Getting married in Salò
Salò sits on a deep bay on the western shore of Lake Garda, in the province of Brescia, and it is known for the longest promenade on the lake. The old town runs along that water in a row of arcades, palaces and churches, and the town keeps the calm of a place that was once a small capital. Salò suits a wedding that feels like a town rather than a resort.
Its history is the source of the buildings. From 1334 to 1797 Salò was the seat of a federation of lakeshore councils, the Riviera di Salò, and in 1426 the western shore joined the Republic of Venice. The cathedral, Santa Maria Annunziata, was rebuilt in late Gothic style in the fifteenth century and has a Renaissance portal and paintings by Romanino and by the school of Paolo Veneziano. The sixteenth-century Palazzo della Magnifica Patria houses a museum, and the town has the clock gate, the Porta dell’Orologio, and a run of Liberty-style arcades by the water. In 1860 it received the title of city.
That mix of Venetian stone, lake light and long promenade makes Salò easy to photograph. It also means a bride walks: from the hotel to the town hall, from the town hall to the lakefront, along arcades with visitors in season. The morning has to be planned for that.
Wedding makeup artist in Salò: at a glance
- Artist
- Elena Potapenko, bridal hair and makeup, 18+ years of experience
- Based in
- Veneto, Italy; travels to Salò 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 Salò
Salò offers civil rooms in the town hall, small churches and the whole lakefront for photographs. Each one changes the plan.
The Municipio and the Sala Scaligera
Wedding planners describe the civil ceremony at the Municipio di Salò in two rooms. The Sala Scaligera has high frescoed ceilings and seats around a hundred guests or more. A small room with a view over the gulf suits intimate ceremonies, for about a dozen people. The commune’s civil registry fixes the date and the room, so ask which one you have been given, because it sets the number of people who will be in the room before the ceremony.
The cathedral and the small churches
For a Catholic service the cathedral of Santa Maria Annunziata stands in the centre, and the smaller churches in and around the town suit intimate ceremonies, so ask the parish early. Church services follow the parish’s timetable, so the morning is counted back from the time the church gives you.
The promenade and the arcades
The lakefront promenade, the Liberty arcades and the Porta dell’Orologio are the places for photographs, and the best light is early in the morning and in the hour before sunset. In the middle of the day the promenade is full of visitors, so the first look and the portraits are best planned around the quiet hours.
The lake and the boats
Many couples go out on the water after the ceremony for drinks and pictures. It is a different light and a different wind, which is a reason to keep a veil that can be pinned and unpinned quickly and hair that does not depend on a mirror.
These are places where couples marry in Salò, not a list of Elena’s past jobs. If your ceremony is at a villa or a restaurant on the hills above the town, the plan is the same: write the venue and the time, and the morning is counted back from there.