Getting married in Lazise
Lazise is a walled town on the eastern shore of Lake Garda, in the province of Verona, built around a small old harbour. It claims to be the first free commune in Italy: in 983 the emperor allowed the settlement to fortify itself and to trade. Couples choose it because the picture is complete in one frame: boats in the harbour, a medieval church by the water, palm trees along the front and old walls behind.
The Scaligeri of Verona gave the town its present shape. In 1329 Alberto II and Mastino II della Scala ordered the walls, which once had about twenty crenellated towers, and the town is still entered through the old gates, the Porta San Zeno and the Porta del Lion among them. The castle, with six towers and two enclosures, sits in a park and is privately owned, so it is a backdrop rather than a place to marry. Venice took the town in 1405 and held it until Napoleon, and it kept two galleys in the harbour, protected by a chain. The Venetian customs house on the dock, the Dogana, is the building that has stayed.
Lazise is lively in season. The Regatta delle Bisse, a race of traditional rowing boats, runs in summer, a honey fair fills the streets in early October, and in December the feast of Santa Lucia turns the old square into a gathering place, with the saint arriving on a donkey to hand sweets to the children. For a wedding it means that the town has an atmosphere of its own, and that the lanes can be busy on a Saturday.
Wedding makeup artist in Lazise: at a glance
- Artist
- Elena Potapenko, bridal hair and makeup, 18+ years of experience
- Based in
- Veneto, Italy; travels to Lazise for weddings
- Specialty
- Bridal hair and makeup by one artist, with a trial before the day, plus hair and makeup for the mother of the bride and the bridal party
- Languages
- English, Italian, Ukrainian and Russian
- Booking
- Check whether your date is free
Where weddings happen in Lazise
Lazise has fewer ceremony places than its neighbours, but they are the kind couples look for: a Venetian customs house on the water and a harbour church.
The Dogana Veneta
The old Venetian customs house stands on the dock and is now a restored events venue. According to the venue’s own listing it hosts civil ceremonies inside, has a terrace directly over the lake for the aperitif and lets guests arrive by boat. Because it stands right on the water, the light inside and on the terrace is bright and reflected.
San Nicolò, the harbour church
The small church of San Nicolò, dedicated to the patron saint of sailors, is a medieval church with frescoes that overlooks the dock and is normally open to visitors. It is a favourite for photographs even when the ceremony is elsewhere. The parish church of Santi Zeno e Martino, of twelfth-century origin and rebuilt in the neoclassical style, is the town’s main church for a Catholic service; the church and the time are agreed with the parish.
The harbour, the gates and the walls
The best photographs are within a few minutes’ walk: the old port with its boats, the Porta San Zeno and Porta del Lion, the lakefront under the palms and the stretch of wall you can walk along. Plan the photographs for the early evening or early morning, when the lanes are less crowded.
These are places where couples marry in Lazise, not a list of Elena’s past jobs. If your ceremony is somewhere else, the plan is the same: tell her the venue and the time.