Shadi and Erik


"Following on in the glow of colours took us right to Lake Garda"

When you step into this corner of peace and natural beauty, you get transported to a whole new realm where any shadow of doubt or inconvenience disappears in a matter of seconds. Here, the warm climate from April to September welcomes you in good spirits and with tons of Mediterranean-inspired colours livening up the area. 

In fact, it was during one of these months that Shadi's parents came to inspect some potential venues for the Big day, and eventually set their eyes - and hearts - on Villa Bettoni in Gargnano. This very special wedding was the result of a multi-collab with the brides' parents and an American wedding planner smoothing things out on their end.

Read Shadi and Erik's most cherished moments in the sections below.

Matrimonio organizzato da


La location


The vision


Shadi and Erik's notes

We were preparing for a three-day line up of buffet dinners, traditional Persian symbols, a musical homage to the brides' Mexican roots, and a classic symbolic ceremony for these two lovebirds.

This time, we learnt about the Persian wedding knife dance, a dancing performance by the ladies of the family during which they pass each other the big knife used for cutting the cake - before they finally hand it over to the groom. All of this on the notes of some joyful Farsi folklore music, played by the DJ. Bah bah!

The five deal breakers for Shadi and Erik

  • Location: Lake Garda
  • Ceremony: symbolic with their own celebrant
  • Venue: Villa Bettoni
  • Guests: all coming from the US
  • Side notes: three-tiered wedding cake with a decor of purple orchids
placehold

The action plan


How did we do it


The welcome buffet dinner hosted on the panoramic terrace at the Grand Hotel Gardone on the evening of Day 1 set the tone for a wonderful weekend of class and tradition. The second day was more like a break for everyone, with guests indulging in self-care therapies, food excursions and a little sightseeing of the area around the lake. 

When the wedding day finally arrived, in the morning everyone was rested and excited for the upcoming events. We got the crowd seated whilst the string duo was playing a classic repertoire, and then finally our gorgeous bride entered the scene in her mermaid, fully-beaded wedding gown. The ceremony was tasteful and felt very personal, and guests were left in absolute awe by the location of the reception - in the back garden of this majestic villa, with a 180-view of the lake. The tenor booked for the night to entertain in between courses walked around the white-clothed round tables, singing some signature pieces like 'Con te partirò' and ''O sole mio'.

Fountain ground fireworks for a look of sparkle, and a wonderful camera effect against the darkness of the night.

One of the hottest photoshoot of our wedding season, hardly a bad shot with the incredible scenery and such a beautiful couple!