Our Wedding: The Decor

One year ago today, we were married in the most romantic place in the world, Varenna, Lake Como, Italy.

OUR WEDDING DAY

Getting Ready | Bridal Hair | Bridal Makeup | The Gown | The Decor

The Ceremony | The Cocktail Hour | Mr. & Mrs. | Wedding Reception | Wedding video

For the ceremony chairs, I had the planners tie simple bows of navy/white stripe ribbon to add a touch of color. Villa Cipressi;s garden was so spectacular, we didn't need much more decoration. 

(Chair bows: DIY with ribbon from IsaMay Designs)

I hired a wedding planner in Italy and started planning out the design a year beforehand. Our wedding colors were orange, green, white with navy and white stripes - quintessential Italian chic. I designed the flowers and bouquet at home and sent pictures with descriptions of the flowers I wanted: 

• orange roses
• ranunculous
• white roses
• green hydrangea
• white hydrangea
• lavender colored blossoms (they could not find fresh ones, but replaced it with dried ones)
• assorted foliage

The navy and white striped tablecloth was DIY project. I sewed the 30 foot long table cloth the night before we boarded the plane and finished it at 4 in the morning. For the ladies, I draped pashmina scarves in chartreuse green and navy. I designed, printed and cut our own Mr. & Mrs. signs for our reception chairs. I originally planned on shipping birdcages but our planner found a few for rent, which we used for display at the ceremony sight as well as in the reception room.

For the reception, I packed a suitcase full of silver taper candlesticks (of mismatched, varying heights, taper candles of varying lengths, silver mint julep cups to hold individual roses, and silver bowls for the table bouquets). And I packed four parasols for a splash of orange color. For our wedding invitations, ceremony, invitations and place cards, I developed my own travel themed stationary which eventually became an Etsy business. 

So all of the above, including the 20 lb tablecloth, I packed into its own suitcase. To plan a wedding abroad blindly, as well as DIY most everything was absolute madness, but well worth it in the end. With my wealth of experience, perhaps I become a local Lake Como wedding & event planner myself!

 

Silver bowls, candlesticks, and mint julep cups from Jamali Garden