Italian Lakes Wedding Planner

We already mentioned other times the great importance of having a good one to have a perfect reception.
Today we would love to introduce a different catering company. It was founded and grew up on the lakes and this allowed it to have a wide experience in most important villas, castles, wedding venue on Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta.
This is an important detail to consider while choosing a catering service for your reception.

We are talking about Delicatezze a Casa Vostra, a banqueting and catering company. Staff chose as their headquarter an ancient cascina and farm situated in Gravellona Toce just in the middle between Lake Orta and Lake Maggiore.
Side for being close to some of the most important venues on our lakes this special match between cuisine and nature make a guaranty of genuine products and gastronomic quality.

Delicatezze a Casa Vostra Catering company was born several years ago thanks to the meeting of two important chefs of the area. After several experience in Italy and abroad they decided to found this company to provide innovative idea of Italian cuisine to receptions and parties in the area. 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 »

Here we are at the second appointment on 2008 weddings I forgot to tell you about before but that I really want to write on. This wedding, as the previous one took place last September too. As floral designer, September for me is one of the most busy month of the year and last one was even busier! September 2009 will be more or less the same. For this reason I always recommend to my couples booking their dates with large advance, especially if they are thinking about a date between June and September. You could not find availability, some dates are booked at least a year in advance!

Sabrina and Mauro wedding took place on 21 September the first day of Autumn. For the first time we are talking about an Italian couple, coming from Milan that chose Stresa for their big day! One of the reasons because I love talking about this wedding was the excellent choice of bridegroom to concentrate all the events in Stresa with just little transfers. You could take a look at the wonderful PHOTO GALLERY realized by Alessandro Balossi from Omegna. I also suggest reading the interesting article The photographer of smiling brides that tells perfectly his charming style.

For their religious ceremony Sabrina and Mauro chose the lovely gothic church of San Carciano just on a hill in the Northen part of Stresa close to the beach. San Carciano’s parish priest is a lovely person and he proudly and pleasantly welcomes brides and grooms coming from other cities or countries. A lot of people coming from abroad – Great Britain especially – choose this church for their catholic ceremony. San Carciano church has a beautiful stone entrance embellished with ball buxus trees. From its hill the view on Lake Maggiore is stunning! I love working inside this wonderful church because of wide spaces, around the altar, and the amazing brightness of the room that en-light every flower decoration.

Color scheme Sabrina and Mauro choose was yellow and white. In the church white was represented by Lilium Longiflorum and a great utilization of baby’s breath and greenery. Yellow was represented by wonderful Golden Times roses that matched the bridal bouquet together with Dendrobium Orchids and a touch of green Alchemilla.

One of the advantages of getting married in San Carciano church is being out of the traffic of Stresa center which is usually very touristy. Moreover we are very close to Villa Muggia, one of the best venues on Lake Maggiore where Mauro and Sabrina decided to celebrate their wedding reception.

As far as the floral decorations to Villa Muggia are concerned I kept on following the color scheme bridegroom chose just changing type of flowers. This time I opted for white Anthuriums with long willows of white grapes around a candle together with romantic ivy. Just to remind us the first day of Autumn. A very stylized centerpiece but very elegant the fitted perfectly in wonderful rooms of Villa Muggia. Continue Reading »

Waiting for the beginning of a new season of beautiful weddings on Lake Orta I would like to tell you about some wedding that I followed last year that I did not mention before. This is not because they wasn’t interesting, on the contrary they were absolutely great and unique!
Simply for some reasons I did not have the occasion but I will do it now!
2008 was a busy year for me rich in satisfactions starting from Janet and Ian’s floral arrangements at Villa d’Este on Lake Como. I remember also the arrangements with beautiful peonies and lemons at Villa Muggia in Stresa for Victoria and Danny’s wedding and more Autumn theme I create for Rossella and Giorgio’s wedding: bridal bouquet and centrepieces at Palazzo Penotti Ubertini in Orta.
But let’s go to “the ones I forgot” of 2008.

I’m pleased to tell you about Elena and Peter’s wedding last September. Elena and Peter are an exceptional couple. She is Russian and he is American a wonderful and happy couple. I think that also photographer Enrico Mocci loved work with them since they were so nice, friendly and beautiful! You can see Elena and Peter’s photogallery: you will see stunning pictures!

The entire wedding took place at one single venue: Hotel Villa Crespi in Orta San Giulio.
It was a typical Russian ceremony so the best place should be obviously Villa Crespi!
Valentina some time ago mentioned in one of her articles about the possibility for an ethnic wedding to Mooresque style Villa Crespi, this is the one!

Ceremony was organized in the garden of the villa during a wonderful sunny day.
Traditionally Russian orthodox ceremony is long and rich of signs and details.

The exchange of the rings, that has to be done 3 times meaning the Saint Trinity and the Crown for bridegroom. Again bridegroom will drink three times from the same holy glass and they will go around the ceremony table, the celebrant will lead them for their path for 3 times just like they are having their first steps as bride and groom.
At the end of the ceremony, there celebrant will take off the crown and he will bless them and all guests good wishes.

Elena and Peter’s color scheme was white and orange. I used it for the bouquet, arrangements in the garden and centerpieces. Elena took orange for her hairdo with nice little orange roses. Peter used a little orange rose too but for his buttonhole and he wore a wonderful orange tie. They matched perfectly my arrangements.
Centerpieces were simple and essential because of the beauty of rooms of Villa Crespi, but Elena wanted from me a special attention for her bouquet. I created it with long ivy willows and Dendrobium orchids. A the top of them there were wonderful Orange Dream roses.

Once again to have a look at the bouquet and floral arrangements that I made for this unforgettable wedding just visit Elena and Peter’s PHOTO GALLERY realized by Enrico Mocci from Arona.
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Arriving from Malpensa airport the first important ancient palace we meet is Villa Giannone, the so-called Abbazia di Santo Spirito. It is located few minutes’ drive from Malpensa airport in the small village of Comignago, in Piemonte.

Abbazia di Santo Spirito was built in 1282 by monks, it was a convent and it maintained its ancient appeal during centuries: internal courtyard has a high tower bell of the close little church in which you can celebrate your religious ceremony. The villa right is in a wonderful Italian style garden with flowers, roses arches embellished by secular trees: the perfect scenario for a country wedding, just few minutes from Lake Maggiore!

Driving across Arona and going up on Piemonte’s side of Lake Maggiore you will reach Stresa, the most important touristy destination of the entire lake. For the ones who want to experience the luxury of ancients villas, Villa Muggia in Stresa is the right address!

First owner was George Von Siemens, after him was the turn of Muggia family and actual owner is important Toso family from Torino. Beautiful rooms inside the villa match perfectly with the wonderful park: scented flowers, magnolias, cone pines, and bronze statues made by Domenico Colanzi, not to forget the stunning fountain!

Rooms and suites furniture is real antique. Some pieces were owned by Napoleon and there are wonderful and precious carpets, pictures, curtains and Murano glass chandeliers. You will also find Venetian mirrors, silvers and crystals and even a 1700 cart! Villa Muggia can be the perfect venue for a wedding inside the charming rooms or even in the wonderful park under a precious marquee with stunning view on the Lake. Continue Reading »

A sweet background sound of an harp is the best way to create a real stylish and charming wedding.
It is perfect at the ceremony, aperitif and reception. Warm and cozy sound of the harp add a touch of romanticism and unforgettable atmosphere to your wedding.
This is exactly what Silvia Ferrero created at Sara and Marco’s wedding last Sunday at Miasino Castle (Castello di Miasino) on Lake Orta. Silvia Ferrero played some classical music from her repertoire from Albinoni’s Adagio to Bach’s Preludio and Tango by Carlos Salzedo.
In the last few years Silvia Ferrero played at the most exclusive wedding venues on Lakes District: on Lake Como at Villa del Balbianello, Villa d’Este in Cernobbio, Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio and Villa dei Cipressi in Varenna; on Lake Maggiore at Castello Dal Pozzo, Villa Muggia in Stresa, Villa Volpi in Ghiffa and Villa Rusconi in Pallanza; in Lake Orta at Villa Crespi, Villa Bossi and San Rocco Hotel in Orta San Giulio.
Click on YouTube video player above to listen to some examples of Silvia Ferrero’s repertoire among them a track played with soprano Nadia Kuprina. http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C97477FB0F7E7949

From the early days of Sept Italian Lakes Wedding team welcome a new skillful professional: photographer Claudio Fogli of Studio Foto Pony in Pallanza on Lake Maggiore.
For more than 20 years Claudio Fogli has been working in wedding photography. His rich and elegant photographs are the ideal suggestion for couples that wish a fine and precious photo service.
You can have a look Claudio Fogli’s works on Lake Maggiore Wedding Venues Photo Gallery with its wonderful pictures shot in the most beautiful venues on Lake Maggiore: Villa Rusconi Clerici, Villa San Remigio and Hotel Majestic in Pallanza, Villa Volpi in Ghiffa, Hotel Dino and Hotel Lido Palace in Baveno, Villa Muggia and Hotel Bristol in Stresa.

Our wedding was in spring which I thought should be reflected in the floral scheme. I had some very unique and specific ideas regarding what I wanted which unfortunately meant I couldn’t simply show a florist a photograph and ask her to copy it.
I spent a lot of time with Monika explaining my vision and I think the challenge of trying out something new appealed to her. She was prepared to follow my requests but wasn’t afraid to give her input. We had to have a contingency plan in case the flowers I wanted weren’t available at the time of the wedding so it was nice to be given updates as to what was in the bloom the weeks before the big day.

The result was spectacular – my first tears on my wedding day was when I saw my bouquet! Monika is a perfectionist and I could tell on the day that he too was pleased with her work.

Of course, I couldn’t have achieved such results without Clara who firstly introduced us and secondly spent endless hours translating between the two of us and coordinating with the other suppliers so they would know how their products (car, wedding cake etc.) would be presented. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, I arrived back from honeymoon to see that mine was bouquet of the month!

We were so scared our wedding would fly by that we decided to have a weekend of celebrations instead of a day. Felix worked tirelessly the entire weekend so that we now have an excellent reportage of the entire time, from the preparations right through to the celebrations. By the end he had lots of new friends (he was more of a guest than a photographer!) and we have some of the most amazing photos.

Continue Reading »