A Timeless and Sophisticated Wedding at Villa del Balbianello in Lake Como, Italy

“We met in 2010 in a speech and debate club meeting my freshmen year of college,” Tayra Quinones shares, describing her earliest encounters with Armond Aivazyan. “He had these striking blue eyes and interesting sense of style. He was wearing a red shirt with blue jeans and neon colored sneakers. We were friends for a year before we started dating.”

During Fall of 2017, the couple had planned an exciting trip that would take them to Reykjavik, Munich, Prague, and Berlin. “On October 4, Armond told me we would be going to Prague Castle to do a tour at 9 a.m.,” says Tayra. “We got there a bit early, but I didn’t realize what was about to happen. At 9 a.m. the guards opened the gate to the garden. As we walked in, Armond asked someone who was on the ‘tour’ to take a photo of us on the ledge overlooking the city.

After getting on the ledge, he proposed, and it was all captured by our photographer. We ended up taking pictures around the castle and Charles Bridge. It was followed by a beautiful lunch at the Four Seasons and a private plane ride over Prague.”

Tayra always knew she wanted to get married on Italy’s iconic Lake Como, so she immediately started researching wedding planners in the area. “After interviewing four wedding planners, we knew Giulia Puppini at Exclusive Italy Weddings was exactly who we were looking for,” she states. “Her warm personality and professionalism made planning a destination wedding an easy process. We started planning the wedding two years in advance, because we wanted to provide our family and friends ample time to plan the trip.”

The wedding day was a timeless, elegant, and sophisticated affair that highlighted the beauty of Villa del Balbianello. A color palette of green, gold, and cream was used for the décor, and guests were served a traditional menu of handmade pasta and a showstopping Italian millefoglie – a wedding cake assembled live.

“It was surreal to be in such a special place for Armond and I with our family and closest friends,” the bride reflects. “We honeymooned in Naples, Positano, Capri, and Rome. We stayed at Le Sirenuse in Positano and can’t speak more highly of their beautiful boutique hotel. We took a boat ride to La Conca del Sogno, a beach club in Nerano Bay; the food was delicious, and the beach had this incredible blue-green water.

During our stay in Capri we got to dine at the Da Paolino Restaurant, which is so beautiful with its famous lemon garden. We also took a lovely boat ride around the entire island where we got to see all of the different grottos. It was truly an unforgettable experience.”