Lake Como is such a beautiful destination!  Talk about a dream wedding location.  Lake Como is on my list of dream destinations to photograph a wedding, and rightly so.  It's incredibly romantic. 

Some of the mountains made me feel like I was in Jurassic Park, but with an Italian feel and totally free of dinosaur danger.  I went with one of my best friends, Reka, the year before I got married.  Derrik and I had been dating a few months at the time.  I remember the long list of different international calling apps he looked into so we could stay in touch during my trip.  It was so sweet.  

One of the best moments was when the ferry dropped us off in Varenna.  It was dusk, so the glow of the sky mixed with those classic Lake Como views left us giddy.  It was a beautiful introduction.  Then we tried to find our hotel...

In retrospect, we probably should have done more research on how long it would take for our ferry to arrive at Varenna.  The ferry ride was actually one of my favorite things of the trip, but we weren't expecting for it to last three hours.  It ended up taking an hour or two to find our hotel on foot.  Reka wasn't phased one bit, while I was the one who needed some reassurance that our evening wouldn't turn into the plot of the Taken movies.  We did eventually find the hotel, after walking up roads that placed us well above most of the town (right alongside the lake - so picturesque!).  All was right when we woke up to this view...

We stayed at Eremo Gaudio.  Simple rooms, great views!  Make sure to check if there's air conditioning when you book a hotel (we didn't think to ask and ended up being pretty warm during the night even though it cooled down nicely outside).  We were there in August, so it might matter less depending on the time of year.  

Don't you just want to jump into that water and splash around?!

The picture above was our daily breakfast view.  Not bad, right?  It was a peaceful way to start off our adventures.

My biggest regret of my trip to Europe, particularly Italy and France, was not eating enough carbs.  There, I said it.  I was trying my hand at Paleo at the time (bless you Whole 30 people!).  I remember eating boiled eggs, dried out swiss cheese and scraping a tiny Nutella packet clean (not Whole 30 approved) as I took my time savoring that "I'm really here!  This is happening!" feeling while I looked out on Lake Como from my hotel patio.  I think the moment could have been better with a croissant to give that Nutella a proper job. I digress. I could really eat anything with these views in front of me.  My next goal is to go back with Derrik.  It's by far the most romantic place I've ever been (even more so than Paris, at least for me).

There are multiple areas on Lake Como to explore.  I went to Varenna (furthest from where the ferry rides depart near the train station).  By the end, I hope you'll be adding Lake Como to your travel list!

This was the view from one of the hotel patio areas.  The perfect spot to break open a fresh new book and doze off into a effortless nap.  

Dinner by the water.  Get there early for a front row seat!

Living dangerously and testing the theory that Italian carbs are calorie-free.

I'm ready to return.  Who want's to have a wedding at Lake Como?