Italian Destination Wedding On Lake Maggiore

There is oh so much to love about this gorgeous wedding on the shores of Lake Maggiore in Northern Italy from PEACHES & MINT. Pia is a magician behind the camera and these beautiful images of Tanja & Chris’s wedding are just stunning! With a location like something out of Great Expectations and a fashionable duo, this is one seriously stylish wedding.

HOW DID YOU MEET? We met in Munich in spring 2011. The crazy thing is, that my best friend Anna tried to introduce us to each other two years before but at that point I wasn’t interested at all. We forgot about it and after the first date with Chris I remembered that it is the guy Anna had sent me photos of two years before ééò which I deleted straight away. In spring 2011 it was then the time for us to meet for real. Chris had just returned from living in Japan and me from two years living in Stockholm. We met in a restaurant called Charlie. I was there with a bunch of friends and Anna came with some other people where Chris was one of them. We sat next to each other (“by chance”) and from the first moment we spoke it felt like we have known each other forever. I have had quite a rough time before because some months earlier my dad died and so both my parents where dead. Meeting Chris felt like a new time had started for me. Full of light and love. We dated a couple of times and after 3 months we were together. It all went quite fast with moving together, getting married and becoming parents to our wonderful son Jonathan. If you know you have met the one ééò what is there to wait for?

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL? Chris proposed to me on his 28th birthday. We celebrated his birthday with a weekend trip to Zurich and at 12 midnight I was ready to surprise him at the lake with champagne and cake for his birthday but instead he surprised me with the most beautiful ring and unforgettable words. He said I would always be his best present he couldn’t make himself ééò and it worked.

TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS: I have always been in love with the designs of KAVIAR GAUCHE so that was the first address I went to. I liked the top of one dress and the lower part of another so they created a new dress combining both. I like that it is a one of a kind dress, very unusual and with a beautiful lace part. It felt very good wearing it. It was important for me that I could easily move and dance with it ééò a real party dress but at the same time very elegant. I will wear it every year on our wedding day. I just love it.

WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR YOUR WEDDING? The location was an old aristocratic villa with a Bohemian, Art Nouveau, Vintage, old Italian Glamour feel to it. That was the main inspiration.

ANY DIY OR BUDGET ELEMENTS? We made the invitations ourselves, the seating cards were stones from the river Isar in Munich and we arranged all the flowers ourselves. Also I did the hair myself, the bouquet and our dear friends made beautiful wooden signs. For the afternoon picnic we took some of our own furniture with us.

DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: A mix of many different flowers and colors including roses, dahlias, peonies, lilies,.. easily arranged in many many different vases.

FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY: The love which was all around. Our beautiful guests dressed in so many different colours. The selfmade wooden signs, the golden big initial balloon letters, the picnic with different blankets and furniture, homemade Italian ice-cream which tasted amazing and the flowers. Also we had lots of candles which was very romantic. The combination of lake view, old villa, mountains and palm trees was unforgettable.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OUT TO A COUPLE PLANNING THEIR WEDDING? To make a whole weekend out of it. The wedding day itself is over so quickly so we really enjoyed that we had a come-together on Friday and a great day on Sunday with different games in the garden and swimming in the lake.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? The moment my sister walked me down the aisle towards Chris to the song ééòIntro ééò by The XX”. I was so touched to see all our closest friends and family who had come the long way and most of all Chris who was looking at me so proud and soooooooooo incredible happy. It felt like the world was standing still for a moment.