Reviews

Ben & Anneka’s Wedding experience. Short back story, Anneka and I are not people who like to be the centre of attention, so once I had popped the question we had a dilemma! Have a wedding in the UK with all the friends and family which we knew would want to come and celebrate our big day. Or have a small ceremony abroad like our close friends were planning. So we researched a few options including visiting our local travel agent to explore the option of a wedding abroad. This opened up our minds to what could be possible, so after a lot of deliberation we had decided that a wedding abroad in Malcesine Lake Garda was what we would like to do. To which our local travel agent had come up with a few prices and a few options for a ‘Package Wedding’. It was at this time that I was discussing our thoughts with a work colleague who informed me that another work colleague had ‘just gone an got married some were in the Italian lakes, might be worth having a chat with him about it.’. Now up to this point I will admit that we had completely discounted using an independent wedding company as we couldn’t be sure about trusting a random small company on the internet to plan such an important event. However I managed to catch up with Jon, and ran passed the ideas which we had from out trip to the travel agent. These were very similar to the Wedding that Jon & Rhian had in Malcesine. The difference being that he could not recommend Italian Lakes Wedding highly enough! So through the details that Jon passed on to us we thought that there’s no harm in contacting them to uses as an idea of price at the very least. Even though we (Parents included) we still slightly sceptical. Our first E-mail to Italian Lakes Weddings was at 9pm were by we had a response to our enquiry including answers to a few questions and a brochure of expected prices before 8:30 am. Pretty good for a first response. All the information that we received from ILW was fantastic and what they offered was exactly what we required. Now at this time we were still sceptical, as to trust this small company or go with the national travel agent who was a known entity. So after a lot of discussion and deliberation (and hair pulling [Who ever said that planning a wedding would be easy!!!]) We decided to put our faith in Italian Lakes Weddings. So whilst in regular contact with Sarah, our date for the Wedding day was arranged and the planning began. During this time we were conversing with our close friends who had already embarked on the package wedding route, who enlightened us that they were sometimes waiting weeks for a response to their emails regarding planning the finer details of their wedding. This had never been an issue with Sarah as she had always responded with the upmost efficiency, even when she didn’t have the answer there was a response and a guideline of when she would know. Sarah throughout has been there and answered our questions, sometimes with more questions but worked hard to ensure that we were getting exactly what we would have wanted for our wedding! (Even at one stage enquiring whether we really wanted something as she didn’t deem it necessary to try and save us money!). Even during the stage of choosing music for the ceremony. Where we weren’t exactly the easiest of customers, (Requiring the violin to play three new songs not on their lists). The only addition was that there needed to be a violist as it wasn’t possible to play on one violin. We can both safely say that this was the single best part of the wedding ceremony. The music to us was incredibly important and well-orchestrated. Sarah was always there be it via email or on the phone to walk us through each part of the wedding planning. Which left us entirely confident of what we were doing before even leaving to go to Italy. Even after the wedding on our return to the UK when we were a week from our after party I telephoned Sarah on the Friday lunchtime to ask about the possibility of a few of the professional photo’s, it was left as Giuseppe would be contacted and may be able to get a selection of photos together in time for our party the following Saturday and to expect them hopefully the following week. Which I and Anneka were more than pleased with. So imagine our surprise when at 20:40 on the Sunday evening we received an email from Sarah with a link from Giuseppe with all our photos on. Something I’m sure most other companies would have left until the following day at least! Truly exceptional service!! Now during this time we went off to the other wedding abroad run by the travel agent, this experience left us certain that we had made the right choice in choosing Italian Lakes Weddings. So to the Wedding. In Malcesine we met up with Anna, at the Primaluna where we were staying. Instantly Anneka and I were impressed with her attitude towards our wedding. She explained that we would be going around to the town hall for the legal side of things then visiting the boat, florist, restaurant and back to the Primaluna for where our reception was being held. During this time we felt we really got to know Anna who was there to help us in planning our special day. This left us in no doubt that everything was going to be perfect and be exactly how we wanted it. We arrived back at the Primaluna, were we met Claudia and Antonio the owners of the fantastic establishment. Now we soon realised that quite unlike other bride and grooms, we had in my mind lugged a large box full of junk half way across Europe ( Anneka (Bride) & the New mother in law would call this a box full of table decorations!!). Claudia, Antonio and Anna were surprised by this but soon were loving the ideas that Anneka and her mum had come up with for the table decorations. These were then conveyed on to Olivier (Head of the catering I believe.) who set up the reception part of the venue exactly how we had envisaged it. So to the big day, some people say that their wedding day was stressful, ours I can safely say wasn’t we had the 5pm wedding slot which worked perfectly for us and our 26 guests. We all arrived (Bar bride and father of bride ) at the arranged meeting point and en masse ascended to the castle. Where better to have the best day of your life than on a roof top terrace of a castle with a backdrop of lake and mountains!. We met up with Anna, Giuseppe (photographer) and his assistant (We apologise but we never caught her name). Now our previous wedding experiences is that the bride, groom and guests are like puppets for the photographer to extend his portfolio. This was most definitely NOT the case here. Until the end of the ceremony when the group pictures happen I didn’t even realise they were there. Even then the types of photographs where suggestions. All of which were brilliant and we can wait to see them all! The decoration on the terrace was exactly what we thought it would be. The music during the ceremony was brilliant. We can’t recommend the option of live music enough and we were so glad we spent all those evenings deliberating over the song choices. Unfortunately we never got to speak to the musicians to thank them for the fantastic job they did!! The boat trip was faultless and every guest thought it was brilliant and enjoyed the food, drink and scenery! Our reception at the Primaluna was brilliant! The staff there had gone beyond what we would have expected to get the table set exactly how we had wanted it. They even went to the effort of ironing the table runner and napkins we brought that tied into the theme. We find it difficult to put into words how good the food was but it was better than outstanding, we couldn’t fault the food or the service from the staff, our glasses were never empty and the food seemed to arrive at exactly the right time. Again the scenery whilst eating our food was immense!! The Anneka even returned to our room at one point in the evening, to come back beaming in almost disbelief that the staff from the Primaluna had been into our room during the evening and covered the bed with rose petals the room with balloons and left a complimentary bottle of prosecco. We would both agree that it was the best day ever!! and that we would not have changed a single part of the day, a sentiment that it unanimous from all our guests. Anneka and I would like to say a massive Thank you to: Sarah and Anna from Italian Lakes Weddings for without you our magical day wouldn’t have been so good. To Claudia and Antonio owners of Ambient Hotel Primaluna. You run a brilliant establishment. All of your staff were excellent, everything that you have done for us was beyond expectation. Olivier as well for transforming Anneka’s ideas for the table layout into reality. The catering staff who created fantastic food and the best atmosphere we could have asked for. Giuseppe and his assistant, thank you for everything you did on the wedding day, you were brilliant with every photograph and again went beyond what we would have expected of you!! The boat crew who were amazing, a few of our guests have even commented about how the boat glided across the lake so you barely knew the boat was moving. The tuk-tuk driver who was impeccably dressed, polite and transported Anneka, her father and myself in a calm and timely manner. The whole day was seamless, to the point where most of the time you didn’t realise there was things happening around you just like it should be!! If anyone is thinking of getting married at Lake Garda we cannot recommend Italian Lakes Weddings enough!

We were married in Malcesine in May and couldn\'t of asked for a more perfect day. Organising our wedding (at pretty short notice) Sarah and Anna were great making the whole process so easy and stress free. Nothing was too much bother. From helping us organise a fantastic welcome meal at la Gondolier for all our guests, to even sourcing some delicious Italian Sugared almonds for our favours. We had also asked if we could add our traditional Scottish Quaich ceremony as part of our ceremony which was no problem at all and worked perfectly with the beautiful castle setting. On the wedding day itself from start to finish it was even better than we had imagined, with Anna and her daughter keeping everything running to plan and allowing us to relax and enjoy our day. The friendly Tuk Tuk driver picked Mum and I up from the apartment and with everyone clapping and cheering as we drove up to the castle it was a lovely experience. The castle venue was just like the pictures with amazing views. The piper who played me in and then again after the ceremony did a fantastic job even managing to play \' The Nothern Lights of old Aberdeen\' a song which means a lot to my husband. The Harpist also added a special touch to the ceremony. Then on to Bar Otto where our guests were well fed before our boat trip, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed and the sailor of the boat even stopped to allow us to do our traditional pebble toss in to the water to make wishes for the bride and groom. Finally we ended our evening at the Prima Luna, the Flambé menu was amazing and everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal. The staff were also extremely friendly and helpful, we couldn\'t fault a thing. Thank you Sarah and Anna for all your hard work and giving us such a perfect day. Lorain and Stuart McIntyre Scotland  

Hi Sarah and Anna Just wanted to send you both a huge thank you for all your work. Everything ran so smoothly on the day and we had a fantastic time. There wasn\'t anything we would have changed. Anna, it was great to meet you and all the family made such lovely comments about yourself and Matea. We all thoroughly enjoyed your company and your support throughout the day. Sarah, thank you for all your speedy responses, we don\'t know how you do it and everything was exactly as we asked. It\'s a shame it\'s all over now but we\'re excited to see the photos from David. Once again thank you!!!! Best wishes Freya & Alfie

Hi Sarah and Anna, Thank you for your message, it\'s hard to believe that we\'ve been married over a month already! We really enjoyed the day, although it did go much quicker than we thought it would.  Everything was great from the hair and make up girls, (I must admit I was apprehensive about this part but needn\'t have worried as they were both excellent and very professional, I loved my hair), to the ferry ride to Malcesine. Our favourite part ( apart from getting married of course ) was walking through Malcesine, everyone clapping was quite magical, something I didn\'t think I would enjoy but it was lovely. Back to reality now.... A big thank you to you both and I have to say a special thanks to Anna and her daughter who were brilliant on the day and nothing was too much trouble Best wishes, Sharon & Andrew

Hi Sarah We would like to thank you and Anna for all the hard work you both put into the organising of our wedding. The day could not have gone better from start to finish everything was well planned. The hair and makeup team were very professional their work was at a very high standard, they made everyone feel at ease. The Prima Luna was excellent, the venue and the food could not have been better, please Thank Claudia and Antonio for their excellent  service and the hard work from them and their staff. The Dj was great really glad we had him and a massive thank you to Giuseppe, he made us both feel at ease and relaxed he is also very professional. Looking forward to seeing the pictures. We would also like to say a big thank you to Anna’s daughter Mataia, she was very attentive and a lovely girl. You have both made our wedding day even better than we could have hoped for . On behalf of myself and Francesca thank you so much for the most perfect day. We would happily recommend Italian Lake weddings to anyone who is thinking of getting married abroad. Kind Regards, Tony Di Paola