An Autumn Lake Como Wedding: A Destination Editorial
Most of my year lives along the New England coast I know by heart. Having grown up in New Hampshire, I can honestly say that places with elevation and water - mountains and sea - draw me to them. I love traveling and exploring new places that are home to the elements I love most, and a place that asks something new of me, and this particular autumn it was Lake Como. I traveled to Torno, Italy a quiet village on the eastern shore, to help design and photograph an editorial built around one idea: an autumn wedding on the lake, warm and unhurried, styled with the colors of the season.
Everyone pictures Lake Como in summer. Bright water, open terraces, that postcard blue. Autumn is the version I would urge a couple to consider for a wedding celebration. The crowds thin, the hills turn, the light goes amber earlier in the evening, and the whole region softens into something more intimate than the high-season photos ever show. Elegant, classic, organic, autumnal. That was the brief, and the lake made it easy to keep.
Why get married on Lake Como in autumn?
Couples choose Lake Como in autumn for the same drama the region is famous for, with fewer crowds and warmer color. September and October bring soft golden light, turning hillsides, and comfortable temperatures, while the summer rush eases and the lake feels more private. But don’t mis-understand me, the major tourist areas in the region are still busy - which is why it’s important to find the little nooks that allow for stepping away and creating more intimate moments.
That palette is the part I would not underestimate. In autumn the greens deepen, the stone of the old villas warms up, and the water turns silver as the sun drops behind the hills. A photographer does not have to work hard to make an October evening on Como feel cinematic. The season hands it to you, if you are willing to wait for the last of the light.
The private boat from Torno
This was the piece I wanted most, and I reserved it early. A private wooden boat, the classic kind the lake is known for, waiting at the Torno dock to carry us out onto the water.
The light was low and the lake was calm, and for a little while there was nowhere to be. We wandered the streets of Torno first, past shuttered windows and worn stone and the kind of Italian architecture that makes you slow your steps, then boarded and let the shoreline pull away behind us. By the time we returned for dinner, everyone carried that particular excitement you only get from an afternoon spent somewhere beautiful with nothing asked of you.
If you are planning a Lake Como wedding, absolutely do this. Build in the boat. Build in the wander. The frames from those unstructured hours are almost always the ones you keep closest. I will say, even if staying present with guests on your wedding day is a priority, consider adding this excursion during another moment of your wedding weekend and be sure to have it documented. The photos we created from out on the water with access to open light in Autumn were unmatched.
Where do couples get married on Lake Como?
Lake Como's best-known wedding venues are its historic private villas and grand lakeside hotels. So many of these luxury wedding venues in the Lake Como region you’ve likely seen in your Instagram feed (think vibrant fireworks displays during ceremony moments, grand lake views, etc). Villa del Balbianello, reachable by boat, is one of the most sought-after in Italy, alongside Villa d'Este and Villa Erba in Cernobbio, Villa Balbiano and Villa Sola Cabiati near Tremezzina, and Villa Pizzo with its terraced gardens running down to the water.
Each has its own character. Villa del Balbianello is all loggias and lake on three sides, intimate and impossibly photogenic. Villa Erba suits a larger, more private celebration. Villa d'Este brings the polish of a legendary hotel. Villa Pizzo and Villa Balbiano lean into gardens and grand interiors. For this editorial we worked at a smaller private estate in Torno, on the quieter eastern shore, which is worth knowing about too. The famous names are famous for a reason, but some of the most beautiful corners of this lake are the ones without a waiting list.
Wherever a couple lands, the through-line is the same. You are marrying against a backdrop that is unmistakably Lake Como, and years from now the setting in your photographs should tell you exactly where you stood.
What does an autumn wedding on Lake Como look like?
An autumn Lake Como wedding looks like the season poured into an Italian villa: layered blooms in warm tones, fruit on the table, gold velvet against old stone, and the water going soft behind it all. The setting does the heavy lifting, and the design leans into the season rather than fighting it. Vanessa, owner and lead planner of Eventistry, and I spent many late nights pouring over and discussing the specifics of this design. Many late night phone calls with vendors abroad and open and thorough communication about what we were envisioning. The beautiful reality of having a hand in helping to plan this editorial and also being the sole photographer was the input into decisions around florals, fabrics and textures - all of paramount importance when it comes to the way a day feels in the photographs.
The square table
For the tablescape we kept coming back to one choice: the shape. A square layout instead of a long banquet run, which sounds like a small thing and is not. A square table turns dinner into a conversation. Everyone can see everyone. No one is stranded at a far end.
On top of that architecture went the season itself. Layered seasonal blooms in warm tones, locally sourced fruit tumbling along the center, soft gold velvet linens paired with patterned napkins and fine tableware (SO many late night conversations working with rental companies abroad and learning ordering systems in another language). Rich, tactile, a little abundant in the way autumn is meant to be. It read as a feast before a single plate arrived.
The bridal looks
The styling carried two moods, and I loved that we did not have to choose between them. One look leaned romantic, the other more modern, both in gowns from Marialuisa Benetti, with beauty by Eiffel Beauty and organic florals from Della Bella. Soft and structured in the same evening.
Destination Wedding Photography in Lake Como, Italy
Documenting love throughout New England is home for me, but the passport comes out gladly (just ask my husband). What travels with me is the same eye for real moments and warm, true-to-life images, whether the backdrop is the Rhode Island coast or an Italian lake. A destination like Lake Como only sharpens that, because the setting gives you so much to work with and asks you to slow down and actually see it.
This trip meant something to me in a personal way, too. Surrounding our time in Italy, my family and I traveled on to Switzerland, a country I first fell in love with while studying at Oxford in England years ago. Getting to show my own people the places I have carried with me since then, on a trip that was also work, was one of the quiet gifts of this whole project and career. The best destination work has always blurred that line for me. You go for the pictures and you come home with so much more than a gallery. Hearing my daughter reference our time in Switzerland, to this day, makes me a little emotional at the gift we are able to give her of sharing the world with our kids.
An autumn evening on the lake
What I hoped to make in Torno was a cohesive autumn evening that felt like the season rather than a set dressed to look like it. The team gave me that and more. The boat from Torno, the square table under old stone, the two bridal looks holding romantic and modern in the same frame, the lake going quiet as the light dropped.
If you are dreaming about a wedding on Lake Como, along the Italian lakes, or anywhere that asks you to get on a plane, I would love to hear how you picture it. You can tell me about it here. You can also see where else my work has taken me on the portfolio, or read more about traveling with me on the about page.
Lake Como Wedding Vendors
Photography & Planning: Cora Jane Photography | @corajanephoto Planning & Design: Eventistry | @eventistryweddings Venue: La Villa Regia, Torno | @lavillaregia_lakecomo Videographer: Dimitris Patrikios | @dimitris_patrikios Hair & Makeup: Eiffel Beauty | @eiffel_beaute Florist: Della Bella | @dellabellafiori Wedding Stationery & Calligraphy: Pen Station Calligraphy | @penstationcalligraphy Boat Service: Cantiere Cadenazzi | @cantiere_cadenazzi Rental Equipment: SMAC Rent | @smacrent Couture Linen: Nuage Designs | @nuagedesignsinc Wedding Boutique & Gown: Marialuisa Benetti Sposa | @marialuisabenettisposa Tux: Celana | @celananew Wedding Cake: Qualcosa di Dolce | @qualcosa_didolce Jewelry Accessories: Della Bella Gioielli | @dellabellagioielli Welcome Gift: Lavender & Pine Gifting | @lavenderandpinegifting Wedding Shoes: Bella Belle Shoes | @bellabelleshoes Seating Chart Panel: Creativa Events | @creativaevents_ Chefs & Catering: Chef n Chef Como | @chefnchef_como Models: @cliviodavide & @polasikora
Cora is a wedding photographer based near Mystic, Connecticut, documenting love stories throughout New England and beyond. She is a wife and a mom to a daughter and son, and what grounds her work is relationships: with her husband, her kids, her family and friends, and the couples she photographs. Her style leans warm and romantic, centered on genuine people in classic New England places. When she is on the road or in the air, you will likely find her exploring Boston, Massachusetts; New Haven, Connecticut; Block Island, Rhode Island; Martha's Vineyard; Nantucket; the Hudson Valley, New York; or New York City.Learn more about Cora
