We catch up with this dynamic team to find out the secrets of their success when it comes to organising spectacular weddings in Italy

We catch up with Marion Hunter of Dream Academy and Paolo Saletti of Villa Giona to find the secrets of their success.

ITALY MAGAZINE: How did you start working together?

MARION: Sourcing my favourite Amarone wine on the Allegrini website, I saw Villa Giona. And thought WOW!! As I’m always looking for new venues, I decided to give them a call. Paolo from the start was just so easy to talk to and he invited me to spend a few days at Villa Giona. We hit it off from the very start and soon realised we both shared exactly the same ideas and plans for our
destination weddings in Italy. As soon as I saw Villa Giona I just knew that this was going to be somewhere special and I left with tears in my eyes, which still happens to me despite having had numerous weddings there. It’s the only place I can easily fall out of bed at 6 am to watch the sun paint the villa a lovely bright yellow colour as I listen to my own special symphony of birdsong, beauty and silence.

PAOLO: We both want to offer bespoke weddings in a less commercial way and to let our guests experience Italy as the Italians do without feeling that they are strangers in a foreign land.

MARION: I realised that Paolo was a big softy at heart just like myself and so just knew that our working relationship would be serious, professional, fun and full of great moments which we would be able to transmit to our guests.

I just feel so fortunate that we now have our second office base there and to know that working with Paolo he will never let us down. Being an ‘in house’ wedding planner at Villa Giona means that we are on call 24/7. We are not rushing off to put the kids to bed or feed hubby and nonna, saying ‘See you tomorrow,’ which is a great advantage for our couples.

PAOLO: So we set to work creating new plans and ideas for Villa Giona & Dream Academy. Working on menus, open bar formulas, special promotions and guest activities, special touches for the happy couple’s initial sourcing tour and lots of little extra touches to make their day one to remember.

MARION: I think that the unique formula of Paolo, who is Verona born and bred, my partner Franco who is a hotelier and chef and myself from a British upbringing but very much part of the Italian scene, is the perfect cocktail as we manage to bring the two cultures together to create a very special bespoke wedding exactly as the couple wants it.

PAOLO: Our aim is to help our couples feel that Villa Giona is not just another hotel or villa but our home where you will be welcomed with open arms, smothered with love and kindness and made to feel like you are part of the family.

MARION: Casa nostra è casa vostra – Our home is your home! italy magazine: Do you have a lot of weddings at the Villa?

MARION: The villa is one of the most prestigious and popular venues for the locals here in Verona but it is now a top seller for UK guests too and this has become our best selling market.

PAOLO: We spend our winter months preparing new ideas and visiting wedding shows together as a team to find new ideas for our guests and also to promote our product.

MARION: Last year we were honoured to be selected for the Designer Wedding Show in London, as it’s a really tough selection process before allowing you to participate.

We are also really excited to have been appointed Italian Agents and flagship venue for a large American company who do destination weddings all over the world. In Winter and when Paolo can stay away from the ski slopes long enough, we are in Ireland and the UK, which lets you meet us in your own country too. That way you don’t have an Italian wedding planner based in the UK or a British wedding planner based in Italy you have BOTH at the same time!

italy magazine: What have guests said that they love particularly about this beautiful venue?

MARION: Undoubtedly because it’s a unique and stunning place with a high standard of service and accommodation. The most frequent comments we hear are:

- ‘Its like something from a film and I can’t believe we are getting married here.’

- ‘It is so relaxed and laid back and we feel so much at home.’

- ‘Verona and the Valpolicella area have so many wonderful sights and all so close to Lake Garda and Venice too.’

- ‘We are not leaving so you can tell Paolo to move out!’

- ‘It’s great having our planner based in the villa. It takes the stress away!’

- ‘You speak our language and know exactly what we are on about when we want to dance till dawn or not be worried about running out of beer!’

- ‘Having someone who knows our own little British or Irish Wedding traditions first hand makes us feel so much more at ease.’

PAOLO: One of my favourites was: ‘You have not only turned our dreams into reality but our reality into a dream and we can’t wait to come back again. It has been like staying with family, so keep my pillows fluffed up and my slippers at the side of the bed. You have not seen the last of us!’

MARION: This is when Paolo and I both look at each other and think, ‘YES, that’s what we set out to achieve.’ I probably send just as many e-mails to people after the wedding as during the planning stage, as we really like to keep in touch with our new families.

PAOLO: It’s always a real anticlimax after a wedding day and so we make sure that there is a very special invitation waiting for the couple when they get back to their new love nest.

MARION: Our planning does not stop after your wedding day and there’s another dream for you just round the corner but I am not telling you because it wouldn’t be a surprise then would it?

italy magazine: What would you do for families that want to return for a wedding reunion?

MARION: We can arrange food and wine tours, classic spider cars to explore the area, visiting the nearby cities of Verona, Venice, Padova and Mantova or even Lake Garda, which is just down the road.

PAOLO: Lots of people come back to stay and we open a bottle of wine and relive the wedding memories. We have lots of things planned for your return and although not quite like the big day itself it comes pretty close!

MARION: But hey, we’re giving far too much away here and that is the exclusive surprise reserved only for Villa Giona/ Dream Academy couples so stop trying to get more details from me at this stage and RSVP!

--------------------------------------------------------

Villa Giona & Dream Academy request the honour of helping you plan your special day

To have and to hold your wedding plans from this day forward and which we will love and cherish for you until it’s time to say ‘I DO’

Special for 2009: Bride & Groom do not pay for their wedding with us.
Contact us for details

After the wedding ceremony, there will be another surprise waiting for you.

A special invite unique and exclusive toDream Academy at Villa Giona

To be held at: Villa Giona, Italy Date: 2009
RSVP www.dreamacademy.it or www.villagiona.it