Erin & Bill
Villa Aminta Wedding Photographer
Erin and Bill are a New York couple with Italian roots, and we'd actually met once before, a save-the-date shoot in Tulum, back when Mexico was the plan. The big wedding ended up in New York. Italy was for something else entirely: small, private, just nine people, family and a couple of close friends, at Villa Aminta on the shore of Lake Maggiore.
What stays with me about their day is how intentionally they built it. Erin wanted the guest list kept small on purpose, few enough that they could actually spend the whole weekend with everyone who came, and the day took its shape from that. Someone they love officiated. They wrote their own vows. They left real time to simply be with their guests rather than move between moments on a schedule, and they made space for a proper shoot, planned down to a moodboard. It's rare to see a couple protect connection that deliberately.
And Villa Aminta gave them the setting for it. A five-star villa on the water in Stresa, directly opposite the Borromean Islands, the lake wide and bright in front of it and the mountains behind. The kind of place that asks very little of you as a backdrop and gives a lot back, especially in the late afternoon as the light softened over the water.
A wedding here could easily lean on the view alone. What made this one Erin and Bill's was the intention behind every part of it, small and unhurried and genuinely theirs, nine people who were exactly the people they wanted there.
Common questions
Villa Aminta is in Stresa, on the shore of Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, directly opposite the Borromean Islands. The nearest major airport is Milan Malpensa, about an hour away by car.
Where is Villa Aminta located?
Do you travel from Mexico to photograph weddings in Italy?
Yes. Luke FotoliV is based between Cancún, Mexico and Italy, and photographs weddings in both, including on Lake Maggiore.
Can you photograph a small, intimate wedding at Villa Aminta?
Yes. Erin and Bill married at Villa Aminta with nine guests, just family and a couple of close friends. We love to photograph small intimate weddings, we really get to connect with everyone and this helps us dig deeper in the documentary side of photography.
What does a wedding at Villa Aminta look like?
Villa Aminta is a five-star Leading Hotels of the World property on the shore of Lake Maggiore, directly opposite the Borromean Islands, with an acclaimed restaurant and sweeping views across the water. It's a beautiful setting for a lake wedding in northern Italy.
Should you do a first look before a Lake Maggiore wedding?
A first look is almost always a good idea. It gives you a calm, private moment together before the day picks up, and it opens more time for portraits while the light is still good. Not every couple wants one, but if you're undecided, it's usually worth doing.
What time of day gives the best light for a lakeside wedding?
Late afternoon into golden hour. On Lake Maggiore the mountains cut the sun earlier than an open horizon would, so the best light falls in the window before they block it. Plan the ceremony and portraits around that.