Getting Married in Italy...the Perfect Choice

Hi everyone. Today I thought I would provide you with some personal thoughts about why couples decide to get married in Italy. I'm very happy that they do, of course (!!) but making that choice can be so tricky, with the plethora of beautiful destinations worldwide to choose from. In spite of that number of alternatives, Italy has become a very popular choice with couples opting for a “Destination Wedding”, especially with British, Irish, American, Australian and Canadian brides and grooms.

So what is it that makes Italy so attractive, the choice as the perfect place to take your vows and hold the celebrations for your new life together? The first thing that comes to mind is that Italy is such a romantic place. Italian lifestyle itself, the Dolce Vita, is the perfect atmosphere for any type of celebration, and the scenery that you find almost anywhere can be the perfect setting. Just think of all that money saved on styling!! I often spend hours just gazing out of my living window, thinking about how beautiful this place is, and that’s after living here for 22 years, so the novelty has kind of worn off by now! Anyway, let’s say that the canvas is already there, all it needs is painting a little bit more with your favourite colours and style. 

The sun and light in Italy is also so special, and you get a chance to add a little colour to your skin before the big day, if you want to. Wonderful food, fantastic wines, friendly-natured people……I could go on and on, but I think Italy’s magic ingredient is just that…magic. Something that has no name, something that you can’t quite put your finger on, but you know it is all around you. One phrase that always immediately pops out of somebody’s mouth when I say that I live in Italy is “Oh! You lucky thing!!” And my answer is always “Yes, aren’t I”. And I mean it.

In spite of some negative aspects of living here all the time (is any country perfect?), Italy is a wonderful place, even more so if you plan to spend only a temporary period here.  The Latium countryside is rolling hills, lush vegetation and filled with archaeological and architectural wonders. To watch the video I put on the blog a little while ago, about this superb area of Italy, Latium, where Country Weddings Italy is based, click here.   We can also add the excellent food and wine, amazing locations, beautiful churches and town halls, unique venues with breathtaking views. Italians are certainly creative and stylish too. In fact, we dedicate a lot of time to our supplier searches,  so that the presentation of the food for your wedding breakfast, your table decorations, your wedding flowers and your photographs will be out of this world, even when planning a wedding on a smaller budget. Your wedding will be an event that stays on all your guests’ lips for weeks afterwards. You will have lifetime memories of your wedding in Italy to cherish forever.

Couples choosing to marry in Italy and invite their family and friends often turn the experience into a celebration that lasts for more than one day. The special occasion becomes an opportunity to meet relatives and friends that you may not have seen for some time, and spend some quality time with them, all staying in the same location. At Country Weddings Italy we organise pre and post-wedding events too, which can also be incorporated into your official wedding programme, and be included on your wedding invitations. We can sit down together and organise a whole progamme of events for you and your guests. For example, how about a pre-wedding barbecue by the pool of your hotel the night before the wedding? How about inviting all your guests to have a late brunch with you the day after your wedding, to look at some of the photos (the magic of digital photography is that it is immediately visible on screen) and talk about some of the most enjoyable moments of the day?  How about spending a day before your wedding in the kitchen with your friends, learning authentic Italian cooking while sipping a glass of full-bodied red wine (or two…).

 Or, to make the men (or the women, of course!) in the wedding party happy, how about learning to drive a Ferrari or a Lamborghini around an Italian racetrack for the day?

Daniela and I always make sure that we have excellent accommodation to offer you, if it is not already available at your wedding venue, and if we don’t have immediate thoughts on the matter, we will do the searching for you, until we find a place where you will be happy staying for your wedding holiday.  Some of the excellent hotels and country villas that we have visited and chosen to offer to our couples have offered to organise cookery classes, wine-tasting evenings, and even sightseeing tours around Rome.

Add your wedding ceremony in a frescoed wedding hall, a beautiful church or in a country garden, spectacular food and wine at your wedding reception and a mild climate almost all year round, and……well, maybe we’ve got the answer as to why Italy is a very popular choice for couples planning their wedding.

Butterfly Wedding Photo Shoot at Country Weddings Italy

I'm on a roll, as they say! This morning, before I go and hop on a plane to the UK,  I thought I'd show you all these butterfly-themed wedding venue decoration items, all designed and made by Country Weddings Italy. We can come up with ideas for most themes and colours for our guests, or follow ideas and preferences the couple already has, either making the items, or sourcing them on the market. Thanks to Fabrizio for the photos, and the patience!

Butterfly Wedding Inspirations at Country Weddings Italy

www.countryweddingsitaly.com

OK, we admit it. We have a thing about butterflies here at Country Weddings Italy. We have even chosen a butterfly to sit on the home page of our new website, which is due to go online any day now. (Yippee!!). The photo above is a sneak preview....

I have my own reasons for loving butterflies, and have even been known to shed a tear when I see one, as I find them so spiritual, but they truly are the most marvellous, gorgeous creatures. With so much ugliness in the world, they can become a magnificent theme or item at a wedding, bound to wow your guests and carry a beautiful, special meaning too: Butterflies symbolize new life, new beginnings and a transformation from old to new. This is highly symbolic of marriage; the joining of two lives to create a new one.

Butterflies are all around in the Italian countryside in Spring and Summer months, but I sometimes catch a glimpse of them in Autumn and Winter too in my garden. The various colours are amazing, and I always gaze in wonder at how audacious butterflies are; they take their time and visit all the flowers in the garden, not scared off by humans, dogs or loud noises.

We've put together a few inspiration boards to show you some of the many and original ways that butterflies can be incorporated into your wedding, and we've done a photo-shoot too, of Country Weddings Italy-created wedding decor items. More of that later this afternoon. In the meantime take a look at these photos and start dreaming of filling your wedding venue in Italy with these gorgeous items.

Clockwise from top left: tiara from Princess Jewellery, dress from Dorotheas Closet Vintage,
tiara from notonthehighstreet.com, dress from BHLDN, tiara from 3D jewellery, dress by Mariella
 Burani,full gown found on weddingpoints.co.uk, dress by Mary L Couture.

Clockwise from left to right: cakesforweddings.net, marthastewartweddings.com,
 maisiefantaisie.co.uk,  eweddingcake.com, nickygrant.com, maisiefantaisie.co.uk

Clockwise from left to right: diy.weddingbee.com, kaboodle.com, diywedcentral.com,
 bridalcraft.com,  confettiflowers.com, jan hobbins, monarchbutteflys.com, butterflyaccessories.co.uk

Clockwise from left to right: invitation from inspiredinvites.com, biscuit cutter wedding favour
 from itsawrap.weddings.co.uk,  yellow wedding invitation from zazzle.co.uk, wedding
favour biscuits from julietstallwoodbiscuitsandcakes.co.uk,  invitation from handyhippo.co.uk,
all white invitation from weddingsoon.co.uk, jewelled butterfly wedding favour from modefunction.com,
 lilac invitation from debbiejenkins.co.uk

A Medieval Castle Wedding with Country Weddings Italy.

I was recently very lucky to spend 3 days in a gorgeous 15^th century lakeside castle in my much-loved area of Italy. I was there on a course (I’ve now got my Advanced Wedding Planner certificate under my belt!) but given the nature of what we were studying, we were allowed to enter the magical world of weddings in a fairytale castle, because this place is a wedding venue open to all!! What girl wouldn’t love to get married in a  real Medieval castle?! Better than anything I ever dreamed up with my Barbie dolls when I was a youngster!

Do the names Tom Cruise and Petra Ecclestone ring bells for anyone? This is the place they chose to get married! The celebrity list is a long one: in fact, before spending time at the castle, I thought it would be well out of most people’s price range, but I now know that the castle caters to many pockets. It truly is possible to plan a multi million-dollar wedding there, but it is also possible to spend amounts that are within many people’s wedding budget. Prices depend on the various areas of the castle hired for the wedding and getting married here during the week is less expensive that choosing a day at the weekend.

The setting is superb and the staff in charge of weddings, headed by the amazing Sanda Pandza, are all warmhearted and wonderfully efficient.  I learned so much during my stay at the castle and know for sure that any Country Weddings Italy couple who should decide to get married here will enjoy the experience of a lifetime.  The castle still belongs to the aristocratic family that purchased the castle at the end of the 17^th century, when the original owners found themselves in financial difficulties and had to sell off many of their assets. The current owner of the castle, (a real princess!) still has private apartments in the castle, although the castle is also open to visitors each day, for guided tours.

Symbolic wedding and commitment ceremonies can be organised within the castle grounds, indoors or outdoors, or a civil or religious wedding can be held just outside the castle walls, at the local cathedral or town hall. Moving on to the post-ceremony celebrations,  aperitifs are often served in the Secret Garden, while the wedding breakfast is normally served indoors, in one of the castle’s majestic halls off the main courtyard, or even in the castle’s traditional kitchens, with their huge fireplaces. Dancing and entertainment can continue  in the courtyard after the celebratory meal, and at night the castle can be lit up with candles and torches, and even fireworks so that it is seen for miles around. There is no end of possibilities to planning a wedding here!

As I’ve often said in the past, a country wedding doesn’t necessarily mean not holding an elegant celebration. This is an absolutely perfect setting for any lady who wants to be a true princess on her wedding day. If you would like more information about holding your wedding here, together with all the other services Country Weddings Italy can provide to make your wedding in Italy just perfect, then write to us at: countryweddingsitaly@gmail.com

Credits: We would like to thank Castello Odescalchi for all the photos.

Happy New Year from Country Weddings Italy

Hi Everyone, a Very Happy New Year to you all, or “Buon Anno” as we say in Italy.

Very big congratulations to all the couples who got married over the holiday period.

We haven't finished celebrating yet here in Italy, as January 6th is Epiphany, a national bank holiday, and a very important one for children as an old witch "Befana" comes to visit during the night and leaves stockings full of sweets and goodies, or full of coal if you've been naughty!! This makes the end-of-year holidays one continuous celebration from 24th December to January 6th.......never-ending!!

We have been busy bees during the festivities, however, and I personally am feeling motivated and ready for everything 2012 will bring, hopefully a successful year for Country Weddings Italy and health and happiness for my family.

I’ve just booked a flight back to the UK to attend the Tatton Hall Wedding Fayre in Cheshire on 28^th and 29^th January. Tatton Hall is a gorgeous stately home near Knutsford, and my next post will be about the wonderful aristocratic residence that we are being allowed to offer as a wedding venue for couples wishing to get married in this part of the world. Log on later! I will only be going to the fayre as a visitor this year: I’ll be looking round and seeing what’s new on the English wedding scene, so that Daniela and I can incorporate any special wishes from British couples into their Italian wedding. That applies to any nationality of course. We will willingly help you to incorporate any of your own traditions into your Italian wedding celebrations. It is so lovely getting married abroad, different and “exotic”, but many brides have told me that they like to have a “piece of home” with them, and as that is often a bit difficult to fit in a suitcase, then we will try to recreate that special something here.

Please remember to contact us a countryweddingsitaly@gmail.com for any information you may require. Our previous blogs here contain some information about locations, photographers, florists etc, but we will be pleased to send you some more detailed information and photographs by email.

We look forward to working with you this year, whatever your wedding date!

Nicola and Daniela

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!

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.