I had long wanted to discover more about the Wedding market in Russia. Intrigued – more than anything else – by their way of “building” literally from nothing, galactic settings with the most varied materials. Of course, with an approach very far from ours (considering that they do not have the historical or natural settings that make Italy one of the most popular destination wedding destinations worldwide) but no less interesting.

That is why, in 2018, I was more than thrilled to accept the invitation from the editorial staff of White Sposa calling me to fulfill a decidedly challenging role: be the judge at the Russian wedding awards in Moscow. Appointment accepted with great pleasure – and of course the right feeling of responsibility for having to judge the work of the extraordinary Russian colleagues.

Extraordinary, is the word that best describes the work of professionals who – for all intents and purposes – are becoming more and more at the forefront of the world wedding industry, especially on Production and Entertainment.

But we know … the philosophy of the Russians is “GO BIG!”, and they don’t repeat it twice!

After all, as I said, it is not easy to have to design events full of beauty with an almost total lack of locations, and when it comes to beautiful Hotels or palaces, the conference rooms-that is, the spaces set aside for events-are often cold and inhospitable to over-decorate.

Over-decorated is the leitmotif of the majestic works we had the chance to judge, an all-Italian parterre that saw me alongside Simona Polli, the director of White Sposa Italia, as well as fellow wedding planners of the caliber of Enzo Miccio and Design Anarchy, flower designers Patrizia di Braida and Sonia Luongo, and Whitericevimenti director Valentina Piccabianchi.

The Gala evening was a succession of videos of incredible work, epic moments amid laughter, wild dancing and fireworks (Funny story: on the stage of the prestigious WHITE SPOSA AWARDS I should be awarding the best Russian presenter, Slavsav. Instead, my heel gets stuck in the stage step and he has to come and save me. #TRUESTORY  #nocomment  #likejenniferlawrenceattheoscars) and the discovery that there is a category that is almost nonexistent here, namely the PRESENTER, a very popular professional figure who can be defined as straddling the line between a comedian and a master of ceremonies.

So finally, at the end of the fair Russia amazes and does not disappoint, and the market of wedding professionals surprises and will continue to surprise us with its opulence and special effects.

Before leaving, I had the great pleasure of visiting Gennady Samokhin’s Studios. (https://gensam.ru/), the KING of crazy set designs. Among his clients: monarchs, politicians, international stars for productions up to several million euros. With dreams of bringing him, hopefully soon, to our beautiful Costa Smeralds in Sardinia.

Discover all the events I attended here