Dreamy Wedding at Villa del Balbianello

Wedding in Lake Como Italy

Armond & Tayra’s Wedding

On the eve of their wedding, the couple hosted a beautiful Welcome Dinner at the highly coveted at Grand Hotel Tremezzo with their most beloved guests. Most of Armond & Tayra’s guests flew in from Los Angeles to be a part of their most special day, but they had guests from all over the world who came to witness them say “I Do” in one of the most stunning places in the world, Lake Como.

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Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Lake Como Italy

Armond & Tayra woke up on the morning of their wedding in one of the most breathtaking villas in the world, Villa del Balbianello, with the most incredible views of Italy’s coast. With much anticipation, their dream wedding day was about to begin. We started planning the wedding in December of 2017 since we wanted to let our family and friends know the date of the wedding as soon as possible so that they could plan for the trip.

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Villa del Balbianello in Lake Como Italy

A message from the bride

Describe your experience with wedding planning : A few weeks after our engagement we decided to start looking at wedding planners in Italy since we knew we wanted to get married in Lake Como. We spoke with several wedding planners and after speaking to Giulia Puppini at Exclusive Italy Weddings we knew she was the perfect planner for us. Her warm personality and professionalism made the decision an easy one.

We were very fortunate to work with Seniman Calligraphy on custom wedding invitations. The invitations were really important to me because it sets the tone of the wedding. I wanted to leverage the architecture of the villa in the design of the invitations and Seniman Calligraphy understood my vision and brought it to life.

From the start we knew we wanted to get married at Villa del Balbianello, but decided to tour another villa as well. When we got to Villa del Balbianello my eyes lit up and although it was a hard decision because both villas were beautiful, Giulia said this was definitely our venue from my expression as we toured the villa. I couldn’t stop smiling from ear to ear.

For brides planning a destination wedding I highly recommend touring potential venues and hotel accommodations. It helps to be familiar with the area when considering the logistical aspect of the wedding.

Wedding in Lake Como Italy at Villa Del Balbianello. Photography by Rene Zadori.

One of the many reasons we decided to work with Exclusive Italy Weddings was because of their relationship with some of the most talented vendors in the area.

Describe your experience with finding your wedding gown: I have always loved the wedding dresses Pronovias designs. After our venue tour in Lake Como we flew to Barcelona to meet up with some friends. My Maid of Honor who lives in London came to Barcelona to spend some time together and I asked her to come dress shopping with me to Pronovias. I wanted to experience dress shopping with her and knew this would be the perfect opportunity; at that point I thought I was just beginning the search. I had in mind the exact dress I wanted and I explained my specifications to the consultant helping me and showed her some dresses I really liked, after our conversation she pulled three dresses. The first dress I tried on was an Atelier Pronovias lace dress, as I walked out of the dressing room I knew this was my dream dress. I tried the other two but knew that the first dress was the one.

Although it was all lace it was very comfortable and light. I wanted to wear long sleeves so it was perfect that this dress felt light and airy since we were having a summer wedding. I FaceTimed my mom and showed her the dress.

I couldn’t have asked for such a flawless experience and attribute it to my consultant who really understood what I was looking for.

How did you meet?: We met nine years ago during our freshman year of college at a speech and debate club meeting. The following year we had leadership positions in the club and were part of student government. During this time we became friends and it wasn’t until towards the end of our sophomore year that we started dating.

Describe the moment he proposed: We had planned a fun and exciting trip to Reykjavik, Munich, Prague, and Berlin at the end of September 2017. On October 4, 2017 while in Prague, Armond told me we would be going to Prague Castle for a tour in the morning.

We got there a bit early, but I didn’t realize what was about to happen. The guards opened the gate to the garden, and as we walked in Armond asked someone who was also part of the “tour” to take a photo of us on the ledge overlooking the city. After getting on the ledge he proposed and it was all captured by our photographer. We ended up taking pictures around the castle and Charles Bridge. It was followed by a beautiful lunch at the Four Seasons and a private plane ride over Prague.

I attended a bridal event in Los Angeles and met Rene Zadori of Rene Zadori Photography at the event. I couldn’t have been happier that he was there since I’ve always loved his work. We talked about the wedding and later scheduled an appointment to discuss the wedding in detail. Rene and his team were amazing. We had a really tight wedding schedule and we were able to keep to it. He is so easy to work with and makes your time together really enjoyable. I’m so happy he offered to capture us jumping into the lake at 2 am after the wedding!

One of my most special moments on my wedding day was walking down the aisle with my mom, it was such a loving and peaceful moment. Being surrounded by our family and closest friends in such a beautiful and serene location was unforgettable.

Our first look was one of the most memorable moments of our wedding day. I was so excited and nervous to see Armond, I had butterflies in my stomach as I walked towards him. I couldn’t wait to see his reaction to seeing me in my wedding dress. It was such a special moment and felt so intimate.

Our florist, Figli Dei Fiori did a stunning job bringing our vision for the wedding to life. It was everything we imagined, and so much more. It was a timeless reception, with an Italian vibe. I wanted to ensure the reception was romantic especially because the room felt like a greenhouse. It was important to have the right lighting and to ensure it would be a timeless and elegant design. I knew I wanted to feature the gold and sage Florentine chargers since I love how they compliment the architecture of the villa. Our wedding planner worked with Figli Dei Fiori to determine the best flowers to accomplish the look and then shared a final floral design deck with me to review.

Interesting facts about the wedding or couple: I’ve been a Star Wars fan since I was eight years old. I was eleven when I watched Episode II - Attack of the Clones and fell in love with the location that Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala get married at. I later did some research and discovered that those scenes were shot at Villa del Balbianello in Lake Como and decided I wanted to get married there when the time came, it was the most romantic place I’d ever seen.

Our caterer, Galateo Ricevimenti served the most amazing handmade pasta for the wedding. We weren’t able to fly to Italy for our menu tasting, but we worked closely with Giulia on the wine pairings and course selections. I highly suggest starting the wedding planning process as early as possible if you are considering a destination wedding it makes the process less stressful when you know you have time to make decisions.

Wedding Reception Design Theme: We wanted our reception to be romantic and timeless. The villa has such beautiful landscaping and we wanted our reception to be a continuation of it. I have always loved the combination of white flowers and green foliage. I felt it’s simplicity would be timeless. Gold and sage accents gave it a modern touch.

After dinner we invited our guest to come and see our millefoglie, a traditional Italian wedding cake, be assembled. The chef built each layer in an artistic style on a large table covered with rose petals. The layers are an alternating pattern of Chantilly cream, puff pastry and fresh berries, and finished with powdered sugar. Watching our guests enjoying this part of the wedding was great to see!

After the wedding a few of us went to a small local bar to continue the festivities and were told by locals that it is good luck to jump into the lake after getting married. All of our friends were on board with the plan. After changing into out bathing suits we all jumped into the lake!