We take a look at how Faye and Paul Tipton knew immediately that their perfect wedding location was stunning Lake Garda

Faye and Paul knew immediately that Lake Garda was the perfect location for their wedding

I'D NEVER actually been to Italy before I decided it was where I wanted to get married,’ says Faye Tipton, originally from Sheffield, who got married to Paul at Lake Garda last September. ‘It just looked so romantic though I knew it was the place for me.’ Faye had travelled to many places, so knew that she wanted an intimate wedding abroad and thought of where it might be. ‘I chose Lake Garda because the idea of getting married in a castle by a lake popped into my head and it was the most popular Italian lake I knew of. I couldn’t believe it when I started searching on the internet and up popped Malcesine castle. I just typed in ‘Lake Garda’ and ‘wedding’ and up came Gwen Courtman’s company with the castle setting – I couldn’t believe how easy it was – it literally took me seconds to find my perfect venue.’ Faye then got in contact with Gwen, who’s British and has lived in Italy for over 18 years, at her company Lake Garda Weddings and it was plain sailing from then on. Faye and Paul decided to book a holiday to go and take a look at their potential wedding venue and found a great package deal on the internet and so booked to go and have a look. ‘We both fell madly in love with the place,’ says Faye, sighing, recalling that very first visit to Italy.

As soon as they arrived they both knew they had made the right decision and so spent the rest of their time there looking around for suitable accommodation for friends and family who would be joining them to celebrate their wedding.

‘I couldn’t believe how simple it all seemed,’ says Faye ‘Even booking the holiday to go out there and have a look around was straightforward.’ Faye and Paul found that soon their friends and family were equally excited about the new venue. They had 40 guests, which was the number Faye had wanted.

‘I was keen to have a close set of people around us to share the special day and it was really the perfect number to have chosen.’

‘I CHOSE LAKE GARDA BECAUSE THE IDEA OF GETTING MARRIED IN A CASTLE BY A LAKE POPPED INTO MY HEAD…’

SORTING OUT THE ACCOMMODATION

The wedding couple had a lot of preparing to do, though, as they organised accommodation for over 25 of the guests and also booked their flights for them. ‘I confess it wasn’t that easy,’ she says, smiling. ‘There were a lot of people who wanted to stay out for longer or some were just staying for the weekend. It did take a big chunk of time getting it all organised but it was definitely worth it to have everyone there.’ On their holiday out there, Paul and Faye had found the best accommodation suited for their guests as well as some private apartments called La Cioca owned by the family Cressotti which they discovered through the local tourist office. ‘The apartments were excellent value for money and in an idyllic location by the lake’ says Faye ‘We literally got the details and went knocking on the doors of the fantastic family who owned them. Luckily they were really friendly and we got on really well with them and it was a great success.’

Faye and Paul decided to spend a few days at Lake Garda before their wedding on the Saturday, just to get last-minute items sorted out. ‘I confess I was calm about everything but suddenly started to panic about my flowers,’ says Faye. ‘I had designed what I wanted myself and I was worried that the florist wouldn’t understand.’ However, fears were abated when Faye and Gwen visited
the florist two days before the wedding and Gwen literally translated word for word what Faye was looking for – a traditional cascading waterfall effect – and the florist came back with an absolutely spectacular result. ‘Gwen was really invaluable and helped to explain exactly what I was after,’ says Faye.

WORRIES ABOUT THE DRESS

Faye’s beautiful wedding dress was also something that could possibly have caused a headache or two. ‘Ironically, I had looked around the whole country for the ideal dress and in the end I found it in a little place really close to me! I hadn’t taken getting married abroad in it into consideration because the truth is that I just loved it so much I knew it was the dress for me.’

However, when Faye went to pick up the dress, she noticed that there were a few creases in it and she worried that it would be very creased taking it over to Italy. ‘The dressmakers told me not to worry and that all the creases would be out but I didn’t know how the dress would last the trip if it was folded up in a suitcase.’ Faye almost dreaded opening it at the other end but miraculously when she got the dress out it was absolutely perfect. Her wonderful train (that was so long it needed its own suitcase) was also fine with a bit of steaming from the local dry cleaners that Gwen took Faye to.

The only slight problem the voluminous dress caused was when the pictures were being taken. ‘I was getting wedged in gaps,’ laughs Faye. ‘The dress was so wide that Paul had to give me many helping hands – he was such a darling.’ Faye had also set her heart on wearing heels despite knowing that she would probably be better off in flat shoes walking around the castle but she threw caution to the winds and braved the cobbles very elegantly.

Gwen, who is also a professional photographer, was fabulous in calming Faye’s nerves whilst she took photos of her (over 150 of them!) before the ceremony and there are lots of fabulous memories for Faye, in particular the arrival. ‘I walked with Gwen up to the castle and it was magical. There were literally hundreds of people crowding round us, taking photos and shouting ‘Bella, bella’ – I felt like a film star. Another really funny thing happened, too, in that when we went to look at the venue, the local ice cream seller had said, “Oh no, you can’t get married unless it’s to me,” and then as Gwen and I arrived on the day of my wedding, as I’m standing there in my white dress, he knelt in front of me with his hands in a prayer position and begged me not to get married! Everyone watching thought it was hilarious. Then of course it was truly incredible, walking down the aisle and seeing friends and family and Paul waiting for me at the end.’

‘I was keen to have a close set of people around us to share the special day…’ ‘… THERE WERE LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE CROWDING ROUND US, TAKING PHOTOS AND SHOUTING ‘BELLA BELLA’ – I FELT LIKE A FILM STAR’

TAKING TO THE WATER

After the ceremony Paul and Faye managed to escape for some time on their own whilst Gwen showed the guests where the ice cream was and told them when they had finished to meet the happy couple by the harbour. ‘Gwen is a fantastic photographer and she took wonderful shots of us. Again, when we all walked through the streets we had locals coming out of bars and cafes clapping and shouting congratulations to us.’ Then when the couple’s photos were taken by Gwen who nicknamed them the ‘kissy couple’ as she said that she had never known a couple to want to embrace each other so much. Following their photos, Paul and Faye met with guests at the harbour and they all boarded a glamorous boat that had been hired just for them to be taken around the lake. ‘It was fantastic,’ says Faye. ‘It was also brilliant because Paul’s son, my stepson, Ryan, who’s six years old, was allowed to drive the boat and he kept singing ‘Just one Cornetto’ over the loudspeaker – he was so funny. I have to say that he was amazing – he had really important jobs as pageboy and ring bearer and he was totally, totally brilliant.’

After the boat trip all the guests were taken to the fabulous Hotel Excelsior Bay for a delicious and traditional seven-course wedding feast. ‘I didn’t have a cake because I didn’t see how anyone would manage it but Paul’s Mum had made us an enormous wedding cake so we did have one when we got home, which was lovely.’ So, with this spectacular day was there anything that Faye might have done differently? ‘No, not at all, it was perfect. I guess my only little regret was that we didn’t get the whole day videoed but at the end of the day it really just came down to finances available,’ says Faye ‘Of course, we’ve got our stunning photos from the day and actually we had such a great time we’re planning a trip back to Malcesine with our friends and family next August so we just might video the reunion!’
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