa Bossi and its Orta town hall 1700 building. Such an intimate ceremony with close family and friends. They celebrated in in the garden on open air but in this occasion the garden seemed so quiet and romantic like it and Orta village was all for Daniela and Giuseppe!

Villa Bossi with its entrance from the lake it is simply scenographic. Ceremony in the garden is surely different from a room in a town hall. In fact since the civil ceremony is shorter than the religious one we wanted it to be special and unique.
Thanks to Ms Roberta our celebrant to Town Hall this was possible.

As far as Villa Bossi is concerned I’ve created ivory roses and white gerberas arrangements, They were like a bunches and fixed on the columns. I’ve also added some gerberas on the buxus that enrich the villa aisle. It was simple but very elegant matching Daniela and Giuseppe style.

We wanted our guests enjoy a motorboat tour and we took some time to have some pictures in the pretty village of Orta. When guests came back we jumped on the motorboat too and we reached St. Julius Island the location we chose for our wedding reception.

Right into the quietness of St.Julius Island, just on the shores, St. Julius Restaurant bears great scenarios and a warm atmosphere.
St. Julius Restaurant suggests regonal Piemonte dishes.
You can taste them on the terrace or inside the wonderful rooms of 1700 with frescoes just amazing!

We chose St. Julius Island because we decided for the lake as main theme and so we wanted to reach it only by lake! After seeing a lot of venues we thought it was the most intimate and the managers of the restaurant are very kind and friendly.

A wonderful day with a bright sun and an intimate and romantic atmosphere even more than usual!

We would like to send Daniela and Giuseppe our best wishes and a warm thank you for choosing Lake Orta.

All images: © Studio FOTO BIANCHI – via Cavour 7 22069 Rovellasca (Como)

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 any information about wedding on Lake Orta please contact us.

St. Julius reached this land for first around 1600 sailing on his mantel. He arrived here and found it haunted by dragoons and snakes.
He sent them all away and built a little church that after become the nowadays cathedral.
This is what the legend tells….

After that a castle, Bishop Palance and villas for priests.
About half of 1800 a convent was built and it cancelled the last symbol of a powerful past let the island becoming more religious.
Today a small group of nuns live in the convent. They are Benedectines and they are totally dedicated to manual works and spiritual hospitality.

St. Julius Island is a silent an mystic place rich in history and traditions.
If you take a look to the island from the hills high tower bell, gardens and ancient roads look like a fairly tale castle born from ancient ruins of a castle.

On this very Italian corner of paradise we would like to suggest a unique opportunity to arrange your wedding reception: a little cosy restaurant with terrace on the lake inside one of the most ancient villas of the island.

We love to imagine a romantic civil ceremony to Villa Bossi or a lovely religious ceremony in one of Orta churches (Maria Assunta or Sacro Monte) with a pleasant trip on the boat to follow.

You and your guests will have the opportunity to completely know and savor the beauty of the lake.
Cruise from Orta to St. Julius Island is a show you can not miss.
From the waters could admire ancient villas on the shores and their aristocratic and alter appeal.

After this lovely trip you will arrive directly on the pier of a little restaurant just on San Giulio Island or you could get there from the little road that goes across the Island.

Ristorante San Giulio (St. Julius Restaurant) is located inside Villa Tallone date back to 1700.
It is well know to host a rich summer concert season in which you could listen to great concerts in such a wonderful frame.

Restaurant has a wonderful terrace where we suggest to arrange your wedding dinner.
It is the ideal place for a traditional Italian style dinner with a touch of elegance and atmosphere.
While tasting the best dishes of local cuisine you could enjoy a great view on the lake, Orta village and other villages nearby.
Just imagine a candle lit dinner and scented flowers as frame of the event.
The terrace could host up to 120 guess for a unique reception.

Restaurant has also beautiful rooms inside on the upper floor. They are very precious with their paintings and frescoes. They can host smaller and more intimate receptions even during summer season.
From the windows you will admire unreal beauty of the view.

Just consider that the little restaurant is the only venue available on little San Giulio Island.
You will have the occasion to have at your disposal a real and unique corner of Italy for unforgettable memories.

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.

In order to book your wedding reception or to receive more information on planning your wedding on San Giulio Island please fill in this form.