Carol and James, civil wedding in Portovenere

Portovenere (Italian Riviera), June 6th 2012.

After having the most wonderful and unforgettable wedding, we just wanted to thank you Martina, for all of your help in organising our special day. The whole five days that we and our guests were in Portovenere were the most amazing days we have ever had and our wedding day was absolutely beautiful.  

We always knew we wanted to get married in Italy so I started researching wedding planners in Italy and was very impressed by your company's name (as we do feel that our wedding was exclusive!) and website, as we envisaged an elegant day where everything would be sophisticated, classy and contemporary! So I emailed Martina and straight away she emailed me back asking me to describe our dream day- well I did and I didn't think that what I imagined was possible!  Martina gave us a choice of four beautiful locations across Italy, one of which was Portovenere. Wow, what a place!  We couldn't believe how stunning Portovenere is- it is historic, beautiful and just the perfect place to get married. We would never have known this place existed if it wasn't for Martina. Our guests were overwhelmed by how beautiful the location was and kept asking how we had managed to find such a wonderful, impressive venue.

I was in touch with Martina for over a year when planning our wedding and she was fantastic. She replied to every email really quickly and answered throughly all of our questions and was always delighted to do so, even when I emailed her a few times a day to discuss tiny details! She was there for me throughout the whole process and even phoned me when we were in Italy to finalise a few things.  The only disappointing thing is that I never got to meet Martina although I do feel like I got to know her well over the year. She was always so friendly and helpful.

Martina even arranged some mettings with potential reception venues when we went to visit Portovenere the year before the wedding which was great as we met the manager of the restaurant that we chose, the hairdresser and even the florist who would later make our stunning bouquets and buttonholes on the day.

Martina, right from the start of our correspondance, seemed to know exactly what we wanted and would always make sure that any details were absolutely to mine and my new husband's taste. I knew from the website that the ambiance of the day would be classic and elegant but Martina sent me photographs of every detail along the way so we could choose exactly what we wanted-the flowers, centrepieces for the tables, the menu and even the way we would sit at the top of the castle (Castello Doria) during the ceremony.

The whole day went so smoothly thanks to Martina's fantastic organisational skills.  On the wedding day, I was at the hairdresser's and Martina even called them when I was there to make sure things were going to plan.

All of the services provided by Exclusive Italy Weddings were of the highest quality- the restaurant 'Le Bocche' was out of this world with its stylish interior and panoramic views of the sea. The setting was so romantic. The manager Simone and the staff there were amazing, beautiful food, exceptional service and they even baked us a delicious wedding cake. The photographer was brilliant and made us feel at ease and I was slightly worried about the hairdresser as she didn't speak English and I don't speak Italian but I needn't have been, she was absolutely lovely and me, my bridesmaid and my mum were all thrilled with how she styled our hair.  Special thanks also to our wedding interpreter who came to see me in my hotel when I was getting ready and made me feel really calm. In fact the whole day and planning of our wedding was completely stress-free!

Thank you Martina, we will always cherish our wedding day and our guests always tell us that it is truly the best wedding they've ever been to so, an unforgettable day for everyone.

Thank you for making our dream wedding a reality,

Carol and James xx