Sonia Gallina senior wedding planner at WeddingItaly

A bit about Sonia

Born in the north-east corner of Italy, Sonia is our senior wedding planner and co-owner of WeddingItaly. She specializes in the planning of high-end and exclusive events. Sonia joined the wedding industry in 2002 after completing her studies in the field and has planned over 400 events for couples who picked Italy as their magical setting to celebrate their love. Being a planner queen, she has also supervised just as many events.

She has a strong London accent when she speaks because she spent a whole year living as an au pair in the Old Smoke. But she's also fluent in German and has a great knowledge of Vienna's rock music scene.

How I bring my A game to the team of WeddingItaly

I have always loved planning events. When I can handle a complex situation and work well with people I really feel good about myself and my work. That's why I decided to focus on organizing weddings for WeddingItaly.

I help couples in the first phase of their event planning. I'm there when they choose the location and they agree on the budget. I design an action plan with them and then I present them with the real planning. I have always experienced a friendly relationship with the happy couples, sharing lots of laughs and emotional moments.

I am present throughout the final phase of the cerimony, when the couples and their guests leave. Hugging goodbye is my favorite time of the whole experience!

I am the type of person who thinks about solutions to all sorts of problems. When I'm in the office, I am of support to my colleagues discussing locations or other aspects related to the wedding industry. We are constantly in a flow of personal and professional exchange, which makes me feel extremely grateful for my job.

My passions

I'm a big fan of concerts. I also love the movies, traveling with my family and reading books to my kids and for myself. I'm very musical, in fact I was in two bands for quite some time as a band singer and playing the guitar. Eating out, trying new dishes and hanging out with friends.

You'll see me often at the hairdresser because I feel like I am always in need for a restyling.

There are so many things I love about my work. From simpler moments like going to the office and sharing time with my colleagues, to helping our clients choose a direction, see them happy and know that they will keep me in their memories. It's quite special to know I contributed to their big day.

I love a hot espresso on my desk, folders piling up and my heart full when a new wedding season is about to start!

Alberto is not just my business associate and trusted colleague. We also share our private life and two beautiful kids together. He is my other half. We met when I started working for WeddingItaly and we fell for each other right away. Our marriage is a constant source of inspiration for all the events that we create here, so I know I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

London and Vienna in my heart

I lived in London for a year. I worked as an au pair and studied English at the same time.

It was an amazing experience that made me appreciate myself and my own independence. One thing I enjoyed so much about London was its diversity. I simply loved being on the Tube surrounded by people of all backgrounds and cultures, faiths and identity, I felt enriched by that.

After the UK, I chose to move to Vienna where I worked for 6 months at the Hotel Kummer as a front of house-receptionist in charge of welcoming guests and taking care of in-house events. I used to help patrons with private functions, business aperitifs and guided tours of the city.

These first experiences served me a lot to sharpen my talent as an event planner of international clients. In fact, that's where I learnt how to use a cultural filter to understand people's needs.

Sonia, help! I lost the rings

During a recent wedding in Florence, the best man called me in a frantic and confessed that he had left the rings on the taxi that took him to the venue. This was 20 minutes before the cerimony started and the groom was already panicking.

"No worries, that's why I'm here". I called the hotel where the best man was staying, I managed to get ahold of the taxi phone number and he picked up after a couple of attempts. He found the rings on the back seat of the car, luckily still there even though a few other people had been transported in the same vehicle. 4 minutes before the wedding march kicked off, the rings were handed over to the shaky guy...

The bride, fully unaware of the last minute shenenigans, arrived arm in arm with the Dad and found a happy but sweaty husband. Mission accomplished!

We learned of Wedding Italy from a friend's older sister, who had used them a few years prior. I think the direct quote was "stop looking right now. Don't even bother talking to other planners. Just hire Sonia and her team, you wont regret it." We did just that, and we DEFINITELY don't regret a thing. Through covid we twice canceled trips to go see our venue, meet vendors, etc. and that created a lot of additional stress around planning - having to do everything virtual from a distance. The team at Wedding Italy handled every request seamlessly, and anticipated all the things we needed (but but were totally clueless about). Without their guidance, we would have been totally lost. Instead, we had a wedding that blew us away (and, from what we can tell EVERY ONE of our guests, too). A month later and I am still... speechless.

Sonia Gallina

A bit about Sonia

How I bring my A game to the team of WeddingItaly

Sonia's top traits

My passions

London and Vienna in my heart

What I love about Italy

Sonia, help! I lost the rings

Marina
&
Nicolas

Weddings planned

Do you want to get in touch with Sonia?

Sonia Gallina

A bit about Sonia

How I bring my A game to the team of WeddingItaly

Sonia's top traits

My passions

London and Vienna in my heart

What I love about Italy

Sonia, help! I lost the rings

Marina &Nicolas

Weddings planned

Do you want to get in touch with Sonia?

Marina
&
Nicolas