Discovering Wedding Locations in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy
A 4.30am start was not the easiest,
especially after arriving at Birmingham airport the plane to Venice
developed technical trouble and was delayed by a few hours.
I was travelling to Cortina D'Ampezzo,
a town in the Italian Dolomite mountains a couple of hours north of
Venice, to discover if this area, popular for winter and summer
sports, would make a good wedding destination.
Eventually the flight did take off and
I arrived in Venice three hours late, but still in time to catch the
express bus to town. Arriving in Cortina at 4pm I had missed the
briefing on the history of the town, but was still able to meet a
local wedding planner, Annette Gottman, who knows the area intimately
and has arranged many weddings.
Annette is primarily a herbalist and
flower expert, but her expertise also works well for events. She
showed me some beautiful pictures of ceremonies she had created and
talked about the ceremony she was arranging for that Saturday at the
beautiful Lago Ghedina close to Cortina. An English/Australian couple
were marrying there and Annette was undertaking final preparations.
A quick stop at the hotel to find my
room, and then I was off to a wine tasting session with the rest of
the group before going for dinner at a restaurant above the town.
Agroturismo El Brite is wooden inside and out, the building was
typical of the area, with a balcony looking out to the pastures and
peaks in front, a sloping roof to ensure the snow didn't settle in
winter, and a shed with livestock (cattle with bells around their
necks, goats and their kids) beside.
The food here was amazing with melt in
the mouth pasta as a first course, and a selection of meats and
potato for the main. This area is well known for its ham (speck), and
cheese and throughout my time here I ate plenty of it! This refuge
holds a marriage licence and makes an idyllic rustic venue.
Day 2
The weather remained warm and sunny the
next day, which was perfect for visiting some more local wedding
venues.
My hosts, Cortina Turismo, next took me
to a gorgeous mountain lake, Lago Ghedina, where the
English/Australian wedding was going to take place that Saturday. I
could completely understand why the couple had chosen to marry there.
A beautiful wooden chalet stood beside the lake with a balcony
jutting out into the turquoise water. Surrounded by pine trees and
encircled by the mountain peaks, this lake felt completely secluded
and private, just ideal to celebrate the start of your life together.
I took a walk around the lakes and also
saw the preparations inside – 180 guests were coming from all over
the world and the staff were busy getting ready. They were even going
to erect a marquee beside the lake for dancing later in the evening.
After stopping to view a couple more
stunning locations we took the cable car up to Faloria refuge for
lunch with the others. Sitting on top of the mountain, eating freshly
made pasta, with a fabulous view of the town was a great way to spend
a couple of hours.
That afternoon I explored the town,
wandering along its main street and watching the locals set up for a
mountain running race that was taking place that weekend. Runners
from all over the world were participating in a 120km or 50km
mountain race and the start/finish was being set up on the main
street.
Cortina is well set up for outdoor
activities, with plenty of outdoor gear shops mixed in with local
restaurants and bars. The town isn't overly large, and you can walk
around the pretty centre in about half an hour.
After my exploring I returned to our
hotel where we were to have dinner that evening. The Hotel Franceschi
is also a wedding venue, and has a lovely view of the mountains as it
is set just out of the centre of town. Local delicacies such as
casunziéi (ravioli filled with beetroot), carrot gnocchi and venison
stew were all on the menu and were a fitting end to a busy day.
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