19 Nov 2010

Italian Cooking Classes


Having a week wedding party in Italy? Suggest  your guests different activities: tours, wine tastings and  italian cooking classes. Discover the secrets of the italian cuisine, learn to prepare good italian dishes, like Pasta and Pizza and typical regional dishes such Tortellini or the Ribollita.
If you're going to have a wedding in Tuscany , I would like to suggest : Farmers at the Castle, a cooking class in an tuscan castle:
COOKING CLASS:
Beans and Farro cereal soup ,Ribollita,Home made Tagliatelle / Taglierini / Stracci / Pappardelle pasta
During the cooking class, “Fettunta” bread with our olive oil will be served with our wines.
After the lesson, dinner/lunch will be served in the Castle Halls with these dishes, selection of tuscan ham and cheese, castle wines.
Contact us for informations and booking.

18 Nov 2010

Italian Wedding Favors




In Italy it's tradition to give a gift ( "bomboniera" in italian ) to each guest. The wedding favor has a double meaning: on one hand serves as a reminder, a symbol of the wedding day spent together, the other is a way of thanking all the guests for their presence and their gifts.If you are looking for Italian wedding favors, the gift must also include  five almonds, which are also known as "confetti".Generally the number of sweets in the bag is 5, equal to the indispensable qualities of a good marriage: Health, Happiness, Fertility , Longevity and Wealth.
The sugar almonds can be placed in each guest's place seating, wrapped in organza bag or in a favor box.
The second way to present the almonds to the guests, is to arrange a "confettata" : a sugar almonds tasting with different flavors from the white chocolate almonds to the pepper almonds. The presentation is very important :  a decorated table with glass bowls of different heights or satin bags. Each bowl with a different flavor.

Wedding on the Italian Beach

Do you dream of getting married barefoot on the sand?
In Italy there are beautiful many white sandy beaches where you can arrange a romantic ceremony . It can be a religious blessing or a civil valid or just an intimate renewal of vows.
After the ceremony an informal barbecue party or a magic reception on the beach and dancing until the first light of dawn.
Torches ,candles and colorful lanterns will light the night and will be perfect decotation for your beach event.

17 Nov 2010

REAL WEDDING featured in Style Me Pretty



Let's have a look on Style Me Pretty Blog at the beautiful pictures of a  Portofino wedding organized by Varese Wedding and photographed by  the very good  destination wedding photographer Corbin Gurkin .


7 Nov 2010

Wedding in Italy: A County for Every Season.

Every season offers its own unique appeal to hold weddings , and also in Italy, there are places better suited for each season. If you're planning a Fall Wedding, you can consider Tuscany and Piedmont  as wedding location. In  Tuscany and Piedmont, The landscapes are dressed in new colors, vineyards and woods are colored of yellow and red shades. But Autumn is also the season of the flavors of the fruits of the earth.
 
Choose a wineyard or vinery in the Tuscany and Piedmont country as a wedding locations, have your ceremony under the Portico with beautiful view on the colored hills or inside an old wine cellar, with wooden barrels background. If you were planning a wedding in the fall, this would be perfect! The grape leaves are starting to turn beautiful with rich fall colors. These vibrant hues can suggest your color scheme of rust, burgundy, purple, gold, orange, brown, yellow, olive green, and cream. You reception can be decorated with pumpkins, chestnuts, walnuts, and grapes. Another reason that a winery is perfect for a  Wedding in Piedmont or Tuscany,  is the wine! Toast with Spumante ( sparkling wine) from Asti County or served your guests Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico or Barolo during your dinner.
   
A Winter Wedding  can be terribly glamorous, cinematic and magical! You can opt for a wedding under the snow, to rent a castle or to get married in an italian city. If you love skiing, Dolomites and Valle d' Aosta are the perfect regions for you. You can get married on Mont Blanc on skis, choose a romantic chapel, feel on top of the world with a mountain top ceremony, arrive in style via helicopter, ski as a couple after you’ve made your vows or treat your family to a luxury alpine chalet as they prepare for your wedding day.
Getting married in december? Romantic towns like Bressanone, Cortina, Trento, Bolzano, Vipiteno are well suited and decorated for Christmas. Enjoy a  sleigh ride and than a romantic dinner in typical mountain hut!!


And why not a fairytale wedding in an italian castle? There is something quite beautiful about the castle during the winter months, with romantic candlelight and roaring log fires, this is the perfect time of year to create a magical atmosphere with sparkling crystals, feathers, candelabras and lots of candles. In Italy you have a great choice of castles: castles in the italian mountains, castles on the italian lakes, castles in Piedmont, Tuscany, Umbria and in Lazio ( near Rome).The cities are full of life, events, markets , all the businesses, bars and nightclubs that close down in the heat of the summer, reopen for fun. Get married in Venice, arrive in typical gondola at the townhall, choose a  carnival costume or mask  for wedding dress and you will have an origina wedding in Italy. Another romantic venue in winter is Verona, expecially the Juliet balcony. Also other cities like Milan, Florence and Rome offer beautiful landscapes and venues.
For a winter wedding, your color scheme can  include red and green or you could  go for either frosty shades of white and silver or deep jewel tones like sapphire, ruby or emerald.
In Spring, I suggest the beautiful Italian Lakes District, in this time of the year the  villa's gardens are filled with colorful flowers. The weather is nice and warm and charming  lakeside villas and elegant italian gardens are the perfect venues for a romantic wedding in Italy . Enjoy a boat ride to Isola Bella on Lake Maggiore  or a boat tour on Lake Como with stop on Villa Balbaniello or Villa Carlotta.

Dreaming a wedding on the beach? This is a good period for a beach wedding, as the weather is fine and the beaches are not croweded as in summer. In Italy you will have a great choice of sandy beaches, from the Italian Riviera and Emilia Romagna beaches to the beautiful coasts of Sardinia and Apulia.
Have your ceremony barefoot on the beach and then invites your guests for a dinner with the waves sound  as background.

Amalfi Coast and Capri are amazing in spring, the sunny longer days and a good temperature, not so hot like in summer offer several outdoor venues. Spring is definitely a great time to have a wedding in  Capri and in the Amalfi Coast;  in spring, the whole place blossoms with greens and colourful flowers.
Summer is filled with Italian festivals and you'll find them almost everywhere, from big cities to tiny villages. One of the most famous summer festivals is the Palio horse race in Siena, but many towns hold contests for a palio and medieval festivals are common. Avoid the cities, hot and stifling , choose the Lakes, Italian Riviera or the  Umbria coutryside. Please consider that also the South of Italy is very hot, so choose very late afternoon ceremonies and dinner reception.
If you're searching a quiet location, that offer peace and tranquility also in this period of the year, Umbria region can be the right option. Rent a farmhouse or a monastery for your family anf friends in the umbrian countryside and you will enjoy a very intimate and romantic wedding. Choose one of the beautiful churches of a religious ceremony or a panoramic terrace for a civil or blessing ceremony. Have an outdoor dinner under the stars with lots of candles on the tables and around. Decor the venues with sunflowers and poppies. Offer your guests the regional wines and food and end the party with magic sky lanterns!