A Fairytale on the Water: Cristiana & Gaetano’s Wedding at Isola del Garda

Love Story

It started in middle school — the way the best love stories often do, quietly and without announcement. Cristiana and Gaetano met through a mutual friend, and even then, before either of them had the language for it, there was something between them that felt different. "From the very beginning, it felt like we fell in love on day one," Cristiana recalls.
In high school, it became something more, and they started dating. What followed were years of growing up together — side by side through every new chapter, every city, every version of themselves. By the time Gaetano proposed at Ristorante MV in Bernardsville, New Jersey — a private room, both families waiting, Cristiana completely blindsided — they had already built a lifetime of memories. "I was completely shocked and so touched that he went and planned this all on his own and made it extremely special."
The wedding was two years in the making. One hundred and twenty guests. One island on a lake in northern Italy. And a couple who had been falling for each other, steadily and deeply, since they were kids.

About Your Wedding

The vision was clear from the beginning: elegant, fairytale, and quintessentially Italian. "We imagined a celebration that felt timeless and romantic, with every detail reflecting the beauty, charm, and warmth of Italy," Cristiana says. "We wanted it to feel magical while still deeply personal and true to who we are as a couple."
The color palette — ivory, green, and champagne — set the tone for everything that followed. The style drew on Italian heritage without becoming theatrical: natural beauty, classic details, meaningful traditions, and the kind of warmth that comes only from celebrating with people who have known you your whole life. Guests traveled from Amsterdam, New York, and across the Atlantic to be there. The couple wanted every detail to honor that — to give everyone who made the journey something genuinely worth remembering.
What inspired them most throughout the planning process was not a mood board or a Pinterest folder. "Keeping our love and our shared history at the center of every decision truly guided and inspired the entire planning process," Cristiana explains. That intention is visible in every choice they made, from the stationery to the midnight pizza.

Morning Details

Bride Getting Ready

The morning began at Grand Hotel Fasano — bridesmaids, mothers, Lake Garda just outside the window. Cristiana was surrounded by her sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces, her mother, and her mother-in-law: the women who had shaped her, gathered in one room for the last morning before everything changed.
Her dress was by Pronovias, found at the flagship boutique in New York City — and the search was far shorter than expected. "The moment I saw this gown and tried it on, I instantly knew. I completely fell in love with it — it felt timeless, elegant, and perfectly me." She completed the look with a Pronovias veil, Julianna B earrings, and Jimmy Choo heels. Her bouquet — white roses, designed by Imagiflora — was the final touch.
For the bridesmaids, Cristiana made a choice that says a great deal about who she is: rather than prescribing a specific dress, she asked only that everyone wear a shade of brown. "This way, they were able to choose something they felt most beautiful and confident in." The result was a wedding party that looked effortlessly cohesive and, more importantly, genuinely happy.

Groom Getting Ready

Gaetano got ready at Grand Hotel Fasano with his brothers, brother-in-law, nephews, and cousin — the men who have been part of his story as long as Cristiana has. His suit was by Suit Supply: clean, elegant, and entirely right for a September wedding on a lake in Italy.
While Cristiana was putting on her veil across the hotel, Gaetano was preparing for a moment he had been thinking about for a long time. He did not yet know exactly how it would feel when he finally saw her. He was about to find out.

Ceremony

The ceremony took place at the Chiesa Parrocchiale di Sant'Andrea Apostolo — a traditional Catholic church deliberately and meaningfully chosen by a couple for whom faith and family are inseparable from everything else.
Cristiana walked down the aisle to Canon in D and a live version of Oceans, accompanied by her father. Six nieces served as flower girls — Pia, Josephine, Sofia, Gabriella, Blakely, and Lennyn — and two nephews, Jack and Jianni, carried the rings. The church was full of people who had crossed oceans to be there, and the weight of that was not lost on either of them.
"Walking down the aisle with my father felt so emotional and meaningful. Looking around and seeing all the guests who had traveled so far to be there for us made the moment even more overwhelming in the best way. And then seeing my husband at the end of the aisle, smiling and waiting for me, is something I'll never forget."
They exchanged the traditional vows of the Italian Catholic Church. By the time the ceremony ended, there was not a dry eye in the church.

Photoshoot After The Ceremony

After the ceremony, Cristiana and Gaetano made their way from the church to Isola del Garda by traditional Italian wooden boat — crossing Lake Garda together, just the two of them, in the quiet between the ceremony and the celebration. It was, Cristiana says, one of the moments she will always carry with her. "It was one of the few quiet moments we had alone together, and it gave us a chance to take everything in and reflect on what had just happened. Being out on the water, just the two of us, felt so peaceful and romantic."
Arriving at the island and being welcomed by all their guests waiting on the shore made everything feel suddenly, overwhelmingly real. The photoshoot that followed took place on the grounds of Isola del Garda — the same island, the same light, the same water that had held the entire day. "The natural scenery, the water, and the peaceful atmosphere created a timeless backdrop that reflected both our style and the love we share."

Wedding Venue & Decor

Isola del Garda is not a venue in the conventional sense. It is a private island on one of Italy's most beautiful lakes, home to a neo-Gothic villa that has belonged to the same family for generations — a place with its own history, its own soul, and a landscape that renders most decoration superfluous. "We were drawn to a place that felt warm, timeless, and romantic — somewhere that told a story, just like ours. When we walked in, it just felt right."
The décor was built on what the island already offered. The palette of ivory, green, and champagne moved through the space with a quiet elegance — lush florals by Imagiflora in white roses and greenery, candlelight, and the kind of refined Italian aesthetic that looks effortless and takes real skill to achieve. Rentals were handled by Memorable by Latini, whose pieces added texture and warmth to every corner of the space. Audio and lighting by Showtime Verona completed the atmosphere — invisible when done well, and here it was.
The stationery, designed by Iumi Studio, was one of the most considered elements of the entire day. Personalized fans for the ceremony — each one hiding a letter Gaetano had written for Cristiana on the back. Menus that doubled as place cards, with every guest's name handwritten. Custom signage for the signature drinks. Personalized pizza boxes for the midnight surprise. Invitations by Cartalia Studio set the tone months before the day itself arrived.
Behind it all was the team at Solidea Events — Veronica and Federica — who guided Cristiana and Gaetano through two years of planning from across the Atlantic. "Planning a wedding from abroad could have felt overwhelming, but they made every step feel seamless with their patience, organization, and genuine care for us," Cristiana says. "By the end of the experience, they no longer felt like just our planners — they felt like friends. We still keep in touch, and we feel so lucky that our wedding in Italy brought such kind, beautiful, and patient people into our lives."

Reception

The reception at Isola del Garda was everything the couple had hoped it would be — warm, joyful, and deeply rooted in the Italian traditions that mean so much to both families.
The menu was built around authentic Italian cuisine, designed to give guests who had traveled from abroad a genuine taste of their destination. As the night progressed, the energy was kept high with a surprise vintage gelato cart — Miss 500, arriving exactly when the evening needed it most — followed by freshly baked pizza at midnight, served in personalized boxes that had guests delighted and completely full. Ceremony music was provided by Music for Weddings; the reception band, Musicontacts featuring Boys 4 Road, kept the dance floor alive from the first dance to the last song of the night.
The first dance was to Perfect by Ed Sheeran and Andrea Bocelli — a version that felt entirely right for a couple who have been building their story since they were teenagers. The father-daughter dance and the groom-mother dance followed, both deeply emotional. And then came the tarantella — the traditional Italian dance that has been part of every family wedding for as long as anyone can remember — with all 120 guests on the floor, moving together, connected to something much older and much larger than the evening itself.
The cake was a Millefoglie — and it was not delivered by a pastry chef. Cristiana and Gaetano made it themselves, together with their chef, layering crispy pastry with cream and fruit and finishing it with powdered sugar in front of their guests. "It was a collaborative creation," Cristiana says simply. It was also, quietly, one of the most personal moments of the entire reception.