Morning guys and gals 🙂 Have you looked out side yet? I think I'd like to close my eyes and dream of sunshine on this rainy Wednesday morn – Italian style sunshine. Infact, why don't we take a look at a beautiful lakeside Italian wedding this morning?
Alicia and Adam got married on 25 August this year with a destination wedding at Villa Balbianello in Lake Como, Italy. And what a stunningly beautiful wedding it was. With an an original vintage wedding dress from London based specialist suppliers Fur Coat No Knickers and a beautiful pair of shoes from Rachel Simpson, Alicia was all set for her 1950's inspired look on her perfect day…
"I loved the 50's styling of my dress, I thought it really suited my figure. When you buy a dress from Fur Coat No Knickers, you are encouraged to make changes to suit your taste and vision. I decided to have the dress shortend and the back lowered into a V shape.
I also had buttons added to the back and a lot of weight taken from the neck line. They take it very slowly and listen to your every need. The girls at Fur coat make you feel very special and you are always greeted with a glass of bubbles! It' s like entering a giant beautiful dressing up box, soooooooo much fun!
Picking my dress set the scene, and of course, visiting Lake Como…."
Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2011, Annamarie Stepney, 2nd Shooter Jon Mold
The couple had 4 venues for their big day…
"Adam went of a European toured back in 2009 with 3 close friends. Adam absolutely fell in love with Lake Como. He suggested we visted it, as a possible location to get married. You can not visit this place without thinking it's absolutely stunning!!I was sold the minute I arrived!
Our four venues were… Relais Regina Teodolinda, where I got married and where we both stayed the evening before the wedding; Villa Balbianello (James bond,Casino Royal,Star Wars were all filmed there) where our wedding ceremony was held; then we moved on to the Tirlindana Restaurant in Lenno for our wedding breakfast and our final location for the evening partying was on the beach at the Lido di Lenno.
The amazing 'Lake Como Wedding Planner' team of Rachel, Leonora and Laura planned it all…"
"Rachel (our wedding planner) took us both to the most amazing florist, It was like a rain forest inside! They helped plan and envisage our thoughts and ideas down to the smallest detail. They were even kind enough to made up our bouquet's and hanging arrangments whists we were there so to give us both an idea on how they would lookon the day. I even came away with a small bouquet as a present!"
"Well, one of my bridemaids Debbie is a beauty therapist. She doesn’t really do make up but made a special effort for me. Thank you Debbie, you made me look lovely!"
"The Bridesmaides dresses are all from ASOS and are very inexpensive. I had them adapted by my mother in laws friend called Joan, very clever lady! She shortened the length, replaced the straps (as they were black on a navy blue dress), Joan made a sash and added extra netting underneath to give the dresses a 50's shape! Joan completely altered the whole look of them and they are exactely what we wanted…"
"My necklace was my Nans, it was gold with pearls and very special to me as she wore it to my Mums wedding…."
Alicia's head piece was picked up from an Antiques fair at Cressing barns – a beautiful gold designn encrusted with pearls…
The Groom and Ushers were a little more casual than the usual wedding due to the heat and holiday mood. Adam's and the ushers shirts and trousers are from Jaeger, bow tie's from Ebay. Adam's trousers and bow tie are different colours from the ushers….
"A vintage wooden boat transported me, the bridesmaids and my mum from where we got ready (Hotel – Teodolina, prettiest hotel on the lake) to Balbianello. Adam and the other guests travelled in another boat from the other end of the lake.All the guests met outside Villa Carlotta as the venue was a secret!"
"I ordered white silk fans for the chairs at Balbianello from Do It Yourself Favours. One of my bridesmade Jade made all the name tages for the rausarent chairs and silk fans. She also desinged and made the seating plan at [email protected] or visit www.handmadebyjade.net. So happy with them. She also made the name tags for the chairs at the restaurant and passport invites. She's very talented!"
"We kept the table decorations very Italian by introducing pots of herbs and lots of Candles. The bridesmaids,flower girls and my bouquet all had sage amongst the white and green flowers, They smelt amazing!"
"My flower girl dresses are from Monsoon – I absolutely love love these dresses! They suited my two very special neices x"
"We decided to go with a traditional Italian wedding cake loaded with fresh fruit on a soft pasty base. The cake was made by the restaurants head chef…"
"The evening venue was on the beech in Lida De Lenno. We hired 3 cabannas loaded with drinks and a wide selection of fruit on arrival. They allowed us to play our own music. This was one of Adam's highlights, arriving and seeing everyone chilled and relaxing on the beech drinking champagne and discussing the day. The Perfect way to end a perfect day"
The couple danced to 'Stand By Me', by Ben E. King….
"….for the simple reason, it reminds us of when we first got together 11 years ago…"
Words of Wedded Wisdom…
"Choose an amazing venue, you only do it once. Make the most of every second (We made a week of it with 40 friends and family)…"
What a beautiful sun filled day! Huge congrats to Alicia and Adam, and thanks as always to Photographer Annamarie Stepney and her assistant shooter, Jon Mold…
"Well what can I say, we both love Annamarie. Annamarie and her team (Jon and husband Paul) were AMAZING! Very professional but really felt like they were a speacial part of our day. We all got on so well. Highly recommended. Annamarie has made every part of this process a pleasure. I really don’t like my picture taken but she works in stealth mode, you really dont know she is even there! Which was perfect for me and my bridesmaids!
Even receiving the discs in the post are beautifully wrapped. We couldn’t have been happier with Annamarie and her team. So so pleased we picked her to capture our wedding day."
You can see more beautiful images from Sussex wedding photographer Annamarie Stepney on Love My Dress here, and you can also view more Brides wearing their 1950s style dresses here and get lots of lovely destination wedding ideas here.
And for those of you looking for the perfect bow-tie for your Groom, look here! 🙂
Any of you working on a 50's look for your wedding day?
Much love all,
Annabel xXx
♥
Photographer – Annamarie Stepney with second shooter, Jon Mold
Venue – Villa Balbianello in Lake Como, Italy
Brides dress – Fur Coat No Knickers
Brides shoes – Rachel Simpson, via Fur Coat No Knickers
Brides accessories – vintage & borrowed
Groom – Trousers from Jaeger, bow tie's from Ebay
Bridesmaids – ASOS + hair accessories from Accessorize
Flowergirls – Monsoon
Cake – traditional Italian provided by the venue
Flowers - Local {recommended by Lake Como Wedding Planner}
Wedding Planners – Lake Como Wedding Planner
