Wedding dinner location _ Ristorante Al Forte _ Pastrengo

 We had our lovely wedding reception at Ristorante Al Forte in Pastrengo (VR). It's situated between Verona and the Garda Lake with views overlooking both. The restaurant is in an ancient fort from the 1850s. The internal rooms have beautiful brick arcs that give a warm and exclusive feeling. The external garden has a covered area allowing for dinners outdoors.
Our buffè was held in the outdoor garden which included a wide variety of cheeses, pies, hams, and other snacks as well as champagne to drink.
For the main courses we chose an indoor room that seats about 100 people. The room had direct and private access to the outdoor area. We had a lovely 3 course dinner inside and then we moved back outdoors for a cheese-buffe, lemon sorbet, cake and an open bar. The food was absolutely amazing! Everyone was asking for seconds despite the already generous portions.
The staff was extremely professional and you can tell that they're used to handling weddings. They have a brochure that lists all the things that they can offer, from personalized cakes, fireworks, a baby-sitter, dj, etc.
Despite I had many requirements (being the bridezilla that I was) they always did their best to fulfill them. I wanted everything to be the way I had invisioned when it came to decorations, flowers, cake design, etc.
I can highly recommend this location for your wedding in the area. Al Forte is a high quality restaurant that has everything you need. 

The Wedding _ 18 August 2012 _ Lake Garda _ Italy

So after all this planing, the wedding has now taken place!
It was a perfect day and I couldn't have wished for anything more. We all had a great time, filled with lots of love and happiness. Seeing the international guests interact made it all unique. All the decorations fit perfectly together and I am very happy with the overall result. I got many compliments and many that said it was the best wedding they'd ever been to.
I don't have the official photos yet, but here is a little taste of what our wedding looked like.

18 August 2012. Castello Scaligero. Lake Garda. Italy

Here is the first kiss. Uploaded instantly to FB. I was very impressed by the effectiveness there.
I designed the dress myself. 

 At the end of the ceremony we sang That's Amore together with all our friends and relatives. It was a lot of fun and a great way to end the ceremony!

 A kiss at the end of the ceremony. 

 Walking up the stairs. We are about to become husband and wife! Look at the stunning view in the background!

 The ceremony venue. My brother Liam in the middle of the picture. 

 I love this photo. The beautiful bridesmaids and groomsmen as well as the adroable flowergirl! 

 Just before the wedding. A friend comes in to take a sneak peek!

 Some of the decorations. From the left: The wedding ceremony fan (with a summary of the ceremony, names of the wedding party, and text to That's Amore), The wedding invitation with the cartoon, a pearl bracelet I made for the bridesmaids, a ivory hair flower with pearls, pearl earrings, a note for the guests about the buses taking everyone to the venue.  

 The table decorations: A terracotta pot with the table numbers and grass growing out of it, a milk bottle vase for the Protea with burlap and lace, a jar with a candle with the same style decoration, as well as a mini-milk bottle with fabric flowers in it. 

 Cheers to the bride and groom!

 The road sign with the distances to the main cities where our guests had travelled from. 

 Playing with the beautiful flower girl. Crazy facial expression. 

 Here come the wedding party. The bridesmaids and groomsmen and the beautiful flowergirl Lima (who's dress I made but it was a tad too big). 

Our wedding cakes. I loved the way these turned out. The restaurant owner thought I had gone completely mad when I told him my idea, but he even asked to keep the logs for further events in the future. I collected these seeds for months before the ceremony, as well as the tins with babies breath flowers in them. I had also made the cake toppers (that were supposed to be kissing).

So what do you guys think??

Wedding inspiration _ Castello Scaligero di Malcesine

 So after looking for a dream location for our wedding all around the world, we finally found this amazing place! It's the Scaligero Castle of Malcesine, on Lake Garda. It combines the cinderella dream of getting married in a castle as well as having the gorgeous view of the lake. (I've always wanted to get married close to water). Lake Garda (Lago di Garda) is a gorgeous lake in general. It's surrounded by 2000m high mountains that look breathtaking. The colour of the water is clear blue which is unusual for lakes in general which tend to have a more brownish colour. The temperatures are lovely in wintertime and many people come to do different water sports such as windsurfing, sailing. The cities around the lake are quite small and very turistic. The clustered harbour villages are bustling and have a lot of good restaurants and shops. There are also quite a lot of beaches to go swimming. If you don't have a car you can get inbetween the main cities by ferryboat. It is rather slow, but it is an enjoyable trip. From the most northern point to the most southernly it takes almost 2,5 hours. Trips inbetween Malcesine and Limone only take 15min and it is a good chance to see 2 villages at once. The cabin cars will take you to the top of Mount Baldo (1700m) from Malcesine and give you a spectacular view of the lake.

Also while near Lago di Garda, why not visit the gorgeous city of Verona? See a show at the ancient roman arena. Also Venice is not too far away and is probably the most unique city in the world with it's roads of water!

The Scaligero Castle of Malcesine and the beautiful city of Malcesine right on the lake Garda. A dream location for a wedding!

The lake and the castle when you arrive from the north. Isn't it stunning?

These are the first set of steps leading up to the garden beneath the terrace.

Stunning view from the castles terrace where the outdoor wedding would take place.

The seating for the guests. During the ceremony they are covered with white pillows.

Can it get any better than this? No I don't think so! What a gorgeous outdoor dream wedding!

The gorgeous terrace of the castle overlooking lake Garda.

Lovely view of the old city center of Malcesine and the lake in the background.

The covered area where the bride and groom will sign the registry and be wed!

These are the stairs leading up to the castles terrace where the outdoor weddings take place. The steps are all rounded cobble stones and rather difficult to walk on. Good to keep in mind when chosing shoes and for guests that might have difficulties climbing the stairs.

Some of the gardens inside the castle.

This is the room where one gets married in case its bad weather *crossing our fingers it won't be*. The room is quite nice with large windows overlooking the lake. They have seats for 50 and standing for an extra 30.

There are many great spots to take the wedding photos. For example this one: a gap between the castle walls overlooking Lake Garda and the mountains in the background. Quite spectacular!