Relais de Charme - A Hillside Wedding Venue with a Sea View

Hi All!

I’m in love, and that’s official. I’m sure you will be too after you’ve read this post!

Where have I been? Away scouring the corners of Lazio (and a little corner of Umbria too, I confess) for some GORGEOUS wedding venues to offer here at Country Weddings Italy. Take a seat. Here is the first…..

This place is  truly a little corner of Paradise. Set on a hillside facing west down on to the magnificent northern Lazio coastline, the colours of the natural surroundings are truly a sight not to be missed. The sunsets are also apparently magical. A photographer's dream!

The resort has been created from a group of old agricultural buildings, which the owner, Signor Gianfranco, bought some years ago and lovingly renovated and recreated to his own personal tastes. Signor Gianfranco has a background in the architectural and theatrical scenery creation sectors, and his expert touch is reflected in the extremely original interior décor. He's known to be a wonderful cook too, and he has even offered to spend time with our guests teaching them the basics of Italian pasta-making.

The resort has an indoor and an outdoor swimming pool, spa, Jacuzzi and Hammam area. This really is a place for a super holiday, with friends, rejuvenating mind and soul, and tastebuds (!), as the food is amazing.

Outdoors, the resort’s grounds are filled as far as the eye can see with Mediterranean vegetation, olive groves, woodland and vegetable gardens, the produce from which is used in the resort’s daily cuisine.

The resort has  private indoor function rooms for receptions, or when the weather permits (a large part of the year here!) it is possible to host wedding receptions and parties outside on the terrace. If you prefer a more natural touch, tables can be placed in the olive grove, reserved for your exclusive use, by the pool, all lit by candles and lanterns once the sun goes down.

The hotel has a total of 20 rooms, making the atmosphere discreet and refined. It is off the beaten tourist track and the owner strives to maintain the exclusivity of both the place and its style. Civil wedding ceremonies are possible just a few miles away, in a castle museum (officially a municipality wedding hall) right by the sea. Great for photos!

The word here is originality. Original architecture and design, original wines, original and genuine local foods. Combined with a breathtaking view, this very private, secluded resort is the perfect location for a group to relax, have fun. The perfect Italian wedding venue. For celebrating with Country Weddings Italy, of course!

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!

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!

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.