As floral designer I met Siobhan and Stuart through Valentina, our wedding coordinator specialized on weddings on Lake Orta and Lake Maggiore.
I leave to her introducion this lovely couple:

Shiobhan and Stuart are a nice couple coming from Scotland.
I never met them before they came here for their wedding. We planned all details via email and our collaboration started more than one year ago!
Sibhoan is a wonderful and sweet person. She faced every step of the planning with a deep joy and enthusiasm and it was a pleasure and honor for me helping her and her groom to make their dream come true.

They decided for an intimate wedding on Lake Orta because they wanted to share the perfect atmosphere of this quaint corner of Italy only with their close friends and family. They spent some days in Orta taking also the occasion to enjoy the lake in a special period of the year: Early Spring.
This moment is special here, flowers and plans and blooming and the tourists are still few.
A perfect choice!

From the floral point of view Siobhan and Stuart’s wedding was really unusual, they chose a theme based on pink and yellow.

For the bride and grooms who wish to celebrate their wedding outdoors in a garden or by the lake shores a colorful palette of pink and yellow could be a trendy solution! It can be dynamic and out of classical choices making the atmosphere warmer colorful and charming!

Yellow is a joyful, energic color which brings optimims light and transparency.
On the other side Pink is very feminine and fine, it recalls elegance, class, refinement, sensuality and seduction.
The final effect is absolutely gorgeous and unique just as for Siobhan and Stuart’s wedding.

Every floral arrangement Siobhan and Stuart chose recalled pink and yellow. Villa Bossi columns arrangements, flowers on the table of ceremony, petals on the aisle and centerpieces for reception to Hotel San Rocco.

In order to create this lovely scheme we opted for Aqua roses in a deep pink shade and some yellow gerberas with a delicate touch of Alchemilla.

To match light yellow bridesmaid dress we opted for little bouquet of Aqua roses that in its semplicity gave a natural and smooth appeal to all.

Have a look to Siobhan’s arm sheaf bouquet. We realized it in the same shades of the entire event!
The arm sheaf bouquet is more or less like a bunch of flowers created to be carried on an arm, just like a baby.

Let’s not forget about the Royal table arrangement in Rotary room of San Rocco Hotel.
We realized it with little candles, roses and floral arrangements in different shapes and dimensions to give a dynamic and joyful aspect just like Siobhan and Stuart wanted.

If you would like to give a special and different touch to your wedding being far from usual schemes then a pink and yellow themed floral arrangement could be a great idea!
The colors need to be matched with taste and elegance to create smooth and charming arrangements!

As flower designer I think that a theme matching sensual pink and lightful yellow could be the perfect choice for a joyful happy and bright wedding!
After all it is just like this a wedding should be! Fun joy and a wonderful sweet party!

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.

We will come back to you telling all details about this lovely couple coming from Ireland but for now just enjoy this first preview on their wedding.

Stay tuned for more details about Rebecca and Marcus wedding we will tell you more in a little while!
Congratulation to the newlyweds!!!

One year before Jennifer told me about the floral scheme she had in her mind. All was based on purple matching with ivory. The very good hint arrived in following emails when Jennifer mentioned about the idea of adding Mediterranean aromatic herbs among flowers.

I was delighted with the design and colours they were truly beautiful. One of my many memories from our special day is the scent of the mint and rosemary in the flowers. I kept getting scents of the mint throughout the day and it is something that will always remind me of my wedding day.
All the guests commented on the amazing table displays – it was better than how I’d imagined – romantic and elegant with the candles and petals.
I even managed to fly home with my bouquet and we are drying it out to keep as a memento of the day!
Thank you once again for your fantastic work – the flowers were truly beautiful.
Jenny and Oliver

This was planned to recall Italian style and the wonderful scents she loved in her childhood. Just a little great idea that gave me the occasion to work on a floral arrangement based on purple and ivory with fresh and perfumed Mediterranean herbs such as rosemary, sage, mint and lavender. They could be a perfect green base to create the bouquet on but also centerpieces and ceremony decorations. Aromatic herbs offer an evocative range of colors from green to silverish of sage and lavender up to deep green of peppermint. Last but not least little lilac-blue lavender blooms could be the trait-d’union between purple and ivory flowers of the compositions.

This was my proposal for Jennifer and Oliver’s’ wedding floral arrangement. Jennifer feed back came back very quick. She was really excited for that: she loved all details of my proposal, she was literally looking forward to see and smell the flowers on her wedding day.

We started a planning that lasted few months and leaded to final result that you can see in this post.
Everybody and especially bride and groom loved the floral arrangements. Jennifer and Oliver after their honeymoon sent also a lovely email to thank us for all. You can read a piece of that here.

But I also want to tell you something more about Jennifer and Oliver’s wedding!
They arranged all in Pallanza on Lake Maggiore. Ceremony was held in Villa San Remigio while reception was arranged to Grand Hotel Majestic where almost all guests spend their Italian days.

Wedding coordinator was Valentina Lombardi who is part of Italian Lakes Wedding Team. Photographs were taken from Photo27 from Milan that I thank you for giving us the beautiful images you can see here.

The civil ceremony has been celebrated in wonderful Music Room (Sala della Musica) of Villa San Remigio. String quartet classical music created a wonderful romantic atmosphere.

Big Jennifer and Oliver’s day begun with a cloudy day but after few hours sun decided to come back again turing into a wonderful summer end day!

Villa San Remigio wide park and its secular tress, fountains and statues are the perfect settings for wonderful wedding pictures. Have a look to the natural style and great impact of the picture here below, simple but wonderful!

At the end of the ceremony Jennifer hanged on her bouquet a funny “Just Married” sign with two hearts, what a funny idea!

Bridal dress was wonderful rich of pearls, and delicate laces. Have a look to groom’s suit too! It perfectly matched wedding color theme with is tie and purple details.

In bridal bouquet, side of scented herbs, I added Vendela roses, dendrobium orchids, lavender blooms, purple Lisyanthus on a base of apple green hydrangeas.

After wedding pictures bride and groom with their guests went to Grand Hotel Majestic just few minutes drive from Villa San Remigio.

Wedding party begun with a nice aperitif under the columns porch overlooking the garden and Lake Maggiore.

The picture you can see below taken during the aperitif is one of my favorite of Photo27 service. Please take a look to the spontaneous and deepness of the shot.

As floral designer most challenging task was the creation of centerpieces to decorate the elegant Grand Hotel Majestic Toscanini Room. A two days long preparation.

In the center of each table I placed a big round mirror with tall vases on. On top of them I put my floral decoration that matched bouquet style. In this case I mostly used Dendrobium orchids to get a falling and light effect.

On the top table I placed a big composition made of Aspidistra leaves and Bear Grass that made it even bigger.

The details all these arrangements had in common were the great use of aromatic herbs: mint’s deep scent together with rosemary, lavender and sage gave to Toscanini Room a real mediterranean atmosphere.

A wonderful scent that will stay in everybody memory for long time as Jennifer wrote in wonderful and kind email.

A little memory of their dream wedding on Lake Maggiore that that Jennifer and Oliver will keep in their heats for forever.

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 more information about weddings on Lake Maggiore please contact us.

Shawn and Raul are a nice couple who fell in love with Italy. After taking in consideration some marine venues in Portofino and Zoagli on Italian Riviera, they finally opted for Lake Orta’s romantic atmosphere. A great achievement for us who always try to let the world know how wonderful this place is.

Shawn and Raul arrived directly from United States to find this cosy village’s appeal. they defined it as Just a Fairy Tale.

Shawn arrived by herself to Villa Bossi with a motorboat.
On the town hall pier her maid of honor and sister was waiting for her. They sang together a moving traditional american song.

Shaw took her walk on the aisle of Villa Bossi that was literally covered with colored rose petals.

For the ceremony Shawn decided for a very glamour dress with a crystals collar and little veil on her face. Her shoes were red and matched perfectly her bouquet made up of 24 red roses and Swarovski pins.

Right after the wedding ceremony I personally thanked and gave my congratulations to Shawn.
I followed her and Raul’s wedding as wedding coordinator for more than a year. This was for all of us the happy end of a long work we did together.

Shawn and Raul’s wedding had a soft 50s theme savour.
They had a jazz guitar player for the ceremony and just think they strongly wanted a jive swing band for their reception to San Rocco Hotel.

As other couples of our summer season weddings in Orta Shawn and Raul personalized their event making it wonderfully unique and different from all the others.
I loved every single detail of their great event!

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 more information about weddings in Orta San Giulio please contact us.

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

Valentina Lombardi is one of the wedding coordinators that work with Italian Lakes Wedding Team, one of the most active. One year after the interview you read last year on these pages I had the pleasure to meet her again and ask for an update balance of her activity.

• Hi Valentina it is a pleasure to meet you again. How could you judge this 2008? Do you think it was a good tear professionally speaking?
  Hi! Yes I can say I’m satisfied. To tell the truth helping couples to make their dreams come true makes me feel always happy. Couples I followed during 2008 were extremely nice and interesting.
• Among all the wedding you planned during 2008 there is one that is particularly special for you?
  Oh no! I would surely do a mistake missing someone! Every wedding was special and unforgettable. Maybe details will stay in my heart proudly from each of them: Scottish groom’s kilt, music of Cavalleria Rusticana for a ceremony to Villa d’Este on Lake Como, fireworks in Varenna for an American couple friendship of another American couple, the smile of an Irish bride for a surprising day of sunshine. How could I forget all this?
• And the one that made you worry?
  There was a wedding for which I was very worried for sure for a detail that nobody could control: weather! Couple came here from Ireland and they choose Orta for its sun, panorama and atmosphere. Unfortunately pouring rain seemed it could ruin the whole event. Bride was very worried and sad. But it wasn’t so! In spite of bad weather forecasts bridegroom enjoyed a nice sunny day that let the even go as they planned. Just a little miracle for their own!

• Your agency doesn’t manage only weddings on Lake Orta and Lake Maggiore but even other areas for destionation Wedding in Piemonte such as Langhe Monferrato and Olympic Mountains…
  Among all those destinations what was the 2008 most wanted?
  Lake Orta for sure!!! Lake Orta has a poetic atmosphere. Almost nobody can resist….me neither!
  Anyway there are also good opportunities in Langhe areas. It is an almost unknown area but it is keeping on getting famous thanks to its wonderful views on vineyards and for its delicious food and wine of Piemonte tradition!
• From what part of the world came couples you planned the wedding for in 2008?
  They were Anglo-Saxons mainly, Irish and British mostly. For this year we are receiving requests also from United States and Australia but even some couples coming from Germany, Switzerland or Austria.
• Let’s go to present. It is quite early to say…how could you judge 2009 trend?
  It is quite good so far. There are some wedding we are working on that will be just wonderful!
• Are you afraid of world recession? Do you think this could lead to negative effects in wedding planning? Do you feel there is something changing?
  It is only a matter of budget so far…..but let me say that is quite difficult stop a dream! Don’t you think so? Maybe you plan to have a big wedding and you turn with a small one but if you love those places….I think….you cannot avoid to come!
• I bet you are already working on some events for 2010. Isn’t it?
  Thats’ true! Do you know what? Here are some requests for 2011!!
  That’s fine…if you start planning early you have more time to decide every single details and make your dreams come true.
• Valentina, thanks and good luck!
  Thanks you!! Congratulations to all new-engaged, lots of happiness to newly-weds and thanks from the bottom of my heart to the rest of the team that it is growing now and to all our collaborators….and most of all our wonderful webmaster!!!

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.

Right after the photographs in stunning main square of Orta, Luisa is getting closer to the great moment.
There is an oar boat waiting for her leaving from for Orta pier to lead her to Villa Bossi.
Over there, there is Massimiliano, the handsome groom, waiting for her with all relatives and friends. As soon as she is arrived she walks through the aisle of the villa with lots of wonderful roses and charming sound of a harp in the background.

Right in front of the the town hall porch the civil ceremony takes place. Skillful photographer Ivana Porta from Torino is taking all the reportage of the service with her good experience, shooting every single detail of the event, from the ring exchange to the flower arrangements made up by Peonies and Baby’s breath.

At the end of the ceremony, right after the traditional rice and petals throwing, Luisa and Massimiliano take a beautiful white motorboat that from Villa Bossi will take them to St Julius Island on of the most outstanding places of Lake Orta take some everlasting pictures thanks to Ivana Porta.

After the romantic shooting they go straightaway to Hotel Giardinetto where all the guests are waiting for them for their aperitif and reception.
Hotel Giardinetto is one of the nice facilities on the Lakeshore of Pettenasco, just few km from Orta San Giulio. The best spot of the Hotel is the wide terrace on lake from which bride and groom will cut their wedding cake with wonderful panorama. High standard cuisine was served with wide choosing of red and white local wines.

A great atmosphere of joy, music and dances with colorful handmade favor by SposiamoVi and bouquet throwing!
This is a party that bridegroom and guest will remember for long time!

View more pictures about Luisa and Massimiliano’s wedding in Lake Orta.