Castles and Country Weddings....Italy

Well, what a month March has been! We've gone from the freak snow of February to the amazing sunny days of March. Just perfect for wanting to laze around in the garden and not do any work, but no rest for the wicked, and my feet literally haven't touched the ground, so what does that say about me??

 I know I haven’t been around a lot on the blog, but we are currently visiting some “wow factor” venues that we could possibly suggest to our Country Weddings Italy couples. More of those in the near future (and then I’m off to bed as we have another visit arranged for tomorrow morning!) but in the meantime, and I know I’ve told you about this before, Latium (or Lazio as it is known here in Italy), the Italian Region home to Rome, to name its most famous city, is full of the most amazing architecture from all periods. Most of the castles, however, date back to the Medieval Age.

I thought I might tempt you with a few photographs of some of these magnificent buildings. Some of the castles are still lived in by their aristocratic owners, but many are now also open to the public, to visit or, here it comes, to hire as wedding venues! Can you imagine feeling like a true-blood Italian aristocrat or princess in your own castle for a day??

Some of the castles have been transformed into hotels, at several levels from B&B to 5-star hotel. Some of them are museums on a day-to-day basis, but can be hired for weddings anyway (they close the museum for the day, don't worry, no uninvited guests!) At least two are now  municipal wedding halls, which means you can use them as your legal civil wedding venue there, maybe with the mayor marrying you in the castle museum or up on the terrace overlooking the surrounding countryside.  One castle is famous for both its beautiful rose gardens and the wonderful waterfalls nearby. Perfect as a backdrop for photos….

There are castles big and small, some hotels to stay in for a week, or locations just for your special day, some municipal wedding halls or museums. Some are by the sea, some by a lake and others in the countryside surrounded by exquisite medieval villages or green fields. Just perfect, in any of these cases for a Country Wedding in Italy! 

If you’d like to know more about using a Latium castle as your wedding venue, or also as your holiday location for you and your wedding guests, please let us know and we can send you more information. In the meanwhile, take a look at the pictures to see the plethora of castles on offer!

Just "L.O.V.E" these Crystal Bouquets!!

A beautiful, sunny January morning to you! Yes, the sun is shining here in the north of Latium and that always puts me in a good mood. What better way to start the day than with beautiful photographs?

I came across these beautiful crystal bouquets while I was looking around on the internet for ideas and items for Country Weddings Italy to promote. We only like to promote things that we truly believe are beautiful, and which we would recommend to our brides and grooms. I must admit, though, having lived in Italy for many years, that the trend of crystal bouquets had not yet registered with me, as I had never seen one here in Italy.

The lovely ladies behind these creations are a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law team from Bury in the Northwest of the UK, Sheila and Natalie. The idea for their hugely successful business came from Natalie’s own wedding, when she decided to make her own bouquet. The business literally took over like a rocket and they now have a full diary for 12 months at a time. The bouquets that L.O.V.E bouquets now make for the business are created in constant close consultation with their brides, and the brooches, crystals and jewellery incorporated into these works of art are all sourced by the owners during their regular treasure-hunt outings in the local area.

Looking at their Facebook page, I noticed how “in touch” they are with their customers, constantly talking to each other and even altering bouquets  to suit changes in preferences when they are already in the process of being made.

It is also possible to purchase bouquets for bridesmaids and flower girls (some lovely ideas here, including a crystal wand for a little girl), buttonholes for the groom and other members of the male wedding party, and corsages for the ladies.

Flower girl's wand with butterfly embellishment

Blue buttonhole for a handsome groom!

3 matching bridesmaids' bouquets

Any bride travelling to Italy for their wedding could decide to have a gorgeous crystal bouquet made to bring with her for her special day and then keep it to display at home. Just take a look at these pictures and notice the handiwork!

My favourite, there are butterfly brooches in this one!

Photo by Jon Lyons

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.