Sophie & Christophe
Lake Como, Italy
An Italian Reverie of Elegance and Ease
Some weddings are carefully orchestrated. Others, like Sophie Elkus and Christophe Lindstrom’s, feel as if they simply unfolded—effortlessly, inevitably, under the spell of Lake Como’s timeless beauty.
With their hearts anchored in California and Italy forever etched in their story, the couple chose Villa Pizzo as the stage for their wedding weekend. Set between olive trees and the shifting light of the lake, the villa’s peeling facades and panoramic Darsena captured exactly the kind of understated elegance they sought—nothing too polished, nothing contrived. Just the quiet poetry of place.
With the talents of
Planning and Design: Eventoile
Photography: Catherine Mead
Videography: Lumos Produzioni
Venue: Villa Pizzo and Villa D'Este
Florals: Chiara Sperti
Music/Lighting: Blunotte Eventi
Stationery: Letterink
Bridal Stylist: Cynthia Cook Smith
Gowns: Oscar de la Renta, Jimmy Choo
Jewelry: Stephanie Gottlieb
Make Up: Kelly Dawn Bridal
Hair: Victoria Ralph
The festivities opened at Una Finestra, perched above Cernobbio, where guests were welcomed into a world of warm breezes, intimate styling, and looks curated by Sophie alongside Cynthia Cook Smith and Oscar de la Renta. A green guipure lace dress, long sleeves, bare makeup—timeless without trying to be.
The next day, a fleet of sixteen boats skimmed across the lake in cinematic formation, a Champagne toast echoing between villas and limestone shores. Sophie, radiant in dark florals, toasted and twirled until a misstep on the boat turned into a memory—covered gracefully with a touch of artistry, as only she could.
Wedding Day
In early September, Sophie walked down the olive-tree-lined path at Villa Pizzo to “Canon in D,” wearing a crescent strapless Oscar de la Renta gown where lace faded like mist across silk. Her veil—ethereal, weightless—floated around her like a secret. Christophe waited in a Tom Ford tuxedo, the lake glinting behind him. Their vows, heartfelt and wry, drew laughter and tears in equal measure.
Under a glass marquee transformed into an undone rose garden—peach roses, chocolate cosmos, chandeliers woven into greenery—dinner stretched into candlelight and music. The setting, designed with Chiara Sperti Floral Events, was as alive at midnight as it had been at sunset.
As night deepened, fireworks exploded above the lake, a private sky blooming in light. There was a mad, breathless dash inside for Sophie’s second look change—a feat completed in eight minutes flat—and a final afterparty that dissolved into dance, margherita pizzas at midnight, and a joyful resistance to the inevitable last song.
It wasn’t just a wedding. It was a love letter—to heritage, to place, to style lived naturally and without effort.
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