Brilliant Events - Wedding Planner Venice
08March

Wedding in Venice, the luxury of getting married on a terrace with a breathtaking view

A private unique terrace with a breathtaking view, that is the location chosen for Barbara & Drew’s wedding

Barbara Drew 1130 600 

Barbara and Drew chose to fulfil their love dream in a unique location in Venezia: a private terrace in a very central area with a stunning view on Saint Mark’s Basin.

A dream wedding on a private terrace. Luxury. A breathtaking view on a very central part of the most romantic city in the world. From the Big Apple to the ancient Serenissima. Barbara and Drew arrived from New York to get married in Venice. She is Italian but she settled in the USA many years ago. He is a hard New Yorker. They met in the Upper East Side, at the Carl Schultz Park, sharing from the beginning a common passion for skating. Drew, in fact, taught her how to skate.

Landed on the lagoon city, the groom and bride to be found an accommodation in the heart of Venice, in a luxurious and wide suite with a private terrace from which they could enjoy the view of the mouth of the Grand Canal, the Giudecca Island, the Basilica della Salute and Saint Mark’s basin. The wedding ceremony took place here, while the reception, attended by eighty guests, was held in a Venetian frescoed parlour.

The topic of the wedding was “White and gold Venice”. All the guests were given a wedding Mass booklet while the invitations were printed with an elegant image of Venice and some golden decorations. On every chair there is a golden ribbon. Of the same shiny colour are the ribbons of the napkins, the plates, and the big centrepiece (for the reception in the Venetian parlour) with golden candlestick and candles and full of floral decorations, consisting mainly of peonies.   

On a private terrace with a view on a very central area, the wedding day started at 3.30 in the afternoon with the preparation of the bride and the groom. An hour and a half later, at 5 p.m., the ceremony started to finish only half an hour later. Between 5.30 and 6.30 p.m. there was the moment for the pictures with the guests on the terrace and the toast, followed by the unavoidable and private photo shoot (from 6.30 till 8 p.m.). In the meantime, waiting for the newlyweds to come back, the guests started the aperitif; it was interrupted by the clapping at the arrival of the husband and wife at 8.15. And finally a sumptuous dinner lasted nearly three hours and finished at 11.45 p.m. with the traditional cutting of the cake.

As expected, the bride had some musical requests. They were all very precise and specific for that particular moment: All of me (John Legend), You and me (Dave Matthews) and Us against the world (Coldplay). For the entertainment before the ceremony they chose Con te partirò and an instrumental Love theme by arp and violin. For the bride’s entrance Canon in D and for the fateful moment of the exchange of the rings The scientist (by arp and violin). The big cinema was also present with the songs of one of the most romantic comedies ever, Pretty Woman with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, played at the moment of the exit of the newlyweds from the parlour while, when they left for the photo shoot, Amami Alfredo from La Traviata was played.

The wedding ceremony was held on the private terrace with a view on Saint Mark’s basin- Saint George - the Grand Canal, in a very central area of the Serenissima. To welcome the bride and groom, a triumph of white decorations. A big floral arch made with white peonies has been prepared for them. There is a white long carpet on the floor and some other tall floral compositions put in the middle of the terrace for the entrance of the couple.

To respond all the guests’ expectations, the ceremony was held both in Italian and in English and during it (and at the moment of the aperitif on the terrace, too) there was a refined accompaniment of classical music with violin, arp, and “vocal chords”. After dinner, the guests started the dance, having a lot of fun.

At the end of the ceremony, some butterflies were let fly around. Something quite peculiar in Italy, but definitely not weird in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The butterfly release, in fact, is a ritual of good luck made during some topic moments of life, be they ceremonies or special occasions. The choice of this insect is not a casual one, but it is due to its extraordinary vital cycle. The origin of the ritual calls back to the original Americans, Navajo and Hopi in particular, who passed on “If you want your wish to come true, you have to tell the butterflies; on their own in absolute silence they will be able to get to the sky and refer it to God”.

Before going back to the reception and beginning the party, Barbara and Drew temporarily left their guests and got aboard a gondola to enjoy this stunning city. An intense tour on a golden gondola, led by two gondoliers wearing white clothes. Time goes by. The flashes are a lot, one after the other. Filled up with romantic memories, for the newlyweds it is now the time to go back to their guests at the reception in the Venetian parlour.

Several songs are played during the aperitif: River flows in you, A thousand years (sung), Cinema Paradiso, Fields of Gold (Sting), Memory (A.I Webber), Vivo per lei, Forbidden Games, Over the rainbow, Can't help falling in love and La vita è bella. They also sang Voi che sapete (Mozart), Moon River (Mancini) and Moonlight Serenade (Miller).

And then finally, let’s have dinner begin! An “Arabian nights” menu. Crawfish on a bed of green beans, Caprese homemade ravioli, Venetian fish risotto, roasted turbot fillet with julienned vegetables. Roasted potatoes. Green apple sherbet. Wedding cake. Coffee. Homemade sweet pastry. The wedding cake is a triumph of sweetness, but there’s something more to add. On the top there is a personalised cake topper, a little statue representing the newlyweds wearing their rollerblades in that park where they first met. In that park where their eternal love story was born, that story that here, in Venice, on a private terrace with a breathtaking view, has finally been consecrated.

 

Ph: Mirco Toffolo

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