We left a piece of our heart in Tuscany in 2016 while experiencing the magic of Florence – the birthplace of the Renaissance! Florence Convention and Visitors Bureau along with its regional partners graciously hosted the third annual of the DWP Congress with an unforgettable experience that will make you want to Say Yes to Tuscany and fall in love with Florence!
Florence is what dreams are made of! It’s so rich in art and history that it is undoubtedly a magical place to get married. The Tuscan city offers everything you can desire to make your wedding day the perfect day! And the charm of this city spell-bounded us to host the 3rd annual DWP Congress that took place from 11-13 April 2016 with Florence Convention & Visitors Bureau. The kermesse brought together the top Destination Wedding professionals from over fifty countries, all under one roof.
From Greece to Mauritius to Florence, DWP crossed borders and continents by 2016 while spreading its wings to become the fastest growing network of destination wedding planning specialists, high-end wedding planners, celebrity event specialists, leading 5-star properties, castles, palaces, exclusive venues, unique destinations, DMCs, bridal couture designers, photographers, travel partners, luxury brands and so much more.
This post is dedicated to our Host Destination Partner and all our supporting accomplices who manifested our Italian vision into a reality.
DWP 2016 Host Partner -Destination Florence Convention & Visitors Bureau
Destination Florence Convention & Visitors Bureau has been the official promotion body of the destination, with the mission of attracting major events, congresses, international weddings and quality tourism. The vision and effort by the Florence Convention & Visitors Bureau have allowed the Tuscan city to win the tender for the 2016 DWP Congress and, just like a conceited peacock, Florence stood up to the occasion and showed off its glorious colorful feathers to show the crème de la crème of the Wedding Industry its capacity to transform dreams into reality. The effort and support by all the Members of the FCVB have been crucial for the outstanding success of the DWP Congress.
DWP 2016 Host Partner – Tuscany For Weddings
Picture Courtesy: @corsini.events_group
The central Italian region is magical, to say the least! “The Tuscan Dream” is what couples around the world aspire to make a reality!
One of the most romantic places in the world, It’s a region of its own charm: green countryside and soft hills, vineyards and olive groves, incredible art and architecture, white sandy beaches, bays and coves, artistic history, good food and excellent wine: Tuscany offers priceless experiences in the most luxurious way for a perfect wedding in Italy.
Tuscany for weddings, a project with Toscana Promozione Turistica, is the dedicated division of Firenze Convention & Visitors Bureau that offers a unique opportunity for all who wish to organize a wedding in Florence or in Tuscany. It helps you find the best suppliers and provides support to the client in each stage of the event organization, helping the client to find the best rate for any local service.
DWP 2016 Hotel Partners
Four Seasons Hotel Firenze
Venue: @fourseasons / Planner: @vincenzodascanio
Set in Renaissance-era Palazzo della Gherardesca and La Villa (a former convent), the Four Seasons Hotel Firenze is pure decadence, a living museum. Stroll the city’s biggest private garden – a tranquil haven of statues, fountains and centuries-old trees – or retire to your suite where frescoes line the walls amid original architectural features. Four Seasons Hotel Firenze’s offers a plethora of romantic settings for your perfect weddings, from a former Church – La Villa, to an authentic Italian Palace – the Palazzo della Gherardesca. With an indoor space of 660 square meters – a selection of their function rooms can cater for receptions for up to 300 guests, and seated parties for up to 200. For the big fat weddings, the beautiful Tempio lawn can accommodate 400 seated on round tables and a marquee structure is recommended. A total of 114 guest rooms within the hotel is perfect for 200+ guests staying on-site or even a full buyout is available if you prefer exclusive use of the property. The exquisite catering is managed by the Four Seasons Hotel’s own Michelin starred executive head chef and offers the option of completely bespoke menus, created around your tastes and preferences. From a fairy tale wedding to an event of a lifetime, the Four Seasons Hotel Firenze will never cease to amaze.
Hotel Savoy, Florence
Venue: @hotelsavoyflorence
Considered the grand dame of Florentine hotels, Hotel Savoy, a Rocco Forte Hotel embodies the personality of the Tuscan capital. The enchanting 1893 property combines impeccable grandeur with sophisticated contemporary design, and its 2018 renovation further exemplifies the hotel’s commitment to stellar detail. No doubt it had the privilege of hosting prominent figures such as the German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2015. This 80-room hotel is known for personalized service and contemporary style. Neutral tones and tasteful fabrics create an elegant look and are livened up by colorful artwork throughout. Enjoy your wedding preparations from a luxurious suite overlooking the Piazza Della Repubblica. Their renewed Presidential Suite is a stylish and intimate location for wedding parties. A romantic view of the masterpieces of Florence or our elegant Salotto for up to 50 guests.
St. Regis Florence
Venue: @stregisflorence / Picture Courtesy: @gabrielefaniphotographer
Found at the heart of Florence’s historic center and designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, a founding father of the Renaissance movement, St. Regis Florence delivers old-world grandeur, five-star service, and an exceptional location that’s unparalleled. The “Salone delle Feste” is a unique wedding venue designed with a French influence refined with fine stucco work and elaborated moldings. The arches of the dazzling painted ceiling, reflecting majestic walls, create the ideal ballroom atmosphere for an unmatched wedding.
The Westin Excelsior
Picture courtesy: @vincenzophotography / Venue: @westinexcelsiorflorence
In a city blessed with more than a few masterpieces, The Westin Excelsior stands out with a look that’s authentic renaissance sprinkled with contemporary cutting edge. This idyllic retreat on the Arno River delivers stunning views, richly decorated rooms, exceptional service, and seven centuries of history. From the moment one sets foot inside The Westin Excelsior, the palatial grandeur of the hotel is plain to see. The lobby creates a fine first impression thanks to bright marble flooring and ceilings that soar to majestic heights.
DWP 2016 AV & Videography Partner – Technoconference
Picture Courtesy: @fotorighi / @tecnoconference
Tecnoconference TC Group is a highly specialized consultant working side-by-side with the event organizer, with a widespread presence on the national and international field, counting 50 employees and collaborators with high organizing and managing proficiency and over 100 external collaborators. They provide technology for conferences, events and continuing education courses, web and multimedia production and temporary & fixed installations. They are well-known in Italy for their high-value proposal which stands out for their trademark assets delivering experience, innovation and quality.
DWP 2016 Event Decor and Entertainment Partner – Affresco Events Group
Picture Courtesy: @fotorighi / @affresco_events
Affresco Events Group is an innovative DMC that has worked with the world’s top brands, creating and managing events with strong emotional impact for 21 years. With fresh and flawless style, they orchestrate events that are unique, vivid, and powerfully atmospheric. From PR celebrations to finding luxurious venues to travel and shopping, this is your one-stop destination for exploring the avenues of Italy. Managing the entire project of DWP Congress under the guidance and impressive leadership of Ms. Carolina Santarelli, Managing Director, Affresco events and Chic Celebrations curated a true flavor of Italian style, hospitality, and elegance through the three-day event.
DWP 2016 Set Up Partner – MACHINA
Picture Courtesy:@fotorighi / @machina_fi
Passion and curiosity have characterized this Florence-based company and the people that work here for the last 40 years. MACHINA specializes in the sector of exhibition stands, theatrical sets, construction of exhibition structures for museums, creation of showrooms and customized designs for large events.
DWP 2016 Floral Design Partner – Floralia
Picture Courtesy:@fotorighi / @floralia_event_design
When Simona Giordano decided to create Floralia, 26 years ago, she could not possibly imagine what the future of her business venture would hold. Because of her tailor-made approach to floral and event design, she is a leader in the sector of weddings in Tuscany. With a vision to create a hub, an important creative space where florists from all over the world can conceive, produce and launch new aesthetic visions of floral designs for weddings and events, Floralia is a premier floral and event design studio, a leader in the special event industry. They can transform any occasion into an amazing affair. Whether orchestrating an elaborate event or an intimate wedding you will receive high-level attention, superior elements and a custom-designed result.
DWP 2016 Regional Destination Partner – Comune di Sanremo
Picture Courtesy: @sanremocittadellamusica_
Flowers go hand in hand with marriage: so why not getting married in the charming City of Flowers? Sanremo is the city of music and flowers. A magical place, nestled in the heart of the Ligurian Riviera where everything is possible. The sun and the mild climate allow you to fully experience it and discover it in every season of the year. Sanremo is synonymous with sea and beaches that merge in a romantic embrace, with the cycle path that accompanies the coast in all its length, like an attentive guardian.
DWP 2016 Lighting Partner – Watt Studio
Picture Courtesy: @fotorighi / @wattstudiofirenze
Watt Studio, born in Florence more than 30 years ago and now also present in Perugia, is the ideal lighting/audio/video service for the realization of your settings. Their services include light shows with lights synchronized with audio and video, scenographic lighting for dinners and events, punctual and precise lighting for your stands and your fashion shows, architectural lighting of walls, palaces and buildings. The magic Watt Studio created for DWP 2016 is hard to describe in words!
DWP 2016 Photography Partner – Studio Fotografico Righi
Picture Courtesy: @fotorighi
Based in its original location in the heart of Tuscany for more than 60 years, Studio Fotografico Righi travels around the world to tell the most beautiful stories through images. Whether you’re looking for pictures for a fashion editorial, an advertising campaign, a design or lifestyle editorial, or a private or corporate event, the strong and elegant character of Righi’s images has a compelling editorial taste that makes them unique.
DWP 2016 Opening Cocktail Venue Partner – Palazzo Vecchio
Take a trip back into history at Palazzo Vecchio to three eras. Palazzo Vecchio offers Roman ruins, a Medieval fortress and amazing Renaissance chambers and paintings. Marriages take place in the “Sala Rossa”, or the Red Room, which is sumptuously decorated in red, from the curtains to the chairs to the table cloths. You can now also get married outside of the Sala Rossa, including two other sites within Palazzo Vecchio: the magnificent Salone dei Cinquecento, the heart of Palazzo Vecchio and the Sala di Lorenzo in the museum section. This means an extraordinary wedding surrounding by masterpieces by Michelangelo and Vasari!
DWP 2016 Conference Venue Partner – Stazione Leopolda
Venue: @fotorighi / @stazione_leopolda
Just a few steps away from the center of Florence, between red brick walls and pavement withered by old rail tracks, there is a place where ancient and modern beauty merge. Stazione Leopolda is a beautiful and unique location that has evolved from an early 19th-century train station into a hub for creative persons: a point of convergence for those who love to free their imagination, meet, and design exclusive, special events. The building offers a gross covered area of 6.000 sq. m. structured in two main sections: Stazione Leopolda and the Alcatraz section.
DWP 2016 Entertainment Partner – Nu’Art Events
Picture Courtesy: @fotorighi / @nuart_events
The perfect wedding requires unforgettable entertainment. NuArt is an event concept & show production company focused on brand entertainment strategies. The creative capacity, the elegance of the proposals and the innovativeness of the approach soon transformed a small group of enthusiasts into an international company, which continues to develop its business with customers all over the world.
DWP 2016 Catering Partners
Roland’s Social & Business Catering
Picture Courtesy:@rolands_florence
Roland’s Social & Business Catering is the source of the experience of three partners, coming from the world of catering and event organization, who wanted to combine their skills and resources to found a company that pursued the “noble” purpose of artisanal catering. Roland’s work is characterized by two main characteristics: customization and craftsmanship, which is why more and more companies, foundations, public bodies, event organization agencies and individuals rely on the catering and banqueting services of this company.
Delizia Ricevimenti Firenze
Picture Courtesy: @fotorighi / @deliziaricevimenti
Delizia Ricevimenti is a dynamic and innovative company in the high-class catering & banqueting market. They offer a wide choice of dishes to make your events unique. Delizia Ricevimenti is the reference catering to always ensure the best service for any event from 2 to 2000 people.
Lo Scalco
Picture Courtesy:@fotorighi / @loscalcocatering
Lo Scalco catering organizes weddings and events both in Italy and abroad, taking care of the set-up down to the smallest detail, the choice of menus and the most genuine seasonal products, and selecting the best partners. Their express realization of the courses, together with the attention to detail and the passion for their profession, are the best guarantee for the presentation of every single course.
DWP 2016 Gala Dinner Partner- Villa Corsini a Mezzomonte
Picture Courtesy:@fotorighi / @villa_corsini
Villa Corsini offers some of the most superb Italian and English gardens in Florence and has multiple grand interior halls giving guests the chance to wander around and soak in the authentic Italian wedding feel. It nestles in the hills and is a very private location suitable for holding weddings in the current times. The villa has great spaces for your wedding with a large reception lawn and a delightful Italian garden that sits below the venue. The gardens overlook vineyards and olive groves and command great views.
The Corsini Events group organized the Gala Dinner, and also provided the magical venue of Villa Corsini a Mezzomonte, hence carrying out a key role in the success of the Congress. An unforgettable night consisting of music, great food, wine, fun, networking, and twists and turns, which allowed attendees to know all of the different shades of Florence as a Wedding Destination.
DWP 2016 Gala Dinner Catering Partner – Galateo Ricevimenti
Picture Courtesy:@fotorighi / @galateoricevimenti
Galateo Ricevimenti is a renowned name in the wedding and event industry, Galateo Ricevimenti has developed strong relationships with a wealthy portfolio of suppliers from locations to floral designers, from wedding planners to famous musicians. Award-winning Italian caterers – based in Florence, Tuscany – dedicated to making memories of a lifetime. Private or corporate, intimate or grand, no event is too small. The passion, creativity and vision behind Galateo Ricevimenti guarantee unforgettable experiences down to every last detail.
DWP 2016 Marquee Partner- Le Coperture
Picture Courtesy:@fotorighi / @lecoperture
DWP 2016 Closing Cocktail Partner – Villa Di Maiano
Venue:@fotorighi / @villadimaiano
DWP 2016 Firework Partner – Pirotechnica Soldi
Picture Courtesy:@fotorighi / @Pirotecnica-Soldi-Srl
Winners of several awards, Pirotecnica Soldi, since 1869, are producers of handmade firework displays. All their products are exclusively and rigorously hand- made, the result of a specific concept and after a long period of experimentation with different color mixes. They are assembled by artisans using paper and cardboard containers.
DWP 2016 Furniture Design Partners – Savio Firmino
Picture Courtesy:@fotorighi / @saviofirmino
One of the top players in the luxury furnishing and contract spheres creating highly distinctive classic made in Italy and stylish interiors. The classical and timeless Savio Firmino style is the result of artisan expertise and mastery of handicrafts. Passion and artistic sensitivity nurtured in Florence, the cradle of the Italian Renaissance where the most beautiful works of art can be found, have influenced the unique design of Savio Firmino.
Design4Rent
Picture Courtesy:@fotorighi / @design4rent
Design4rent is a premium rental company specializing in designer furniture rental, architectural lighting rental, walls and trade fair stands, dinner design, plant hire and decoration. They offer a unique and bespoke 360° service to their clients with their wealth of experience working for top international brands at many of Europe’s most prestigious and logistically-challenging locations, making them experts in space planning and management.
DWP 2016 Luxury Gifting Partners
Baracchi Winery
Picture Courtesy: @baracchiwinery
Baracchi Winery, located in the adjacent Hill to Cortona, is an agricultural company that enjoys a beautiful panorama, that of the Val di Chiana. Consists of 30 hectares of vineyards located in four separate locations, but all within the DOC Cortona, an area renowned for centuries for its vocation for quality viticulture. Quality is ensured by the selection of the best grapes, from the collection entirely manual and the winemaking techniques that want to enhance the characteristics of the grapes.
Armani/ Dolci
Picture Courtesy:@fotorighi / @giorgioarmani
Armani/Dolci products are a pure expression of the Turinese confectionery tradition with an emphasis on the use of Italian raw materials such as the Piedmont I.G.P. hazelnuts, Bronte pistachios, milk from the Piedmont Alps, Piedmont mint, Sardinian saffron or Sicilian citrus fruits. They offer a universe of sophisticated and surprising flavors: pralines, dragées, coated ginger and citrus peel, chocolate bars, chocolate disks, chocolate spreads, jams, honey, teas, biscuits, and sugar.
Original Murano Glass OMG®
Picture Courtesy: @original_murano_glass
Original Murano Glass OMG® company, heir of an important glass factory founded in 1934, offers to its international customer’s artistic glass artworks entirely handmade with classic and/or innovative designs, according to the customer requirements. Customer can choose from a vast variety of all type of Murano glass production executed with the highest levels of technique and creativity: glass sculptures, blown glass articles, bowls, centerpieces, vases, plates, goblets, glassware, millefiori glass, Venetian beads, jewelry, Venetian mirrors, chandeliers, table lamps and more.
Mengazzoli
Picture Courtesy: @acetificiomengazzoli
The Acetificio Mengazzoli, while maintaining a strong attachment to artisan production, has organized itself with the structure of an agile and modern company. The use of new technologies has allowed them to remain attentive to finding the best raw materials as in an artisanal, healthy and controlled production like that of the early days of the company but to increase the quantity and range of diffusion of Mengazzoli brand products. Today, you can find this piece of noble Italian tradition in Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Oceania.
DWP 2016 Cake Design Partner – Tuscan Wedding Cake
Picture Courtesy: @fotorighi / @tuscanweddingcakes
Tuscan Wedding Cakes, Italy’s premiere wedding cake designer, creates spectacular designs for destination weddings and events in Florence, Tuscany, Siena, and throughout Italy. At Tuscan Wedding Cakes, your wedding cake is far more than just a dessert. It is the creation of a memory. While some wedding details may fade with time, your wedding cake is one of the few things that engages all of your senses at once. It becomes a fixed point, a moment you and your guests will look back on for years to come.
Picture Courtesy: @fotorighi
Wow, what an unforgettable experience it was! How can you make this better? Well
Stay tuned as we relive the 2017 edition of the DWP Congress in Thailand…Swasdee Kha!!!
Be a part of the elite few by joining us at the DWP Congress 2021 as we uncover and discuss all the secrets the wedding industry holds! To know more, email us at info@dwpinsider.com
