Love at Villa Mon Repos Taormina

Over the past five years wedding tourism in Sicily has increased dramatically.

Weddings abroad can often be more intimate, less costly and a lot less stressful with beautiful weather, which is why more couples are opting for destination weddings creating memories that will last a lifetime. Italy has always been a popular choice offering romance and a variety of venue options.

There are many beautiful venues to choose from in Sicily ranging from 5 star hotels and resorts, ancient palazzo's, castles, baroque churches, vineyards, country estates and luxury villas just to name a few. One of those villa's is the beautiful Villa Mon Repos in Taormina.

The town of Taormina is a popular place for tourism and weddings. It is one of the most important international tourist centres in the Sicilian region known for its natural landscape, sea views, beautiful beaches and historical monuments. The town is surrounded by much beauty and breathtaking views of the smoking volcano Mount Etna.

What most of you do not know is that I have worked in the wedding industry in London for many years. See and you all just thought that I sit here writing about Sicily all day helping you book your trips, didn't you?

Over the past few years since buying our Sicilian home I have made friends with some lovely wedding planners in Sicily and one of those is Elizabeth Gaan founder of Bouquets and Bows Destination Weddings in Taormina. To us we know her as Liz. We met Liz seven years ago and the story of how we met is quite unique.

My husband and I got married in London in 1995 and since then my husband has put on a little weight (it must be all that Sicilian food we have consumed since we bought our house). His wedding ring became a bit tight on his finger and so we took his ring to a jeweller who explained that he could make it bigger by inserting two pieces of gold but warned us that this could weaken the ring which ultimately it did. One piece of the ring fell off leaving my husband walking around with a horseshoe shaped ring. It was time for us to purchase a new wedding ring. As we had been married in a church we really felt like we did not want to just buy the ring and pop it on his finger so we decided that we wanted to get the ring blessed in a church and what better place to have it blessed than in Sicily. I remembered that our lovely English friend Norma had mentioned that her friend Liz was a wedding planner in Taormina and had always said that we would get on well especially with our connection in the wedding industry. Liz is one of Taormina's most experienced and established wedding planners with lots of contacts. I sent her an email to explain that we wanted to get a ring blessed in a church, no fuss no big deal, we would only need a few minutes of the Priest's time. Liz replied "Not a problem, the Priest at the Duomo of Taormina would probably be up for this" and a date was set. On the day when we arrived at the Duomo Liz took us inside, the Priest took one look at us and announced that he thought that we should renew our wedding vows as well and so he headed off into the vestry to change into his ceremonial vestments. When he reappeared he ushered us into a side chapel where we were watched by intrigued tourists inside who must have thought that we were having some kind of an impromptu wedding. We certainly were not dressed for a wedding. After the shock had subsided we enjoyed a celebratory glass of prosecco in Piazza Aprile IX and we have remained friends with Liz ever since and we were soon made part of her family.

In London at work I sometimes have to go into a venue to set up. We literally go in, set up and take photos hastily before the happy couple arrive. Earlier this year Liz suggested that I came along to the villa for a wedding that she was organising and setting up.

Villa Mon Repos was built in the early 1900's by a Russian named Joseph Stempel who moved there with his mother also utilising as a storeroom the adjacent Villa Caronia. He chose the name 'Mon Repos' meaning "My Rest" in French. He chose this name unaware of the glorious future that would come to mark the history of his beautiful villa.

The villa is an architectural gem built in an Art Nouveau style, which was popular at this time in Sicily and is located on Via Luigi Pirandello set in a lush garden full of abundant olive trees with view of the sparkling Ionian Sea and Isola Bella on one side and a smoking Mount Etna on the other. It boasts an enviable position in Taormina and it is one of those places that you drive past and look through the gates and think "Mmmmmm, I wonder what it looks like inside?"

Today Villa Mon Repos is a luxurious hotel and a location for weddings and events.

In the sixties Villa Mon Repos became famous around the world thanks to Commander Domenico Guarnaschelli who converted the villa into the first casino in Taormina boasting a restaurant, bar, games rooms and nightclub.

During the so called "Biennio d'oro" (golden era) through 1963 to 1964 gambling started in the games room, known as "Kursaal" and the villa became the meeting place of international stars like Marlene Dietrich, Gregory Peck and Cary Grant, also stars of Italian cinema, the most famous artists of the time and members of the aristocracy. Marlene Dietrich loved the villa and in particular the ground floor terrace where she could sit and admire the sea.

The villa's sumptuous lounges echoed famous performances by Dionne Warwick, Amelia Rodriguez and Charles Aznavour with appearances by stars such as Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine, Walter Chiari and Gina Lollobrigida. The tenth Taormina Film Festival was also held there.

The casino closed its doors for the last time in 1965 by the power of attorney of Messina. The casino with all its splendour and all its dreams did not last long enough. Commander Guarnaschelli still dreamed of reopening the casino up until his death in 1998.

Villa Mon Repos is one of the locations that make up the Taormina Cult Map, a list of 21 places where the muses from literature, art and cinema made their home in the town.

Today, mindful of its fabulous past the Villa has been reborn.

Ultra modern accommodation is matched to the style of the ancient villa in the form of fourteen beautiful luxury suites set within the grounds. There are also suites inside the villa which have been given names such as the Stempel Baron Suite, the Greta Suite and Marlene Suite. The villa has a chic sparkling infinity pool which offers stunning views.

Having already been a venue for many events in the past the villa is the perfect place to choose as a meaningful location for a wedding or special occasion. The colour of the structure painted white makes it a great choice if you are planning an all-white wedding party theme or it is the perfect blank canvas that can be livened up with touches of bright or pastel colours to match your dream wedding inspiration.

Wedding parties are held on the furnished terraces which house a glass balustrade. In the summer evenings you can enjoy your wedding dinner with your guests under an outdoor sparkling light setting with strings of lights transforming the gardens into a whimsical wonderland, lighting up the night with seemingly thousands of fairy lights, turning the villa and pool into an enchanting night time scene. Its beautiful sparkling swimming pool can be dressed up with colourful balloons or floats. Weddings and parties can also be held inside the villa in the case of a rainy day.

The day I visited the villa it was a sultry hot day with a few moody looking clouds above. Liz's happy couple had chosen blooms of delicate cream and pink roses for their table centrepieces. Liz had dressed the Villas white sofas on the terrace with pretty pink cushions to match. Tables were set up under the glass balustrade with pristine white table cloths and linen napkins with gleaming cutlery and menus with a vintage photo on the front of the villa. Liz had set up an area with an iconic Vespa complete with props like funny hats, comical glasses and fake moustaches as a fun photo prop. Everything looked perfect.

I always love the atmosphere of setting up an event and the atmosphere at Villa Mon Repos exuberates a feeling of peace and tranquility. If you are dreaming of a destination wedding oozing elegance with a touch of historical magic then Villa Mon Repos might just be the venue for you.

This year the villa has been one of the most popular venues in Taormina hosting many wedding parties and special events.

If you are considering a wedding in Sicily my top tip is to contact a locally based wedding planner. These guys are hyper-organised people who will help you with your plans and act as your translator. They have local inside knowledge and will deal with the local town hall where all your important paperwork needs to be registered and often chased up in person.

Liz is a fabulous, fun and vivacious wedding planner with many years of experience. I have had the pleasure to be a witness at many of Liz's elopement weddings and she always puts her heart and soul into every wedding she plans with full attention to detail and a lot of love.

Visit Liz on her website at

www.bouquetsandbows.com

You can also follow her on
Facebook and Instagram

Visit Villa Mon Repos on

www.hotelmonrepostaormina.com

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