From Wikipedia:

Gandria is a small, picturesque village on the shore of Lake Lugano in Switzerland. The historically protected center (nucleo), which is not accessible by car, attracts visitors from all over the world.
Boat service between Gandria and other towns on the lake is regular, and it is also possible to walk from Gandria to Lugano and other surrounding villages via a publicly maintained footpath hewn into the rock in 1936. This path (now branded the olive path by the Tourism Bureau) between Gandria and Castagnola leads along plantations of olive trees and offers splendid views of the Lake of Lugano.

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With the remoteness of the village, small old-fashioned roads and beautiful lake views, Gandria is ideal for your smaller events.

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Overlooking the city of Lugano, as as well as the lake, Villa Sassa offers excellent service with superb views. With a hotel, apartments, restaurant, bar, club, swimming pools, Villa Sassa truly has it all.

From the website: In a wonderful setting on the hills overlooking Lugano, Villa Sassa covers 16,000 square metres around an old tastefully restored nineteenth century villa. Sophisticated, discrete and luminous, Villa Sassa offers exceptionally high standards of service and painstaking attention to detail in order to make your stay a truly special occasion. The highly acclaimed Ai Giardini di Sassa restaurant takes great pride in its innovative meals, meticulously cooked up in an enchanting setting. Villa Sassa’s bewitching backdrop provides the ideal location for ceremonies, banquets, family parties, dinners or corporate cocktail parties. The wide summer terrace beside the pool with panoramic views over Lugano and the mountains makes the bar lounge even more enchanting, especially in summer.

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You can visit their website here.

Your olfactory sense can be the strongest sense of all. How often has a smell brought back memories of your childhood? The last time you smelled that particular aroma may have been 20 years ago, but it still brings back the experience as if it were yesterday.

Why not make the most of this wondrous sense and captivate your wedding day forever in a bottle? Profumi e Saponi lets you do just that. You can find the perfect combination of essences to create your personalized Wedding perfume. So whenever you wish you can once again experience that magical day.

What is Improv cuisine (or Canovaccio cuisine, if you will) and how does it work? Chef Massimiliano Mariotta of the Restaurant “Tartufo” above Locarno has created a unique concept, which takes advantage of ingredients grown locally and while they are in season.

So how does it work? Each guest is invited into the kitchen where in collaboration with Chef Mariotta, a unique menu is created using his stocks du jour (freshly made chicken, veal, fish and vegetable stocks), pestos du jour, sorbets du jour and exceptional local, seasonal and organic ingredients. Pastas are made fresh daily and cut to order. While some simply ask the Chef to “use his imagination,” others have specific ingredients and combinations of tastes in mind. All dishes including the irresistible desserts are created extemporaneously from exceptional local and organic ingredients.

Their website can be accessed here.

Nicknamed the “Pearl of the Ceresio”, Morcote is located right on the lake of Lugano, about 10km from the city center, and right under the Castle of Morcote. It is overlooked by the renaissance church Santa Maria del Sasso. This church has an octagonal chapel behind it, as well as a cemetery in which various famous people were buried, such as Alexander Moissi, Georges Baklanoff and Georg Kaiser.

Visitors should grab a drink or a meal on the lake, and venture in the back alleys of the town, and should definitely try to make the trek (15-20 minute walk) up the mountain to the Church of Santa Maria del Sasso.

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See more picture of Morcote here.

This is another entry featured on Marriage.com. Here Tracy DiNunzio, founder of Recycled Bride, discusses 5 possible gifts you can get for your bridemaids that are also gifts for the environment. Enjoy!

5 Eco-Friendly Gifts for Your Best Friends (aka Bridesmaids)

Give your friends earth friendly gifts!

Did you know that you can show appreciation for your bridesmaids while showing appreciation for the earth? How can you thank them for all the little and big favors that allowed your big day to flow so smoothly? With fabulous eco-friendly favors! So, start spending some green on these green gifts – my 5 fave bridesmaids gifts of the season!

1. Personalized birthstone necklaces from VivaTerra let you give each of your girls a necklace that’s uniquely theirs. They did so many personal favors for you during such a significant moment in your life, so show your appreciation with these personal and significant pieces. It’s a gift that’s thoughtful and thoughtfully produced, handmade by artisans from Earth-friendly materials.

2. Green Yoga Must-Haves – Give the gift of great health and wellness with eco-friendly yoga mats and Deluxe Yoga Bags from the Green Bride Guide’s fantastic new Green Gift Shop. The yoga mats are made from all-natural rubber that’s softened without harsh chemicals and toxins. The incredible Deluxe bag is made of water-resistant recycled fabric, holds keys and accessories, and is great for travel.

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With a population of 338, Vico Morcote’s relative distance from Lugano has allowed it to maintain its traditional ambience. It is located above Morcote, with the Church of the Saints Fedeli and Simone, Osteria Bocc and Ristorante Sorgente, and beautiful views and small streets.

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See more picture of Vico Morcote here.

By Jennifer Baumann

You and the one you love are dreaming of an enchanted getaway, to do nothing less than tie the knot. Why should anyone want to go away, you say? Check out these reasons for taking a sandy route to the altar with a destination wedding.

1. Nearly stress-free planning!

Getting married is quite a big step, so we don’t ever want to say any wedding is completely and totally stress free. But, not having to worry about the seating chart, or who’s going to be the best man could take a lot of worry out of your Big Day.

2. Slim to none chance of inter-family fights

Especially if you invite them along. It’s vacation time for everyone!

3. It’s usually cheaper

There are all-inclusive packages that feature both your wedding and the honeymoon for $4,000 or $5,000, which is darn cheap compared to the average of $20,000 + for a traditional wedding and sit-down dinner reception.

4. Control!

An amazing relief if you’ve ever been part of a traditional wedding with two families involved. All the factors are completely and totally within your hands.

5. Second wedding heaven

Especially if you’ve already been there, done that with a big wedding, second weddings are perfect for the relaxing getaway to a beautiful locale. Don’t forget to ask about activities for the kids!

6. Your honeymoon begins immediately after the ceremony

Now, that’s not bad.

7. Pack light

You can choose your wedding clothes once you arrive in your exotic location! Think snowsuits, island gowns, saris, and of course, shorts.

8. Parental bliss

If they’re coming, you will get to hear them say over and over, “we’ve been wanting to take a vacation!”

9. Use your imagination

You can eat before the ceremony, or after. You could have a cake, or not. You could jump in the ocean, or stay on the sand. Endless opportunities.

10. Fun for those who attend

Think of what you’re doing for them! A cruise, a ski vacation, or a weekend on the beach – who wouldn’t enjoy themselves?

Jennifer Baumann is editor of Wedding Gazette, the resource for real-world wedding planning that’s packed with info on how to plan your budget, how to avoid killing certain family members, exhaustive theme ideas, plus tons of resources on finding favors, necessary accessories, gifts for your groomsmen, and much more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Baumann

By Anna of Green Gables.

This is another entry featured on Marriage.com. This one discusses how to engage guests at your wedding in original and memorable ways (an In’n'Out truck delivering burgers for a midnight snack, anyone?). Enjoy!

Ways to Engage Guests at Your Wedding

Brides are always looking for wedding ideas, especially brides on a budget. Today we’ve enlisted help from Ryan of Savoir Flair Weddings to give us some helpful hints on making your wedding fun and unique. She has also interviewed some of her favorite vendors to get their advice too!

As a wedding planner and designer I am so concerned with the best places to put each penny into a wedding. You need to have great food, music, photography etc…however, you don’t necessarily NEED to have that one extra hors d’ ouvres, or the champagne toast (have guests toast with whatever they are drinking), or a useless trinket favor. But what you NEED to do is ENGAGE…ENGAGE….ENGAGE. In my opinion that is the best use of your money and the main thing that really sets your wedding aside and ensures your guests to walk away happy and saying GOOD things about your wedding. There are lots of places to engage.

-Start by having a relevant, poignant , important ceremony.

-Next choose unexpected, delicious (not pretentious) food. Then remember your guests are your GUESTS and let them know in no uncertain terms they are to loosen up, relax, have fun and…engage.

Some of my favorite vendors have been so kind as to share with us the best things they’ve seen that ENGAGE guests.

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