Hello Junko and Rosanna,

Sorry for the late respond to your email but we have just got back to Amsterdam today.

The wedding was amazing, it started with the Villa and the people that work there, they were great, sweet and very very helpful with everything we needed, I definitely recommend this location to anyone and we will be back there.

The ceremony and reception was great, yes I fainted but am ok :) (not a first time for me). The dinner was excellent,the table, flowers, view and the food....you will have to see the pictures. we can't wait to get back there and have the food again :)

The flowers were more beautiful than I could have dreamed, it was just perfect!

The music was very nice...and of course the photographer, he was soooo sweet and everybody loved him.

In general, I think everything was just perfect and much more than we expected!!! And we really wanted to thank you for all the hard work and patient, we definitely had the wedding of our dreams and Antonella was very sweet and helpful we wanted to thank her as well for being there and helping with everything

We wil definitely be happy to be references to other couples and you can add my email for that.

I will send you some pictures as soon as we receive them

Thank you again

Hadas & Filipe 

We're back from our honeymoon and everything went really well. 

Thank you again for organising such a brilliant wedding. Everyone is still talking about how it was like something out of a fairytale! You did an amazing job!!
 
I am happy for you to use us as references. Some answers to your questions below;

- all the services were great. The hair stylist and make up artist turned out to be really good. 

-The highlight seemed to be the caterers, everyone was talking about how brilliant the food was and the service was beyond what anyone expected. The little touches like the dessert display added to the whole event.
- the flowers were just like the photos I sent which was great.
- the decoration of the venue was better than i expected, the lanterns in the trees were so good! the carpet and drapes were just how i'd pictured it (apparently we can blame Mark for the dirty foot prints!)
-the photographer and his assistant were lovely. 
 
Thanks so much!

Sara

Hi Rosanna and Raffaela - 

Thank you for your congratulations! You heard correctly - we had the perfect day and it was better than we could have possibly expected! We cannot thank you enough for all of your hard work (particularly in the last few months, and Raffaela, the other day you were so quick to answer my panic text/email!!). You can absolutely use us as a reference...

Antonella was delightful, she really made sure that everything was absolutely perfect. I know I was apprehensive about meeting someone other than the two of you, but we loved her! I know she couldn't believe the porchetta - and she was right, no one was hungry at midnight.... But at about 3:30am, it got attacked! There was still some left for breakfast, but not nearly as much as we thought when they first brought it out.

I have only glowing reviews for EVERYTHING - the folk trio was fabulous, the photographers were really wonderful (I'll wait to see the photos, but I already know by their reactions that they're going to be great) and Gargonza is beyond compare! Veronica is amazing, and the photos and review of this place - the service, the food, everything - can't do it justice. The entire staff was just so accommodating at every turn - my gluten-free/dairy-free/vegetarian maid of honour couldn't believe how on top of thing they were - they'd been in Italy for the two weeks prior and found it impossible to avoid their problem foods and they were so grateful!

Fr. Arthur was the perfect priest for us. Considering I met him for the first time at the altar - he did a wonderful job making our ceremony as personal as he could. We had a number of people - both family and non-religious friends comment on how much they liked him. A few thought we'd flown him in from home.

Sam and Patrizia did a great job with hair and make-up - we are a group that really doesn't like to be made up, and they were excellent about making sure that we all felt like ourselves. I'm certain they thought we were crazy. And Sam was great considering I had her put my hairpiece in - I didn't realize it was going to be as difficult as it was, but she made sure it was perfect.

The church musicians were wonderful and I'm sorry they left before I could thank them. I wouldn't have chosen a soprano, but Ruari's mother really wanted one, she was perfect, but I don't think the little church there suits such a powerful voice. If future Gargonza brides were to ask, I'd say that it's not necessary and doesn't quite match the scene. But again, she was perfect!

My biggest headache was the transfers (especially Ruari's family!!) but they went quite smoothly.

Let me know if there's anyone/anything that I've missed, or if you have specific questions about anything. We keep raving about DIW and have made it very clear that it would have been impossible to do this without you. I think everyone told us that it was the best wedding they'd ever been to. We're very biased, but we certainly think it wouldn't be possible to top it :)
Thanks again!
Erin

Our day was beautiful and the experience was flawless. We loved our day and everything went better than we could have expected. Our boat ride which included stops at the Villa del Balbianello and Bellagio were perfect for pictures and just wonderful to stop for the experience. Our photographer Roseanna was absolutely a pleasure and we feel it would have not been the same experience without her. We were truly blessed to have chosen her to help us remember our day. She took the time the day prior to ask questions and get to know us and was so personal and professional throughout our time with her. She was truly a gift. I would like to add that all of Italy was gracious. We loved our entire visit and will be back.

You may certainly use us as a reference.

Thank you, 
Ronda & Scott

BLOG POST on this wedding:  http://www.distinctiveitalyweddings.com/blog/2014/02/lake-como-elopement-villa-balbianello-ronda-scott/

Hello Rosanna!!!!

How are you?

Thank you, thank you ,thank you for organizing our amazing wedding! We have just got home from the airport, very depressed to be back in grey England but still buzzing from the most amazing week away.

Every single one of our guests have described our wedding as "perfect" and we agree. It was beyond our wildest dreams and better than we had every imagined it could be. My personal favourite moment was walking down the aisle with my dad, hearing the harp and violin playing.

The guests said the day just got better and better.

The food was outstanding (I wish I'd been able to enjoy more of it, but due to adrenaline, a very tight corset dress and nerves I didn't eat much) but everyone said the food was amazing and so much of it!

The band were fantastic and played all the songs we had hoped. The guests were getting up in between courses to dance around and I think the band enjoyed the day too.

Luca the DJ was fab too and although he didn't play all the songs I had sent on my playlist it didn't matter as his choices were great.

All the family and friends that stayed at the Agriturismo agreed it is an amazingly beautiful place and the hospitality we were greeted with was fantastic. We certainly enjoyed their wine and Prosecco over the week (I hope they have enough for the next wedding!!!!! Ha ha!)

The photographer was lovely and we cannot wait to see his photographs! 

I am happy to act as a reference.

Many Thanks Rosanna. Cannot believe it's all over.

Alice & Myles

Rosanna, how can I thank you enough? 

The wedding was truly a fairy tale! It was everything I ever dreamed of and so much more. 

Everyone involved was so kind and helpful. Our every need was anticipated and met. I knew I was in the best hands and was totally relaxed the entire time. 

We've had nothing but rave reviews from the guests about the setting, the hotel, the church, the food and especially the music! 

Kasey keeps talking about the first pasta course - he says it was the best risotto he's ever had! Thank you again for all our excellent recommendations and guidance. 

I'd like to send Rita a thank you email as well. Can you send me her email, please? She was incredible! She was fantastic with the kids. At one point I even saw her carrying my niece who had been complaining of a blister around the reception!

Please feel free to use us a reference! I'd be happy to sign your praises to anyone who asks! 
.... Cristiano (the photographer) was incredible by the way. He faded into the background and just let us relax. Kasey doesn't like to have his picture taken but he was totally comfortable with Cristiano the whole time.

I'll miss emailing you...

Best of everything!
Maura
xoxox

BLOG POST on this wedding:  http://www.distinctiveitalyweddings.com/blog/2013/07/lake-como-wedding-at-villa-balbianello-maura-and-kasey/

All I can say is WOW!

Dear Laura, Marc and I wanted to let you know what a pleasure it was working with you and all of the wedding vendors you referred to us. I don't know where to start, so I will start with Neri and all of his staff at the castle. Myself and my entourage were blown away by the castle and its beautiful natural surroundings. I have never seen anything so beautiful, historical, and peaceful. It was the perfect setting for our wedding/vow renewal. Veronica was on on top of everything..from my hair appts, to helping my guests with directions, and she even accommodated my best friend with a spectacular room right next to the wedding reception because she had broken her toe and was in a walking boot!!!! 

Emanuel and Simona were in charge of the wedding welcome dinner and the reception itself. They both made everyone feel like we were family and even shared an old family recipe for Tiramisu with us. There was a lot of fun, food and WINE shared by all!! I believe there were as bottle of Limoncello involved in which we were never charged for! LOL... The flowers and centerpieces were stunning and EXACTLY what I wanted. The table for the reception looked so lovely as it was sprinkled with roses petals, so romantic. The florist made extra boutineers for my stepson and best man which turned out to be a good idea as it made the formal pictures look better! 

Giuseppe (the photographer) was awesome!!!! I just finished looking at the CD and the pictures captured some great moments of our special day! He just kept snapping away and 429 pictures later provided Marc and I with a lifetime of memories. 

Well, that leaves you Laura; all I can say is that I would have lost my mind (and my wallet) if it was not for all of your support! You were my sounding board, my personal assistant, my financial planner, and voice of reason. Despite all of the obstacles that happened along the way, we pulled it off! You always answered my emails promptly were on top of every detail I needed. From the planning of the wedding, to booking our hotel rooms for the honeymoon, and being our gracious host at La Baggiara it made our first experience in Italy truly special and less stressful! I know that Marc and I already decided that we want to go back to the castle next year for our one year anniversary. Hopefully vacationing in Italy will become a yearly summer event. Now if I could only win that Powerball..........

Thanks again for all of your help I made a friend along the way

April and Marc xo

Ciao Junko!!!

Ok now.............thank you, thank you, thank you a million times and more. Gio and I had the most amazing time, it was a beautiful wedding but more than that the whole experience was amazing. Junko, you really did an outstanding job, so thank you. Everything on the day went exactly as planned, except of course the weather but i didn't mind as it cooled it down a bit. And i love the one long table inside, the table setting with all the flowers and candles was so beautiful, exactly how i wanted it to look. I loved all the flowers and especially my bouquet. I would have loved to keep my bouquet but i did the bridey thing and threw it to all the ladies to catch. And lanterns were a beautiful touch, everyone loved that. All our guests told us they had a great time and that the food and service was incredible. As much as i wanted to take the credit i couldn't cause it really was all you Junko, you organised everything to a T and it was perfect! The only one thing i wish i did have was a time-machine so i could go back in time and do it all again cause it was so beautiful and so much fun.

Rosanna, thank you to you too. From the first email you sent me i knew i could trust you, that you just knew your stuff and could make it happen. 

And also a big thank you to Antonella. She was so lovely and having her there on the day totally put my mind at ease as i knew she had everything under control. 

The service i got from DIW as a whole was 100% outstanding. I can't say enough good things about you and will certainly be recommending you in any and every way i can. 

The whole of my Italy trip was amazing, Italy it such a beautiful country and i can't want to go back and see more. But the highlight for both Gio and I was definitely the wedding.

Thank you once again,

Kind regards

Shari

Dear Rosanna,

We can honestly say we had the most perfect wedding day!

We think Ravello is one of the most beautiful places in the world anyone could chose to get married in and are very grateful to you for suggesting it.

Rosie was fantastic; so helpful and yet unobtrusive. Her gentle voice translating our wedding vows was lovely and helped make the ceremony so special.

The flowers were beyond my expectations and worth every penny.It was a very special feeling to stroll through the streets as a wedding party being congratulated by everyone.

Both sets of musicians were excellent and very much enjoyed by all.

Umberto and his assistant were fabulous and made all the photo taking very relaxed and enjoyable. We are thrilled by a sneak peak at them and can't wait to receive our dvd.

As for Villa Cimbrone-we were all blown away by how stunning it was. The staff were wonderful with perfect service.Everyone was most impressed by the cocktail hour with what seemed like and endless supply of Prosecco cocktails( I think they were Rossinis?) and the most delicious canapes.

The crypt was a magnificent setting for the dinner which I can honestly say was the best wedding meal I have ever had.The table setting was just as I had imagined after seeing the photo Junko sent.

We could never have managed to have our perfect wedding without your help.Every suggestion seemed to be exactly what we wanted. I would definitely recommend your services to anyone planning to marry in Italy.You all made it as stress free as I would imagine it is possible when planning a wedding

Thank you so much for making our dream come true

Best wishes

Louise and Robert

Rosanna! 

Thank you for the warm wishes! We could not have been happier with the entire event. From our arriving in Florence and meeting with Grazia, to our arrival in Cortona and meeting Antonella! She was an absolute dream! 

You have a wonderful team you work with and it made things very seamless for our trip!

Cortona was simply the perfect location for us - from the charm of the city to the wonderful people we met along the way, we could not have been more pleased.

Ha the one "issue" if you will was the weather! But it certainly made the trip more memorable and we found it really perfect for us. Our photographer was very nice, and look forward to seeing the photos.

I will be most happy to be a reference for any potential couples looking to marry in Italy.

Thank you and Gloria for your hard work ensuring we had everything in order for our big day. Again to compliment Antonella (and her daughter) whom we met as making the day even more personal. We truly felt a sense of connection with the city and everyone involved.

Kindest Regards,

Michelle and Christopher

Hi Rosanna and Gloria, 

Thank you so much for your wishes of congratulations - we truly did have the most amazing, memorable and magical day! It was beyond wonderful! 

Everything was exactly how we had hoped, and what we had expected. The location was amazing - so magical, and the catering team were superb - the food and drinks were exquisite and all of our guests commented on how delicious everything was! 

We can't recommend the duo enough - they were out of this world! Her singing is amazing, and he is truly awesome on guitar! Again, everyone commented on how excellent they were! I'm not sure if they recorded them playing our first dance song, but if they did, I would love to see it, as we only got half of it videoed and I'd like to be able to listen to it again as it was so beautiful!

Literally, every single thing was amazing! We can't thank you enough for everything you did. Even recommending Sirmione as where we should stay was excellent - that town just added to the magical charm of our trip! 

We would love to be references - I will happily recommend your services to everyone! :) 

Thank you again, from the bottom of our hearts. 

Lucinda and Mathew

Raffaela and Rosanna,

We are now back in Denmark and I am just catching up on my e mails :)

Firstly
I would like to say an enormous thank-you to you for all of the outstanding and thoroughly professional way you organized and conducted the work you have done in making our day into something that we could not have even imagined it would be. I mentioned to you the day of the wedding your website tag line " exceeding expectations" well that was certainly fulfilled. I am lost for words at how wonderful it was.

Secondly
I would like to say a huge and personal thank-you to you for being so lovely. It was a pleasure working with you. Everyone was asking was I stressed and all I could say is how can I be stressed when we have Raffaela. You were just so thoughtful and kind and made everything seems so easy! And I am sure it wasn't.

Thirdly
Hi Rosanna, hang on to this lady she is an absolute ambassador for DIW and has certainly gained huge fans as a wedding planner with the friends I had there I have never seen them so impressed (and they have high expectations).

And I would also like to say a big thank-you to you for all of the help and advice during our preparation time for the wedding. It was a pleasure dealing with your company and I will be singing your praises for many years to come.

Kindest Regards and again I cannot thank-you enough for giving us the most beautiful day (you even managed to organize the weather to perfection)

Simone and Kenneth. XX

Dear Rosanna and Gloria,

Jason and I had a truly amazing time in Venice and would like to thank you for all the work that went into making our day special! We feel that everything went as expected location and ceremony-wise. The schedule that Gloria provided was very helpful in preparing us. Tamara was wonderful to work with, as were Carlotta and her niece. 

We are also extremely pleased with the photography. The images that have been posted are artistic but capture our personalities and the overall experience well.

We would be happy to act as references and/or answer any more specific questions you may have. It has been a pleasure working with you!

Best regards,
Lorraine and Jason

We chose Distinctive Italy Weddings to arrange our wedding planning in Lake Como and we couldn't have chosen a better team to help with making our special day so perfect. 

From the outset, Rosanna - our dedicated planner was prompt, professional and patient (we had many queries!)

From our first meeting with Giorgia viewing some of the selected venues, to the continuous support throughout the planning process by Rosanna and to Alessandra assisting on our actual wedding day we couldn't have been better looked after - and less stressed!

We truly believe that without the help from the DIW team, our wedding wouldn't have been such a success.

We would definitely recommend choosing DIW to help plan your wedding; we can guarantee your life will be made easier!

Huge thanks again to Rosanna and the team; we will forever be grateful.

Natasha and Owen

Ciao Signore!

We want to formally thank you for all of your expert recommendations, advice and dedication to making our special day a success! Planning a destination wedding in another country can be a confusing and daunting task, and almost impossible to do alone. After perusing your website, reading your testimonials, viewing the photos, and speaking with Rosanna, we knew you were the one for us and that we would be in good hands!

Your staff was consistently courteous, promptly responding to phone calls and countless emails, offering expert advice every step of the way. It was tremendously comforting knowing we had a team of experts to guide us through the difficult paperwork, and organize and coordinate everything else involved with planning a destination wedding.

Our wedding day could not have been more perfect! Our photographer Fillipo was punctual, proficient, and even provided us cultural and historical information about the locations that we chose for our photo shoot. It really added a special touch, and we enjoyed learning about Rome. We had family flying in from Milan, and Laura arranged for them to arrive at our apartment while we were out at our photo shoot. Since we had already had a very busy morning, we were relieved and delighted to see them waiting there when we returned from our photo shoot. After a brief lunch and champagne toast with them, we all departed for Tivoli for our ceremony.

We must give you our utmost sincere thanks for insisting that Fillipo photograph our ceremony in Tivoli. We had originally declined to have him come to Tivoli, thinking our family could take photos for us. Laura advised this was a huge mistake and asked us to reconsider. Despite our adamant decision, Laura insisted and arranged for him to be there to photograph our ceremony. We are forever grateful to you for these precious photos that he took capturing our most special moments.

After the ceremony, we asked Ely to recommend a good place to eat in the Trastevere area. She suggested we eat at Ivo’s Restaurant/Pizzeria, and made reservations for us for 8pm. Leaving Tivoli, we decided we wanted to change out of our wedding attire before hitting the town for the evening, so we weren’t sure if we were going to make the reservation, as we still had to drive to MonteSacro and make a few other stops. We make a group decision that it would be better to just eat wherever and whenever we get there. It was pretty late when we finally hopped on the Metro for Trastevere and being harried and side-tracked we missed our stop! We quickly hopped off the Metro to decide how to navigate back and we decided to take a cab instead of waiting for the next train. By this time it was really getting late, and we were all hungry and tired. We took a cab into Trastevere, but the cab driver took us to the wrong area. We were walking the streets trying to find the main area of town, and we met a local man from the area who said he could recommend a great restaurant, and in fact he was heading that way and could escort us there! After about a 30 minute walk, we arrived at a very busy (popular) restaurant. We sat down almost immediately, and had a DELICIOUS meal, with GREAT service ending in a WONDERFUL evening. It wasn’t until we were paying the bill when we realized that it was the restaurant that Ely recommended!!! With all of the odds against us, we were still led there, and it was a beautiful ending to a most memorable day!

Once again, thank you for everything and please feel free to use any of our photos! We will gladly be a reference; ANYTIME! Grazie mille per tutto, signore! BRAVISSIME!!!

Renee and Jean-Marc

Rach and I were married in Ravello in mid-September. Throughout the booking process Distinctive Italy were extremely helpful. They really listened to our ideas of how we dreamed our perfect day could be, and responded intelligently and with a real desire for everything to be as good as it could be. Assistance with the legal side was swift and detailed; we were registered both at home and Italy with the minimum of fuss and zero complications. In planning the day, what really impressed us was the tailored attention to detail – we were able to arrange pizza without cheese for my father-in-law at our celebration meal, a talented local musician to play during the ceremony, a visit to a renaissance villa for photos, and an outside ceremony overlooking the sea. Laura was regularly in contact updating us on bookings, and was available via email and Skype when the inevitable small panic that we hadn’t sorted something set in!

Once in Italy we were blown away with the beauty of the coast – blue sea and sky, stunning vistas, and steeply falling vineyards and lemon groves. We met our translator a few days before the ceremony who went through all the details and made sure everyone knew where we were supposed to be. The one thing they couldn’t control was the weather... which of course quickly became akin to apocalyptic! Far from raining on our parade, our wonderful translator Rosie was calm and confident, reassuring us and whisking us to her backup venue of the town hall for a wonderful ceremony. My beautiful bride arrived by car with a bouquet prepared by a local florist that was later described as ‘perfect’. Our celebration meal was arranged beforehand. All we needed to do was turn up and enjoy delicious traditional food just as we had envisaged. 

A special mention must be made for our photographer, Massimo. He was a very patient hero and managed to get some great shots on the day, with windswept hair and umbrellas galore. After sheltering in one of the hotels for over an hour waiting for the deluge to cease, he suggested that we could visit him the next day on his own time. Lo and behold, the next day was sunny and glorious, and we spent a few extra hours with Massimo. The results were worth waiting for, the whole 9 hours we had to – Super Massimo had the shots processed and on DVD by the evening.

We could not recommend Distinctive Italy and their local suppliers highly enough. Organized, professional, flexible, friendly and determined to go the extra mile – we had the best time! 

Thank you so, so much.

Rachel and Jim

Hello Rosanna and Laura

Thank you so much for both your well wishes! Everybody involved made it such a pleasurable experience and it makes such a difference when there is mounting anxiety sometimes, you both really put us at ease. You hear about so many stressful weddings - ours certainly wasn't as we felt so at ease with the process with DIW, not to mention how warm every body has been.

With our heartfelt thanks

Lara and Manny

PS: We had so much fun on the photo shoot, with David and Alessandro, AND the musicians Claudio and Antonio - it was like the whole town was celebrating and having a party with us! We cannot wait to see the results from such amazing professionals.

Ciao Laura and Rosanna

Firstly, I have to apologize for our lameness in contacting you since our return from our honeymoon. It's taken Jon and I a while to adjust to being back to normality and back to work! Bummer!!

Secondly, I know you will both be missing my huge, long emails so here we go again ha ha ha.

More importantly, we want to say a massive thank you for everything you have both done for us. Words cannot describe what an incredible week we had in Tuscany with our friends and family. Everyone had an amazing time and the day itself, well, what can we say ..... it was so much more than we'd dreamed of. Everything was just more than perfect. Without you and your hard work Laura, it wouldn't have been so magical.

You stepped in to rescue us quite late on during our planning, picked everything up and pulled it all together. For that, we can't thank you enough. We have so many happy memories of our day that we will treasure forever. It has been an absolute pleasure working with you and we're keen to come out and stay with you Laura, to meet and thank you personally for all you have done for us. We feel like we've gained a friend.

We're just waiting for our photographs to come through from David. We're very excited about getting these ..... he showed us a few on his camera on the day. He is one talented man and what a character. So much passion for his work and a wonderful man. We felt like he was more like a guest at our wedding! As soon as we get these photos through we'll forward a copy onto you.

Laura, would it be possible to get a contact for the florist ....... I never saw her and we would love to thank her for providing such beautiful compositions. Everyone couldn't stop talking about how amazing the flowers were. We were totally blown away by what she provided, from the bouquets through to the stunning table displays. It was so much more than we expected.

In fact, to be honest all the suppliers were just a joy to work with. The driver of the car was a lovely man and the car, wow. We're so pleased we listened to your advice about getting a nice wedding car. It was just the icing on the cake!

I would also have to add that Barbara and Giacomo are just the most accommodating, wonderful people. If you have other couples unsure of a venue I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the venue. Not only for the venue itself which is just out of this world but for the care and attention that Barbara and Giacomo give. From the rooms to the incredible food, it's our most favourite place in the world. In fact all of our guests have all told us that they will be returning sometime soon. They all had such an amazing stay, which makes Jon and I very happy that everyone else found it as special as we did.

We just want to do it all over again!!!!!

Keep up the great work my wedding angels!! 

P.S. If you ever have any openings in the UK to work with you then let me know ...... I can't think of a better job than making dreams come true :-) xxx

Hi Rosanna,

MERANO

The Castle hotel was like a fairy tale Rosanna. Friends and family saw photos which we took with an iPhone and they couldn’t believe how pretty it was…some cried looking at the photo! They all said it looks like a fairytale wedding. And we agree.

It didn't feel like Italy....but we knew that and love that about this area. It was one of the reasons we liked it...we love the Austrian, German, Italian mix. We love the Italian wine, German beer, Austrian architecture, German language being spoken first, Pizza for dinner with apple strudel for dessert. It’s quieter than the rest of Italy, people softer spoken, more mellow…again, all which we love. 

HOTEL
Peter at the hotel/restaurant was phenomenal. I wish he had been our waiter on the day of the wedding. He’s just fantastic. Cheerful, full of information and recommendations about the wine, encouraging you to try new ones. He was genuine and just a real asset to the hotel. The owners wife was fantastic and genuinely happy for us – giving me a hug as we left for Merano and she was sincere and genuinely wanted us to have a great day. It was nearly like (well not nearly but you know what I mean)…was nearly liking having my mom there.

Remember how I asked for the roses on the bed? They did a beautiful job Rosanna. They had the rose petals, candles everywhere, little candies, the lights dimmed, the bed turned down...it was perfect and romantic. Also when we left for Merano that morning we were in a bit of rush, obviously, and the cleaning staff did a beautiful job of straightening everything up – even folding the clothes I had worn that morning and tucking them away. 

Andreas at reception was great. So friendly. 

No need to be concerned about language as most staff spoke great English.

We noticed other tables at breakfast and/or dinner had special or different things set up... I assume for birthdays or anniversary.. It was a super nice touch by the hotel. Definitely recommend wine tour at the hotel and the walk up to Boymount castle.

We asked for Daragh's shirts to be ironed as we went to breakfast the morning before the wedding. We got back to the room 30 minutes later and they were hanging up, done!!

THE SUITE
The Romeo and Juliet suite, which we had, was gorgeous for a wedding. And it was perfect if the bride and groom are staying together the morning of the wedding or if there will be a lot of people in the room - there were 2 full bathrooms!! There were doors in btw bedroom and sitting room so Daragh had privacy to get dressed while my hair was being done in the sitting area. Alessandro commented it was the nicest room he had ever seen for a bride/wedding. The windows were gorgeous. I woke up early each morning to the sunrise directly out the window next to the bed. I’ve never seen anything like it. And the moon was perfectly positioned there as well. There was even a little staircase off the sitting room, that went to nowhere but it had a window at the bottom of it and just fit with the whole castle fairy tale theme.

FLOWERS
Flowers were exactly like the photo I sent! Perfect!!! It was almost freaky how exact they were.

WEDDING DINNER
The night before the wedding I got concerned about where we were going to sit for our wedding dinner so we went and spoke to Danielle at the front desk and explained how I didn’t want people staring at me in my dress and to be the center of attention or anything. And asked where we’d be sitting. She said to give her 15 minutes. We did and she came back to us with 3 options. All brilliant. We selected the outdoor seating, away from everyone else – just like in the photo on their webite. Perfect. We saw the sunset over Bolzano with the mountains in the background. And the owners wife, decorated the table beautifully – candles, a personal menu..it looked like a table for a castle. I took a photo with my iphone but it came out horrible. The table and setting oozed elegance and romance. 

The food was phenomenal. Best food of our entire 1 month trip! They should have a Michelin Star. Delicious. Every dish was so very good. Even breakfast was great..the buffet was huge. Such variety. Everything very fresh. First course of dinner was a salad buffet which had so much variety you could nearly make it a meal in itself. We gained 5 lbs each - no kidding. And our wedding dinner - best meal of my life. The menu they put together was perfect and so us. And the ice cream? Daragh is still talking about!! 

GLORIA
Gloria was a doll. She was soooooo sweet. And genuine as well. We immediately felt comfortable with her. As was Mr Niechler…who also wore purple...great touch!!!!! It looks great in the photos.

PHOTOGRAPHER
He was wonderful and perfect for us and our style. Comments from friends:
• Those photos are just stunning, absolutely stunning.
• It's like turning through the pages of a brochure
• Living the fairy tale & obviously loving it! 
********
We got home from our honeymoon very late last night and woke up this morning to find an email from Alessandro with a link to our wedding photos. We love them Rosanna. I never dreamed they would be this good. I am not a crier but have done nothing but cry, good tears, when looking at the photos. 

We asked Alessandro to capture the feeling of the day, the scenery and to allow our friends and family to see why we fell in love with Sudtirol and to be able to make them feel like they were there with us.....and he did just that. Perfect. He captured the essence of the day, of our love, of the mountains and gorgeous scenery in a way I never thought possible. He captured moments I forgot about. I look at the photos and feels like I am there on the wedding day again. They are amazing.

He did it in such a way that you wouldn't of even have known he was there....by that I mean it felt like Daragh and I were spending the day together alone. He wasn't in our face, telling us what to do, how to stand...he let us be and just photographed us. Without posing us, telling us how to stand or what way to look, he managed to get gorgeous photos. Perfect. It seems impossible to me. But he accomplished it. 

I hate to be photographed Rosanna and wasn't thrilled about hiring a professional photographer. If you remember, at first I didn't even want him at the hotel prior to the wedding....no offense to Alessandro. I don't like cameras in my face, always hate the photos, always have my eyes closed. He made me feel comfortable around him without me even realizing it. 

The variety of photos and angles and perspective he has is unbelievable. I have nothing but praise and respect for him and would be happy to be referral to your other brides.

Also, after our picnic at the hotel he took us out, in his own car, for more photographs and what turned into a kind of tour of the area. As a result of this, I feel like Merano is a home of sorts instead of just the town we were married in. 

Not only did I have a dream wedding but it was also captured in the photographs. It is nearly too good to be true.

Everything was perfect Rosanna. 

All the best,
Laura and Daragh

My fiance’ and I started planning our wedding about 9 months in advance. We were challenged with having to do all the planning while we lived apart in two different countries, Russia and the USA. We decided that Italy sounded like a wonderful idea. We researched a few planners on-line. When we first spoke with Rosanna at Distinctive Italy Weddings, we immediately felt comfortable and knew that she would be our wedding planner. Rosanna and her team worked to accommodate us at all times during the process, from weekend Skype and phone calls, managing the international paperwork process to organizing the most beautiful wedding location services. All her efforts were VERY WELL worth it! Rosanna worked diligently to make sure all details were clear and without issue. Her wonderful team in Italy, Sonia and Esmeralda, handled our 3 day wedding event and made it absolutely amazing! 

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed the experience of working with Distinctive Italy Weddings. We consider Rosanna, Sonia, Esmeralda and the entire team, all close friends!....and we can’t wait to go back to Italy now!

If you are considering a wedding in beautiful Italy, Rosanna and Distinctive Italy weddings are a first class company. They’re reliable, extremely professional, experienced, flexible….all the things you expect of a company and the people you are trusting with the most special day in your life!

Thank you Rosanna, Sonia, Esmeralda and everyone for making our day so incredibly special and memorable! We can’t wait to have you plan our 10 year anniversary!!

Ilona & Rich