Monica Balli Events, the event designer and wedding planner famous for spreading the Italian lifestyle in the world, and Daniela Corti’s Madreperla Wedding & Event Planning organized two events; Destination Wedding Peanuts and The Italian Wedding Stars on Nov. 29 in Rome, Italy.
Destination Wedding Peanuts
The first one, held from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm at magnificent Gran Melia Rome Villa Agrippina, was called Destination Wedding Peanuts, a one-of-a-kind format, thanks to which the 25 registered participants (wedding planners, event organizers and venue managers from all over Italy) had the opportunity to personally interact with six internationally renowned professionals (international ambassadors) in thematic “round tables” which only four participants per session had access to – and this is why these sessions have been repeated four times in the same day.
Here are the speakers, the topics they discussed at their table and a brief profile for each of them:
Fabrice Orlando – Royalty and complex clients
He has produced events for France 2, MCM and Disney Channel. He founded a music company (Everglad Productions) and worked with some of the main names in the entertainment industry. He then founded Cocoon Events, specializing in film premieres, magazine launches and multi-day weddings for top clients around the world.
Kevin Lee – Jewish and Celebrities Weddings
Based in Los Angeles, Kevin is the trendsetter in the global wedding industry. He created events and organized weddings for Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Brad Pitt, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Cruise, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Anniston, Drew Barrymore, Kate Hudson, Lisa Vanderpump, Nicolas Cage and many other Hollywood stars.
Frank Damgaard – Networking & Contracting
Frank Damgaard is the founder of Monte-Carlo Weddings, over 30 years of experience in the organization of luxury weddings (an average of 900 guests for a duration of four days!) and top corporate events.
Elie Berchan – Traditional Lebanese Weddings
After more than ten years of experience in some of the biggest hotels in the world, including Armani Hotel, Grand Hyatt Atlanta and Raffles Dubai, in 2010 Elie Berchan founded Elie Berchan Wedding and Events Creation to fully express his creative talent.
Angela Proffitt – Wedding Tech Solutions
Angela Proffitt is a leading wedding planner from Nashville (Tennessee). She works everywhere in the USA as well as in the rest of the world. She is considered an authority in the US wedding industry, and she is a technology consultant for many companies, specializing in basic and advanced technological applications for events.
Franc (Weddings by Franc) – Weddings psychology & Art of storytelling
Franc has been the undisputed leader of the Irish wedding industry for twenty years. In his homeland he is also a TV celebrity, starring in a show that’s being aired since more than a decade with great success on RTE, BBC, Sky and Discovery Living. A huge network grants him exclusive access to fairy-tale castles and private villas.
Participants were able to ask questions, exchange opinions and ideas with these wedding gurus in a friendly and selected environment. A one-to-one solution for any doubt or curiosity.
Upon the refreshments, fresh organic shisha was made available by Zing Narghilé, custom made with the finest materials on design.
The six ambassadors then stayed a few days in Rome, guests of Monica Balli and Daniela Corti, to experience the Roman flair and lifestyle, one of the most famous on the planet. Base of their stay was Villa Spalletti Trivelli, a patrician dwelling of the early twentieth century, next to Quirinale Palace (the see of the presidency of the Italian Republic), one of the most original and exclusive hospitality solutions among the Roman boutique hotels, villas and luxury residences. They were also hosted for dinner at the Hotel de la Ville Rome (a new opening by Rocco Forte Hotels Italy) and at the Baglioni Hotel Regina.
“The Italian Wedding Stars” gala evening
Destination Wedding Peanuts was followed – on the evening of November 29 as well, at Cinecittà World (Castel Romano), a cinema and TV amusement park which turned to be the first in Italy to be positioned as a park and as a wedding venue at the same time – by The Italian Wedding Stars gala evening, held, as usual, under the patronage of Enit (the Italian Tourism Board) and in partnership with Zankyou Weddings, the main portal among those specializing in weddings.
The soirée, attended by over 200 people, aimed to celebrate the excellence of the Italian wedding industry. It is the only exclusive and independent project allowing the best operators to win the title of Best Wedding Professional within their category of specialty.
The short list was solely based on the votes of the grooms and brides who had trusted the contestants their own wedding days. Subsequently, a prestigious Italian and international jury decreed the winners for each category on the basis of four parameters: a professional website and/or social media activity, value and originality of the submitted works, references, any projects to be carried out upon the jurors’ request.
The evening was presented by journalist Erika Gottardi.
Here is the winners’ list, broken down by category:
Stylists and wedding dresses – Sposa Formosa
Celebrant – La Grammatica della Cerimonia
Ceremony Car – MGS Top Car
Venue – Petrata Castle (Assisi)
Wedding Planner – Bells & Candles
Destination Wedding Planner – Nora Event Designer
Fireworks – Pirofantasy
Floral Designer – Stiatti Fiori
Favours and Paper Supports – Il Sogno di Edda
Photographer – Fotoitalo (Italo and Manuel Photography)
DJ – Barbara Giargiana
Videomaker – Wedding Motion
Wedding Rings – Elima Gioielli
Hairstylist – Cristinaclub
Music Ceremony – Emanuela Campagnoli
Banqueting & Catering – Tuscan Bites
Make Up Artist – Cristina Freghieri
Three special prizes were also presented: one to Photobus Roma, one to Fabrizio Imas (Journalist of the Year) and one to Anna and Tonino International Coiffeur for their sixty-year career. Finally, the international ambassadors of Destination Wedding Peanuts were awarded for the outstanding level achieved in the profession.
The event was also attended by actor Cristian Stelluti, starring in A_Mors, the latest picture by Mauro Capitani, premiered on December 6th in Brescia before being distributed throughout the Italian territory. A_Mors is about the life of a man, Chris, a millionaire, the son of a successful and unscrupulous entrepreneur.
The project of this movie was started off more than five years ago as a short film called “Confessions of a Sinner” and based on a novel by Giuseppe Boles. Cristian was impressed by both the subject and the quality sorted out of the available means, and thus he made the set grow numerically. Other actors, friends of his, accepted a role in the feature movie, completed in 2018.
