Italy Wedding Photographer Archives - Destination Wedding Photographer // Malaga, Cornwall, London & Surrey

Teresa + Adam – Como, Italy

Situated in Limonta, in the heart of Lake Como, you can fully understand the appeal of a Wedding at Villa Aura del Lago. The Lake itself, relaxed European culture, excellent food, holiday vibes and the… sun, sometimes (yes it does rain in Italy too!)

Whilst the sun was sadly absent for Teresa and Adam’s Lake Como wedding celebrations, this certainly did not hinder their ability to enjoy the miracle of their wedding, celebrating with their loved ones from across the globe in the heart of Lake Como.

I often remark that the level of enjoyment that any couple can experience from their wedding is directly linked to their mindset of the day. Rain is often viewed as a disaster when it comes to wedding planning. Whilst I have no doubt that Teresa and Adam were briefly disheartened when coming to the conclusion that a dry day simply wasn’t going to happen. I can attest to their positive mindset ahead of the day and the conviction that everything that was truly important didn’t depend on the weather, I hope the photos and story below highlight this.

Now for some words from Teresa and Adam, or scroll down to see their wedding in its full colourful Italian style glory.

Before becoming engaged, did you have any preconceived ideas of what your wedding would be like?

We always knew we wanted to get married abroad and Italy has always held a special place in our hearts. We holidayed and fell in love with the Italian lakes and knew it would be our place to get married.

How and why did you choose your venue(s)?

We chose Villa Aura del Lago for many reasons besides its charm and perfect location on the lake. What was important for us was to have a private venue, which could sleep guests and has its own facilities. We stayed at the villa for 3 days in total, the first couple of days we relaxed and made the most of the villa and also explored the lake with our friends and family. Another important criteria for us was to have the wedding ceremony and reception in the same place so we wouldn’t have to move guests around. Villa Aura is perfect for this, as it’s spacious enough to create different areas for the ceremony, aperitif and dinner.

What were your top one/three priorities in planning your wedding?

(1) A beautiful venue and location.

(2) An amazing photographer you can trust.

(3) Excellent food and drink – our guests always remind us how amazing the food was.

What one thing most surprised you during the build up to your wedding?

Covid meant we had to change our wedding plans and we were pleasantly surprised how accommodating all our suppliers were. They were very understanding and did everything they could to make it work.

What one thing most surprised you on the day of your wedding?

How everything came together on the day, just relax and trust your friends/family/suppliers to do their roles so you can enjoy the day.

If you could do it all over again, which one thing wouldn’t you change, and if anything, what one thing would you change?

We decided to use a wedding planner based in Italy, which was the best decision and something we wouldn’t change. We had to move the wedding because of Covid and they helped us make the right decisions and had everything under control the whole time.

We wouldn’t change anything! But what we were surprised by was how quickly the day flew by, so our advice would be to plan time for just you and your new husband/ wife to enjoy some private moments together.

In one sentence, or less, what advice would you give a couple planning their wedding?

Don’t worry about things that are out of your control, such as the weather. We were constantly checking the weather forecast weeks before the wedding hoping for sunshine. It rained heavily the entire day but it didn’t spoil anything, the sound of rain even made the atmosphere more romantic and the day very memorable!

A few kind words about us Teresa and Adam:

“Barney is truly an exceptional photographer, however what he delivers is far more than beautiful photos that we will cherish forever.

From the moment we spoke to Barney on a call, we instantly had a bond and built a relationship where I could trust his advice and ask him any question (no matter how silly it seemed) because he has a world of experience. Throughout the challenging months of 2020, we were uncertain whether our wedding would go ahead in Italy due to the pandemic. We had to reschedule our wedding from June to October and Barney did everything in his power to accommodate us.

He made us feel at ease and stuck with us during all the ups and downs. The weather on the wedding day was torrential rain and Barney helped us get some very dramatic shots, when there was a minute where the rain stopped we all ran outside and got portraits that we love.

Our family and guests have complimented our photos endlessly and I believe if you choose Barney and Poppy to capture your day, you will not regret it! Barney, it felt like you were part of the wedding group as a friend and you were so kind to all our family. (We) can’t thank you both enough!”

A complete supplier list can be found in the footer of this blog post.

With help from:

Venue: Villa Aura del Lago

Planner: Wedding Italy

MUA: Daniela Guanziroli

Catering Team: Class Eventi

Band/DJ: La Bottega della Musica

Florist: Flormidable

Cake: Class Eventi

Wedding Rings: We made our own rings from recycled gold with Emma Aitchison.

Dress Designer: Madi Lane Bridal

Shoe Designer: Jimmy Choo

Suit Designer: Blazer – Suit Supply

Trousers – Allsaints

Caroline + Charlie – Florence, Italy

I’d heard incredible stories from friends of the magnificent beauty and evening light at Borgo Stommenano, so it’s fair to say my expectations were high upon arrival the day before Caroline and Charlie were due to marry in the gardens surrounding the grand house – spoiler; I was obviously not disappointed. However, in typical Tuscany style (the day prior) on arrival at Borgo Stomennano, which is located near the city of Siena, Caroline, Charlie and I squeezed into my small rental car for a few short minutes as the heavens opened to welcome us to the setting of their celebrations. Thankfully that was all the rain we experienced that weekend and the proceeding hours and the following day were full of blissful Italian sunshine. :-)

A few lovely words about us from Caroline and Charlie…

“Wow wow wow. From start to finish Barney was absolutely incredible. We had a few meetups before the big day where he made us feel completely at ease (especially the day before). The detail he went into gathering family members names to ensure group photos went as smooth as poss was a nice touch and really impressed us. On the day he had great energy and really played more than just the role of a photographer. It’s been 4 months since our wedding and our guests still talk about him now!

As for the photos, well they speak for themselves. Not only was the whole day documented perfectly but Barney also expertly captured the fun and sentiment of our wedding. They are so so so beautiful and really do take us back to our day every time we view them. We still feel incredibly lucky that they are OUR photos and will forever be grateful to Barney and Poppy.”

A few words from Caroline and Charlie about the decisions that led to their day…

“We always knew we wanted our wedding to be in Italy. Not just because of the beautiful food, wine and weather but also because Caroline has Sicilian heritage. After narrowing it down to Tuscany we heard about Stommenano through word of mouth. Somebody at work boasted about a wedding they had attended in Italy… we looked it up and immediately fell in love. Later in the year, we visited 5 venues in Tuscany and the Borgo was a clear winner (you can definitely see why). It really is the wedding venue of our dreams.

As soon as we booked our wedding venue the next thing we booked was the photographer (hey Barney). We knew the best photographers get booked up really early and settling for any less would not be good enough!

Another top priority would have to be the food and the music. Basically we made sure we had a cracking party sorted asap. Being foodies, having an Italian banquet was a must. The optional appetitivo with cold cuts and cocktails post-ceremony kept all our guests busy and well-stocked while we spent some quality time with Barney taking photos around the Borgo.

For the music, we created several playlists over the two-year build-up. Almost immediately after getting engaged, we started earmarking our favourite music. The magic is hearing them back now as it takes us straight back to the day. Mindful of our tastes and our guest’s tastes we booked a DJ from the UK to see the night out.

The one thing we were most surprised about; how the just married feeling stays with you months down the line. It’s a great club to be part of. I wish we could have made the day last longer! But honestly, we wouldn’t change a thing. Maybe just to have the Borgo booked out for an extra night after the day to rewind and relax with our nearest and dearest.”

Complete supplier list can be found in the footer.

Complete supplier list:

Photographer: Barney Walters

Venue: Borgo Stomennano

Planner: Irene Recupero

MUA: ByJodie – Jodie

Hair Stylist: ByJodie – Nikki Burnham

Catering Team: Delizie Deliziose Catering

Band/DJ: Ed Gillum

Florist: Chiara Signorini

Dress Designer: Made With Love Bridal

Bridal shop: The White Collection

Suit Designer: Gabucci

Holly + Matt – Lake Garda, Italy

Holly and Matt were married in Malcesine in May of 2018. Lake Garda is a magnificent backdrop for a wedding celebration, and Matt and Holly made full use of the scenery throughout their wedding day which included a ceremony in Malcesine Castle, a boat trip around the lake and then a reception on the lakefront at one of my favourite restaurants, La Volglia. I’ve documented many weddings around Lake Garda as a Malcesine Wedding Photographer and this day was yet another fond memory for me! Now for some words from Holly and Matt…

“Our foremost concern whilst planning our wedding was to ensure that our guests had a great time, particularly as we were asking them to travel quite a distance to be there with us. We, therefore, spent a lot of time considering the food, drink and merriment!

For both of us though, our photographs were hugely important as we wanted something to take away after the day. We were also lucky enough to have one of our friends film the day and he has subsequently created the most stunning video too. In company with the photographs, we hope that it will keep all the wonderful memories we have fresh in our minds.

Having both worked in events over the years, we were astonished by how quickly the day snuck up on is. Particularly if you are having a destination wedding, our biggest piece of advice would be to have all the wedmin finished BEFORE you step foot on the plane. Despite thinking that we had been very thorough and organised in advance, we still felt we had last minute jobs to do when we arrived and we would have loved to check in and just relax with our family and friends before the big day.

As a conclusion, relish every second as it’s the greatest thing you’ll ever do.

Love from the Bride & Groom xxx” – Holly and Matt

Lovely words from Holly and Matt:

“We got married in May 2018 in Northern Italy. We really struggled to find a photographer with a bride who doesn’t like having her picture taken and a groom who is very particular about the style of photographs!! Plus, with only 30 wedding guests we wanted someone who would fit in amongst our closest friends and family.

The moment we hung up from our initial meeting with Barney on Skype, we looked at each other and said: “he’s the one!” (A little cheesy but actually did happen!) This is one of the best decisions we made.

Barney is a lovely human. He is professional, friendly and expertly organised. From his invaluable advice during the wedding planning stage, through to his absolute efficiency on the day, he captured the mood of our wedding perfectly. As one person, he didn’t seem to miss a thing. He has the ability to be in all places at all the right times!

To all future brides and grooms, you’re in safe hands and we couldn’t recommend Barney enough.”

Supplier List.

Photography by Malcesine Wedding Photographer, Barney Walters.

Ceremony Venue: Castello Scaligero, Malcesine

Reception Venue: La Voglia

Planner: Lake Garda Weddings

Hair Stylist / MUA: Ashley Kay Gifford

Caricaturist: Kadhum

Musician: Ogo

Wedding Rings: Lila’s

Dress Designer: Catherine Deane

Shoe Designer: Rainbow Club

Hairpin and Veil: Eden B

Cat + Dylan – Lake Como, Italy

“If anyone is thinking about doing a “micro” destination wedding, do it!” said the bride, Catherine, of this fabulously intimate lake Como wedding.

“It was undoubtedly the best decision we made. We never thought this is how our wedding would end up, but after realizing that we had a monstrous guest list and we saw the price tag of a big wedding, we talked with our families and decided to do a small wedding with just family in Italy.”

Instead of a venue and hotel, we rented a villa with a view and enough rooms for everyone. Instead of a catering company, we were able to hire a private chef. Instead of spending a bunch of money on people who “should” be invited but aren’t close with us, we spent 4 days in Italy with only our closest family
I still got my dream dress!

I still found an amazing photographer! I’m still throwing a giant house party for friends and family next June! I don’t feel like I missed out on my “dream wedding,” because this was more perfect than I could have ever imagined.”

Documenting this intimate celebration of love in Lake Como for Catherine and Dylan who travelled from the US was a truly remarkable and touching experience. I hope if you’re reading this you can experience it for yourselves with some of our pictures below…

When you’re done here, if you’d like to see more Lake Como and Lake Garda Wedding Photography, click the links.

Full supplier list in the footer of this post.

Some very lovely words from Catherine and Dylan:

“My husband and I searched high and low for a photographer to capture our 9-person destination wedding, and we are SO incredibly grateful to have found Barney. To say that he captured our day perfectly would still be an understatement.

Barney was extremely easy to work with from start to finish. He was transparent, communicative, answered all of our many questions, and treated us like an engaged couple rather than a paycheck. Even all the way up until the wedding day, I always felt like Barney cared about us as a couple, cared about our relationship, and cared about our success in a way that a friend would.

He took the time to get to know every person at our wedding, even before he started taking photos. He knew everyone’s name and their relationship to us and made sure they knew him too. It put everyone at ease around him and translated into some beautiful photos of everyone with their guard down.

Barney also knows how to blend in. I wouldn’t think he could’ve done that with only 9 of us, but even during the ceremony, where only 6 people sat in chairs facing us, we totally lost track of Barney. And it wasn’t because he actually disappeared, but he somehow blended in and captured the most incredible shots.

Picking a photographer to capture your once-in-a-lifetime, probably-cost-five-figures, a magical wedding day can be SO intimidating. There are so many unknowns, so many things to think about, and so many decisions you didn’t even know you had to make. The level at which you need to trust your photographer is, or was for me, much higher than anyone else you’ve ever paid services for since the photos cannot be re-done without re-doing the wedding (fat chance!). But I would truly hire Barney to shoot anything at this point. He was so professional, so talented, so kind, so helpful, and so enthusiastic. It made a huge difference in our day and I will never be able to thank Barney enough.” – Catherine and Dylan

Supplier List

Photography: Lake Como Wedding Photographer, Barney Walters

Ceremony Venue: Private villa (booked through VRBO, now listed on TripAdvisor)

Catering Team: Johann Desnoues, Chef a Domicilio

Florist: Figli dei Fiori

Wedding Rings: Birde – Pave Jewelers Groom – Zales

Dress Designer: BHLDN

Sarah + Oliver – Lake Garda, Italy

I always LOVE heading to Lake Garda for weddings! Over the past five years, I’ve documented over a dozen weddings throughout the lake, including the two towns that Sarah and Oliver decided to use for their celebrations; Malcesine and Riva del Garda. Sarah and Oliver’s wedding provided the first opportunity for me to shoot within the Captains Palace in Malcesine for their legal vows, and also the first time documenting a wedding reception at the Grand Hotel Liberty in Riva del Garda, but they weren’t the only unique factors, oh no! Sarah and Oliver also arranged a marching band in Riva del Garda and a beautiful private boat tour between Malcesine and Riva del Garda.

Enough from me though; here are some words from Sarah…

“Italy was the perfect choice for Oliver and I. Having lived in Lake Garda after university, I grew hugely fond of the area… and Oliver had been sailing on the Lake yearly since he was young! When we met, it was an area we visited yearly as it’s such a beautiful place – the locals are friendly, the food is delicious and the Hugos (cocktail) are amazing!

Riva Del Garda is an area of the lake Oli introduced me to when we started dating… the views are incredible… it doesn’t look real to look at! We went to view about 10 venues on the Lake and fell in love with the Grand Hotel Liberty – a typical Italian family run hotel… Allesandro made us feel welcome from the first moment we met him. It felt special to us and he has since become more like a friend to us.

The views are insane on the Lake and made such a perfect backdrop to Barney’s perfectly captured moments.

Our three top priories for the day were food, music and capturing the day… we had a seven-course banquet of what only can be described as the most insanely delicious food I’ve ever had… I want to do it all again just to eat all of those courses again! Thomas De Gobbi, our saxophonist was just out of this world… he was on ‘Italia’s Got Talent’ funnily enough… he absolutely rocked the house and got everyone dancing through the meal! I love a rowdy wedding and we certainly had one.

I love photos, and capturing moments… after finding Barney on social media – I fell in love with his work and the way he captures the day in a story. The story shows a wonderful collection of natural photos showing the happiness of all of our guests and us!

The best surprise is just how amazing everyone is – I never expected to feel so much love from suppliers, friends and family!”

Full supplier list in the footer and more Malcesine Wedding Photographer here.

“The one thing I wouldn’t change is the location, an abroad wedding extends the celebrations… we had an inflatable Lake party the day prior to the wedding and 50 of our friends went paddle boarding the day after the wedding…followed by sparklers, prosecco and cake into the evening. Everyone is in high spirits on holiday mode and you can talk to everyone for more than just a few minutes.

I can honestly say I wouldn’t change a thing about our wedding, I have no regrets… or wishes to change a thing – I had the most amazing day with all of our closest friends and family! Looking around at moments such as our friend’s happy faces, the pretend skipping ropes from my sister in laws dads, the amazing supplier’s enjoyment, my Nanna throwing confetti into my face, my parents joining in on our first dance and seeing all of our wonderful friends dancing and having the best time! Nothing else matters the small details do not even cross your mind… it’s the pleasure and enjoyment of the best day of your life!” – Sarah (bride)

Full Supplier List:

Wedding Photography by Barney

Ceremony Venue: Captains Palace, Malcesine

Reception Venue: Grand Hotel Liberty, Riva Del Garda

Planner: My Italian Wedding

Videographer: Friend – Ashley Moran

MUA and Hair: Yasmin Sanchez

Band: Enola Grey

Sax/DJ: Thomas De Gobbi

Other Entertainment: (surprise – Riva Wind Band)

Florist: Maid of Honour, Ella Carter

Cake: Captain Cake, Verona

Dress Designer: Michelle Ann May, Devon – now closed

Shoe Designer: Charlotte Mills

Bracelet – Marie Canning

Necklace – Molly and Pearl

Boat – Garda Excursions

More from Malcesine Wedding Photographer here.

Karen + Joe – Lake Como, Italy

Wedding Lake Como Lenno Italy Photographer During the summer of 2016, I spent a few days in Lenno on the shores of Lake Como with the absolutely lovely Karen & Joe, along with their families from the UK and indeed around much of the globe. After first meeting Karen & Joe at another wedding I documented back in March of 2015, I was delighted they invited me to Italy to document their ceremony at Villa Balbianello and of course their mighty reception at Lido Di Lenno. All accompanied by lots of time on the lake itself, pre-partying at their own Villa, and a few rather interesting modernised Chinese traditions!

The wedding day alone was one of the busiest, longest, most fun and defiantly tops the most pictures I have delivered for a day this year. All of which would not have been possible without the help of Ben Foster from The London Wedding Film Co, who kindly put the video function on hold for the day, and helped me in capturing the story of the day for Karen & Joe. I also must thank Veronica from Italian Lakes Weddings for organising, translating and helping endlessly with her team in order to pull off not only Karen & Joe’s vision but also with our storytelling. Thank you, Veronica.

I hope you enjoy the selection of images below, it really was very hard to narrow down to a manageable size of pictures for this blog, Enjoy… :)

(supplier list in the footer, and if you’d like to see weddings from the sister lake; Lake Garda Malcesine Wedding Photographer please click here.)