The newlyweds hand in hand on the pier, the Rocca di Angera on the far shore

Wedding venues on Lake Maggiore

Wedding at Hotel Ristorante San Carlo, Arona

Arona, facing the Rocca di Angera

The newlyweds holding hands on the lakefront, in the shade of the trees.

The lake is crossed with a glance

From Arona the opposite shore is close. The Rocca di Angera sits there, resting on its rock, and stays inside the frame all day long without your having to go looking for it.

The pier, the arcades and the lakefront are a few steps from the hotel: a twenty-minute walk changes the backdrop three times, and nobody has to get into a car.

A wedding at the Arona hotel open since 1932

Hotel Ristorante San Carlo stands on Via Verbano, along the Arona lakefront, and has been welcoming guests since 1932. The rooms look out over the lake or towards the Colossus of San Carlo Borromeo, the statue that watches over the town from above, and the property hosts weddings and events.

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The wedding reception is held in the hotel rooms, a few metres from the water. The practical advantage is exactly that: ceremony, portraits on the pier and party all sit within the same block, and the day is never broken up by transfers.

In Arona the midday light is hard and bounces off the water. For portraits I look for the shade of the arcades and of the lakefront trees, and I keep the full sun for the moments that really need it: the exit, the shower of petals, the walk out along the pier.