Paolo Cicognani began his career in wedding planning at a time when it was still an unusual job in Italy. Having worked in the States and the UK for almost 10 years he discovered this niche and felt he would be well-suited to that line of work. He attended the first two wedding planner courses in Italy, and his background in furniture design and passion for styling and decoration turned out to be useful in starting his business.
Paolo has planned many weddings for couples from abroad, and he highlights the fact that Italy is such a successful wedding destination, however he considers it necessary for the couples to hire a planner in order to find the right venue and manage the schedule on the day.
I asked Paolo to list the fundamental points for a beautiful wedding. “If I had to list the 3 key elements they would be the venue, the flowers & decoration, and the banquet (the quality and presentation of the food). Of course every supplier is important, from the musicians to the photographer and cameraman. But the basic structure of the 3 key elements makes all the difference. From there it is extremely important to schedule and time everything perfectly on the wedding day”.
Regarding the typology of venues, Paolo Cicognani considers some which are suitable for all seasons. “ We boast magnificent castles that I would mainly choose in summer (mid-May to September) when it stays cool indoors. The same for typical farmhouses that are often equipped with air-conditioning. I personally prefer villas in spring and September/October as it is sometimes difficult to enjoy them when it is very hot.” For winter weddings Paolo recommends luxury hotels, adding that they “are good in summertime too, especially on the Amalfi Coast”.
Paolo’s last piece of advice before choosing a wedding venue is to evaluate whether the location has the right equipment and necessary requirements in terms of space, including a Plan B in case of bad weather.
The competence of an excellent wedding planner is the ability to precisely organise everything, making the couple and the guests experience memorable emotions in a beautiful venue, decorated with stunning flowers and serving amazing food, with everything going smoothly and according to schedule.
You can visit the website www.paolocicognani.com
