White and Yellow Daisy Wedding Inspirations

Daisy wedding dress by Philippa Lepley,  daisy wedding band by Gerard McCabe, stationery by Debbie Jenkins,
 wedding cake by daisie fantasie, bridesmaids' dresses seen on weddingdressonline.org

It has suddenly turned rather cold here in the northern part of Latium. Lots of frost on my lawn this morning. The sun is shining however, just the right weather for a brisk walk in the open air in the countryside.
 However much I love winter weather like this, thinking forward to Spring makes me joyful. It makes me think of weddings, flowers and light,warm country air. Here is a little bit of true springtime wedding day inspiration for all you future brides who are maybe suffering from worse winter weather than we are fortunate to have here at Country Weddings Italy. This Daisy inspiration theme has just the right "rustic chic" touch that could be used at a country wedding venue.

Country Weddings Italy...a taste of what you could enjoy!

I wonder how many happy women are sitting with their laptop right now, browsing wedding blogs for the first time, because they found an extra special present under the Christmas tree yesterday?! Congratulations to all newly-engaged couples! I find Christmastime proposals sooooo romantic. It is in fact a very popular time for our "other halves" to pop the question, along with New Year and Valentine's Day.
It must be wonderful to start dreaming and planning your special day, a completely blank piece of paper to fill with all the best ideas you find along the journey, or even an opportunity for some to finally make the wedding you've planned and dreamed of ever since you were a child finally come true.
Whatever your intentions, below are just a few photos to show you some of the wedding venues and details that Country Weddings Italy have put together to help you experience your unique, romantic wedding day in Italy. More ideas and glimpses in the next few days!

Powder Blue Wedding Inspirations

Favour bags by fabulousfavours.co.uk, blue bridesmaid dress by Carla Massara boutique,
necklace by Bilibi, powder blue wedding dress by CentroSposiParadiso

This blog is dedicated to my Country Weddings Italy business partner and dear friend, Daniela. We have been having long discussions about the colour "powder blue" and its relevant gradient of grey as opposed to pale blue. It's been hard work (we even got the Sanderson's paint colour chart out at one point!) but we finally got there. Why all this preoccupation with a colour, you may ask. Because it's the colour we have chosen for our website background (nearly there now) and we have literally driven our website designer crazy asking him to find the exact colour we were looking for!

However, all this talk got me thinking about what an elegant colour powder blue is indeed, and just perfect for incorporating into a wedding theme, winter or summer, country or even for a beach wedding, so here are a few things I found on the web that can give you some inspiration.

Country Charm for an Italian Country Wedding

Today it's time to showcase another venue that we at Country Weddings Italy have been lucky enough to find, visit and get to know. This country hotel resort lies in the hills of northern Latium, just a few miles from one of the region's largest lakes, Bracciano, and close to local sites with Etruscan and Roman ruins.
Antonello and Marina, the couple who own and run the resort are two of the most helpful people we have met while searching for our quality suppliers and vendors. They really like to take care of their guests, no request seems to be too much trouble, and they call their work their favourite hobby!

The venue itself is top quality, with beautiful, natural grounds, a large open-air swimming pool, a top-quality restaurant,a large terrace for "al fresco" meals, a wine bar and lots of space for sun-bathing, taking a stroll, or just generally relaxing. The owners supply guests with bicycles for exploring the local area and offer cookery courses to their guests on request.
Guests can stay in double bedrooms, studio apartments or cottages, choosing self-catering, half board or full board, all at extremely reasonable prices. Weddings held here receive the owners' utmost attention. Antonello is also the resort's chef, having finally managed to turn a lifetime's passion into a full-time job after leaving his executive management position in a multinational company some years ago. Couples can choose to have their wedding reception meal indoors or outdoors around the beautiful swimming pool,  while dancing and music can continue until late at night in the winebar. Antonello has also been know to lend his vintage sports car to the bride and groom to travel to the local wedding hall!

This definitely a venue which has an excellent price/quality ratio, with guaranteed full attention from your hosts and the beauty of the surrounding scenery.

Latium, the land of Princes, Popes, Farmers and Craftsmen

Many people reading this blog have asked me to tell them a little more about Latium, the region where Country Weddings Italy is based and will concentrate most of its wedding venues. Although I obviously speak from a personal point of view, I truly think that this part of Italy is beautiful, and the beauty of it is that it's not crawling with tourists for most of the year, apart from the capital city, of course. 

So many parts of Italy are popular with overseas tourists. Tuscany is most certainly at the forefront in everyone’s mind when they think of Italy. The region’s tourist board has certainly had some very efficient marketing experts working for them in recent years, and they have the "material" to warrant that, without a doubt. The Amalfi coast is also very popular with Brits and Americans with its unique coastal scenery, and Lake Garda and the northern lakes in general have gained popularity thanks to the likes of George Clooney buying property in the area. Italy’s most beautiful cities, Venice, Florence, Rome and Naples are also known names in everybody’s vocabulary.

Latium (known as Lazio in Italian) is, in fact, the Italian region that is home to one of those names: Rome, the Eternal City, Italy’s capital, which gets its fair share of publicity worldwide and which everyone dreams of visiting at least once in their lifetime. It really is worth a visit and that could easily be incorporated into your stay here, as the city is never more than an hour's journey from wherever you stay in the region.  However, apart from Rome, we are somewhat spoilt for choice in this area of Ancient Roman, Etruscan and Renaissance history. There are architectural wonders to look at wherever you go.  There are Roman ruins, Etruscan tombs, medieval castles, spectacular countryside, rugged coastlines with its long, wide beaches, mountains for skiing, thermal spa towns and lakes for lazing by. A perfect, mini paradise!

We have already shown you a few venues and locations for celebrating your wedding in Latium in this blog. In coming weeks I will most definitely showcase some more. I could go on for hours and hours about the majestic beauty of the medieval town of Viterbo, Montefiascone, the village that produces the excellent Est! Est! Est! wine by the side of Lake Bolsena, the the Monti Sabini hills in the northeast corner of the region, with its olive groves that produces the most divine olive oil and superb country farmhouse hotels ...... but I often think that the power of words is sometimes just simply overcome by the power of pictures, and so I thought I would show you this short video of just some of the highlights of the Latium area. Feast your eyes on this!

Work in Progress

It's been an even busier couple of weeks here at Country Weddings Italy. I spent the last two weekends finishing my Advanced Wedding Planner course (I now have a nice "shiny" certificate to display on my wall that says I passed!) at the gorgeous Odescalchi Castle and this weekend I sat and finally put together all our information and ideas to write the website text. Not an easy task, I must say, as deciding what is too much and what is too little for the averagely interested reader is no simple decision. I'm now proofreading, with the help of a few friends, and this morning we are off to consult with the web designer and lay all our ideas at his door. Daniela even got out the Pantone colour chart to decide on the EXACT shade of pale teal we are looking for. We may be dropping on our feet but it's all so exciting! Watch this space for a sneak preview as soon as it's ready.....

Vintage Twee for Country Weddings - the perfect combination!

Hi everyone, busy week here at Country Weddings Italy, but I really wanted to spend some time today showing you the truly inspirational work by a girl after my own heart. Joanne Linder is a northwest girl turned enterprising businesswoman who is proud of her British heritage, and who has a passion for anything vintage and “twee”, as she affectionately puts it. She also obviously has a magical artistic flair for making items that are just perfect for a wedding celebration. When I stumbled across her website (is it only me that starts off with an intention of looking at something in particular on the web, and ends up somewhere completely different??), I was immediately well and truly hooked!

Joanne’s  products are all made by her own fair hands, which must make her a very busy girl at times. She also told me that she works alone and makes everything from start to finish, a “mere” detail that many people overlook , as they think that Vintage Twee is actually run by a team of people. She obviously has a fine eye for attractive materials and detail too, and I, among many others,  think her creations are just wonderful. As a crafter myself, I have a fairly critical eye, but her items are clearly top-quality, worthy of adorning any wedding table or celebration. Her wedding favours, table decor, tea party range and stationery are lovingly made with inspiration from romantic times-gone-by that have never lost their appeal.

Vintage Love Letter wedding favour boxes.

Joanne set up the business just 18 months ago, but has already been featured several times in the press and her business has grown from strength to strength. This does not, however, stop Joanne from keeping her finger on the button at all levels, as she sources all her vintage materials personally, which she then takes to her studio and transforms into her handcrafted wares.

I really would have a hard time choosing my favourite item from all the ones featured here, but I think one of her most original ideas are the Afternoon Tea Recipe cards, which could easily be chosen as a wedding favour at a vintage, shabby chic or country wedding party.  Feast your eyes on these lovely photos and then visit Joanne’s website at www.vintagetwee.com.

We truly hope some Country Weddings Italy brides will want to use Joanne’s creations on their special day. We would just love to see some photographs of them on the tables at our special wedding venues! 

Gorgeous paper cones to be used for rice or petals,
 or filled with sweets or  flowers as wedding favours

Cones for rice or petals made from original music sheets.

Just perfect for placing in your cupcakes at the dessert table.

Joanne personalises place settings with your guests' names!

Teabag favours! This lovely card is designed to contain an individual
 tea bag and has a lovely tea quote on the front

My favourite original idea from Vintage Twee - Afternoon Tea recipe cards

Such a cute idea! Teapot wedding favour box.

A lovely fairytale wedding favour box

A wedding guest book, which is actually a box containing 80 sheets of paper
where guests can write their best wishes for the couple

For the Love of Flowers.....

Walking into Rosella Antonelli’s floral design workshop on a cold, wet late autumn day here in the Roman countryside was better than taking a hot bath with a glass of Prosecco and my favourite book!! Talk about a child walking into Santa's Wonderland - I was immediately struck by the harmony of the colours, although they varied so greatly, and the style of the non-floral items that she uses to complete each styling project,  many of which reflect my love of the vintage, shabby chic, romantic look so accurately. We sat down to talk surrounded by flowers, crystal candle shades, silver candlesticks, glass bowls with floating candles and flowers, cushions and drapes. I was in heaven!

Rosella is a floral designer who works with love and passion to produce her creations. She has worked for several years in the wedding and events sector, designing and making her floral creations and providing all the finishing touches to bring the style of each event together. Flowers, foliage, candles, crystal, silver candelabras, voile, muslin, silk and fine linen are all components used to create the right atmosphere wherever she is asked to work, indoors or outside, from grand villas to country farmhouses.

Colour is very much  a part of Rosella’s wedding creations (just to provide an opposite point of view from the one I told you I was given last week, where white reigned supreme!), but one piece of advice Rosella gives to brides is to choose a bridal bouquet that is suited to the bride’s height and colouring.  Don’t drown yourself with a bouquet that is too big for you or drain your colouring with colours that are too strong for you to take. It is also a good idea to choose a bouquet that is comfortable to hold, as you will need to hold it throughout the day, or at least until you toss it to your single female guests (if you can bear to part with it!).

Rosella will be working with us to create floral decorations at future Country Weddings Italy weddings. Daniela and I immediately felt at home talking to her, and we soon realised we were all talking the same “language” in terms of work ethics and philosophy  and love of quality service. Another warm, talented person to add to our growing team! All the flowers in this post are Rosella’s creations - you could have them at your Italian wedding too!

"So Many Shades of White" Wedding Inspirations

Last weekend, I spent three days in the most fantastic castle (you truly do get to visit some wonderful places doing this job!!) you can imagine. More on the castle as a dream wedding location in a future post (I'll just name-drop a minute to get you interested though....Tom Cruise, Petra Ecclestone, Mena Suvari...), but I wanted to tell you about its connection to my latest Country Weddings Italy  wedding inspiration collage. White is a colour that shouldn't be taken for granted at a wedding, whatever we may think. Trends come and go and even change the colour of the traditionally white bridal gown, but white remains the supreme champion of colours. 
The talented Floral Designer that I had the privilege to meet at the castle last week, Andrea Patrizi, emphasised the importance of this colour and reiterated the concept that it is THE colour to choose for all aspects of your wedding, possibly the only one. I wasn't quite sure about that, but the more photos I look at, the more I think he may well just have a point! From sophisticated roses to simple country daisies, pure silk or antique lace, icing sugar or the finest quality paper, white is one colour that is so easy to work with and that looks splendid in any environment.


Photo Credits: Wedding shrug from Monsoon; Bridal bouquet made to order by Porcelain Roses (and yes, they are really porcelain!); Pearl wedding invitation from Imagine;  Clutch bag from Etsy;  Daisy wedding cake by Maisie Fantasie, Tall cake featured on weddingandcakes.com; White butterfly biscuits by Juliet Smallwood

Wedding Photographer - Reportage Italian Style

Photographs are a fundamental part of any wedding. Once the day is over, the guests have departed, the adrenaline has faded to a faint quickening of the heart every time we think back to those special hours, all of us want to open up our wedding album and relive each and every special detail of THE day by looking at our fantastic photographs. In order to be able to do that, the photographer needs to be somebody who understands the atmosphere, the style and the emotions of the occasion, capturing every special moment without being too intrusive or visible.

 I recently spent a few hours with an excellent photographer, talking with him and viewing his work with the intention of discovering whether he was somebody that Country Weddings Italy would feel comfortable with offering as a wedding photographer for their overseas couples coming to tie the knot in Italy.

A member of Tau Visual, the Italian national professional photographers’ association and the prestigious International Wedding Photojournalists’ Association (WPJA), Fabrizio Vinti is a photographer based in central Italy, but who is willing to travel to other locations too, given the opportunity. Membership in WPJA requires rigorous standards in technical skill, aesthetics and best business practices and the selection procedure is complex . To put it simply, they don’t just let anyone in! True to the WPJA mission, Fabrizio says his intention is to use photography to tell the story of your wedding day, not dictate it for you. His passion for this art form, which began as a child when he found an old Polaroid camera at home and started to use it, transpires from his every word.  Fabrizio gave up a career as a jeweller in the well-established family business to make photography his full time job several years ago and has never looked back since.

Fabrizio is a warm person who immediately makes you feel at ease, something fundamental for a nervous bride and groom on their most important day. He speaks English, which makes communication easier with his subjects, although his technique does not involve the need for long-winded instructions to tell the couple how to pose, as he likes to capture them spontaneously, using a natural, documentary style approach to the wedding day.

Take a look at the photographs and transport yourself to your Italian wedding in Lazio, organised by Country Weddings Italy (of course!), with Fabrizio capturing every detail and emotion of your unique, special day. You can contact us at countryweddingsitaly@gmail.com for any further information you might like to receive.