Luxury wedding in a seaside castle in Italy
Hanna and Adam’s wedding was organized in a very short time, a real last-minute request. It had already happened to us in the past to organize weddings in 4-5 months. Therefore, when they contacted us in May 2022 to get married in September/October of the same year, we had no hesitations in saying yes. Certainly, we still had to find the venue for the wedding, and the couple gave us very specific criteria for a wedding with 150 guests. They wanted a large, impressive and important venue from both a historical and architectural point of view, and it had to be waterfront. So, our search could range from the lakes of the north to the sea view of the far south, to find the venue that could be right for them.
In fact, among the various proposals we made, the four venues they chose for the site inspection were: one on Lake Maggiore, one in a lake near Rome, one in the Cilento seaside area and one on the Sicilian Sea. All of Italy, from north to south, had to be evaluated and visited to choose what would be the venue for their wedding. We visited them all and the final choice was a majestic castle in Sicily, a historical Norman castle located on a cliff overlooking the sea. When the couple set foot in this place they were enchanted by the beauty of the castle and the proximity to the sea. They remained still listening to the sound of the waves and admiring the majesty of the castle and the emerald green water. At that point there was no doubt: the Castle was the perfect place for them.
Wedding ceremony and reception full of personalized details
The wedding celebrations in Italy lasted for two days, and the castle was chosen for the Civil ceremony and reception. Thanks to the variety of spaces, we were able to use all the areas for the various moments of the wedding. The main sea view terrace was used to welcome the guests with a refreshing cocktail. Then the ceremony was held on the lawns overlooking the sea where we set up a wonderful white gypsophila arch that looked like a cloud, coordinated with the decoration along the aisle to accompany the bride to the altar her groom was waiting for her.
The theme of the décor for both ceremony and reception was all white with a touch of green, with beautiful hydrangeas, roses, lisianthus and baby’s breath.
The stationery was all in white and gold with the couple’s logo which was used to personalize menus, welcome board, cocktail toppers, name card holders, napkins, cutlery and even the groom’s shirt! They wanted everything to be personalized for their big day.
Hanna arrived by boat and made a dramatic entrance. The whole ceremony was very emotional, accompanied by live music. After the ceremony, everybody moved to the larger garden for a rich buffet. For this occasion, a well-known Indian chef living in Italy flew to Sicily and prepared a full-Indian wedding dinner together with the Castle brigade. To entertain guests during the cocktail hour there was an artist who drew caricatures on the spot.
Backup plan for this Castle wedding in Italy
The dinner was supposed to be held in the courtyard of the Castle under a roof of fairy lights. Although the weather had been on our side for all the previous events, the weather forecast for the evening had suddenly changed. Until the end we hoped to be able to have the dinner in the courtyard, but suddenly a furious wind arose which sent glasses, flowers and other things flying from the tables. So, we were forced to move everything inside. Thanks to the skill of our trusted floral designers who accompany us in all our weddings throughout Italy, and the collaboration of the Castle staff, in less than half an hour we managed to recreate the entire setup in the internal room.
Obviously when there is a risk of bad weather, we are always prepared in advance. In fact in the internal room, the tables with the mise-en-place were already ready since the morning, in case of risk of rain. However, we still had to move centerpieces, flowers, wedding favors, escort cards, menu cards, table names – which is no small thing at all, especially if each table has specific seats assigned with escort cards.
In fact, couples often don’t realize how much time it takes and how many people it takes to set up a reception, and if everything has to be moved to another spot last minute, this isn’t always possible in a short time. Fortunately, in this case we were prepared, and we had all hands on deck to help move everything quickly. Even though we had to use plan B, the hall was beautiful, the dinner was a great success, all accompanied by the band playing live. During the dinner it started to rain heavily but the guests were now safe.
Afterwards we moved to another adjacent room for the buffet of Sicilian desserts, the Sicilian cart for gelato and the typical granita. And we even had the cigar corner much desired by the groom. The evening ended with the cake cutting under the arch of the internal courtyard of the castle, followed by wonderful fireworks that illuminated the entire coast. It was a wonderful wedding for which we received many compliments from the guests. And what made us proud most of all was the happiness of the spouses who then left in a roaring vintage Ferrari for their first wedding night in an exclusive luxury hotel by the sea.
