An Intimate Lake Como Wedding Full of Surprises and Must-Read Advice from the Bride!

Lauren Megerdichian
August 18, 2019
Categories: Destination, Real Weddings, Romantic, The Blog

From the watercolor invitations to the post-ceremony boat ride to the romantic floral-filled fountains… this wedding blends all the best elements of our favorite wedding destination – Italia! Prepare for Figli Dei Fiori’s organic floral arrangements and ceremony arch to take your breath away, lush with hundreds of café-au-lait dahlias and English cream roses. My Lake Como Wedding planned every unforgettable moment and had the festivities running smoothly while Shannon Moffit Photography was the behind the lens, capturing every detail. Trust us, this full gallery is an absolute MUST. Oh, and don’t forget to read the bride’s wise wedding planning advice at the bottom of the post!

From the Bride… Our wedding was in Lake Como, Italy, and we could not imagine a more romantic destination. From the start, our most important item on the wish list was to keep our wedding small (around 50 people), so we could spend more quality time with our guests and with each other. One of the passions we share as a couple is traveling, so having a destination wedding was the perfect option for us. I started searching for places we might like to go and when I stumbled upon photos of Lake Como, I had the moment that brides get where you just “know!”

When vendors asked me about our vision for the wedding, it was hard to describe it succinctly, so I often painted this picture: The ceremony will be a personal and intimate lakeside moment when we will exchange our vows, surrounded only by our families and closest friends. An outdoor terrace for the reception lends itself perfectly to a romantic garden party atmosphere under twinkling lights and the stars. Forest green mountains surround the Alpine blue lake, painting one of the most picturesque backdrops imaginable for a wedding day. Accordingly, I want the wedding to fit the natural beauty of the lake and to possess an atmosphere that is quintessentially Italian. Organic, naturally occurring colors, textures, and styles—whatever those may be— will most appeal to us as we surround ourselves with the natural beauty of the lake. If I could think of words to describe how I envisioned the wedding, they would be: intimate, romantic, fun-filled, natural, organic, and Italian.

We are so lucky to have found Gemma Aurelius, our wedding planner, who understood this vision right away, even though we were more than 5,000 miles apart while planning! She recommended a beautiful, 18th-century villa, Villa Cipressi, nestled on the shores of Varenna—a small town on Lake Como. Standing here on the shores of the lake for the first time brought me to tears! The vision for our flowers was light and airy colors arranged loosely—kind of like they had always been growing there—for a natural look. Our planner works with a wonderful florist in Como, Figli dei Fiori, who created the most stunning flower arch, bouquets, centerpieces, and boutonnieres. We were lucky enough to be able to travel to Italy before the wedding, and on this trip we chose specific flowers we liked, including café-au-lait dahlias and English cream roses. The flowers lining the aisle were some of my favorite pieces; the perennials added height to the arrangements and they had the look of wildflowers growing right on the terrace.

One of my favorite elements of the wedding was working with Christine Ross, our invitation designer, and Cassie Schott, a calligrapher and designer, to create luxurious and vintage-looking invitation suites, menus, welcome cards, thank you notes, and place cards. Christine painted a custom watercolor image of our venue for us, which was featured on our invitation. Several guests actually called me to RSVP, saying they didn’t want to send the RSVP back in the mail because it was too beautiful to part with! Other guests told me they carried the invitation suite with them around in their purse all the time and showed it to people. I am so grateful we had this team of wonderful ladies to create such exquisite pieces of art! Finding my wedding dress was actually one of the most difficult parts of planning! I knew I wanted a v-neck style and an a-line skirt. I did most of the shopping with my mom, and we visited between 15-20 local salons and boutiques looking for the perfect dress—but came up with nothing! After searching everywhere else, I visited Kleinfelds in New York City, home of the popular TV show Say Yes to the Dress. We made an appointment and our consultant, Michelle, was able to find the perfect dress for me! My gown was designed by Michelle Roth and the Erinn style was everything I dreamed of—floral lace appliques and a long, sweeping train.

Favorite Moment…We chose to do a First Look at Villa Monastero before our ceremony and I’m so glad we did. Leading up to that moment, we were both full of nerves and excitement. Our first look was a wonderful moment for us to just be together and soak in the magic of the day. When it was time for the ceremony, we were able to be present in the moment and soak in the joy we all felt during that time. Plus, we got to spend more time together! Win-win in my book.

Favorite Details…Aside from actually getting married (of course), there are two things that stand out as highlights of our wedding day: 1. A boat cruise on Lake Como after aperitivo (Italian cocktail hour): Guests were whisked away to a Chicca sightseeing boat for a tour of the most beautiful sights in the mid-lake region, including Villa del Balbianello (Star Wars and James Bond movies have been filmed here) and panoramic views of the Italian Alps. Meanwhile, Matthew and I had our own Riva speed-boat; we surprised our guests by speeding past them on our Riva and the views of the lake were a sight to behold. 2. An Italian Tenor: My parents surprised us—and all of our guests—with an Italian opera singer as we cut the cake! Everyone stood mesmerized as he belted out several classics next to the grand piano on the terrace. It was a truly magical moment in which it felt like time stood still. I still get chills when I think about it!

Advice for Brides-To-Be:

· Create a new email address that is used only for wedding planning. It was so helpful to have everything wedding related be separate from my personal emails, especially since 95% of our communications with vendors abroad was over email. This is a great trick for all brides, not just destination weddings!

· Hire a great wedding planner. We could not have planned a wedding without someone who knows local vendors and can handle all of the day-of details for you without a hitch. I trusted Gemma, our planner, implicitly—meaning I could relax and enjoy our wedding day without having to worry one bit!

· Do your research on vendors. Spend time looking for vendors you “click” with. After we had our planner secured, we found our wedding photographer here on SMP—Shannon Moffit Photography. Knowing I wanted a photographer who shot film and digital photos, I found Shannon and the rest is history! It felt like the stars had aligned for us with each wonderful person we found to help us achieve our wedding day vision.

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