Three days, one hotel, one lake: in September we planned and ran an entire wedding weekend at Park Hotel Vitznau. A get-together on Friday evening, the wedding day on Saturday with an outdoor ceremony right on Lake Lucerne, and a lakeside brunch on Sunday. Behind it were months of preparation and a team that was on site from the first set-up to the last box.
Out of respect for the privacy of our couple and their guests, this article deliberately shows no photos of people. Instead, we show what we created: the concept, the florals, the styling – and that one burst of colour.
Expectations were high, yet the mood was meant to stay light. For us, that is the real art: planning something big without it ever feeling heavy for the couple and their guests.
The guest lists were kept deliberately small: around 20 to 25 people on Friday, about 40 on the wedding day. Invited were family, close friends and people who have accompanied the couple in life and work for many years. Many had never met before. A weekend with several moments gives these guests time to really talk, instead of just meeting briefly at dinner.
The concept: elegant white against a blue lake
The colour code was clear: white, off-white and soft greens, nothing else. With the blue of Lake Lucerne and the mountains opposite, no other colours are needed. The setting brings them.
To keep white from feeling cold, we worked with materials:
- Transparency: 45 acrylic armchairs for the ceremony and the same number for dinner. The chairs step back and keep the view of the lake open.
- Linen: table linen and napkins in milk white, stonewashed, for a soft, natural surface.
- High gloss: a white acrylic platform 240 cm in diameter as the ceremony spot, acrylic columns in three heights and platforms for the musicians.
- Fabric: long white drapes framing the ceremony spot and an extra-wide white carpet as the aisle.
- Flowers: lots of white roses and hydrangeas, loosened up with greenery and hanging elements.
The couple’s wish was clear from the start: “lots of flowers” – and a colour bomb at the ceremony, no matter what. A pure white concept with a single, planned moment of colour. More on that below.
Friday: a get-together to arrive
Friday evening was deliberately relaxed: BBQ, live music, a drink in hand. The couple’s brief was “deluxe, but easy-going”, and that is exactly how we built the evening.
For us, this evening is more than a warm-up. Guests travelling in from different circles get to know each other here. On Saturday, no strangers sit side by side anymore – only people who have already laughed together. That carries the whole wedding day.
- Live music on arrival, a little more tempo later on
- Photo booth with instant prints in the aperitif area, looked after by our team
- Large banner wall as a photo backdrop
Set-up for the next day was already running in parallel. The guests never noticed. That is how it should be.
Saturday: an outdoor ceremony on the lake – and a kiss in every colour
The ceremony took place on the private lawn of Park Hotel Vitznau, right on the shore of Lake Lucerne. A white aisle led to the round acrylic platform, framed by drapes and flower columns. Behind it, only the lake.
On their seats, guests found fans with the couple’s monogram and a tissue for happy tears. In September the sun in Vitznau is still strong, so the fans were more than decoration. Strings played during the ceremony.
The moment everyone was waiting for: at the kiss, a colour bomb rose into the sky behind the couple – a fan of red, orange, yellow, green and blue. After weeks of white, this was the only loud splash of colour all weekend, and that is exactly why it worked so well.
As simple as it looks in the photo, it takes careful planning:
- Position: the colour bomb stands behind the couple so the fountain opens above them in the picture and doesn’t drift into the guests.
- Wind: by the lake, the wind shifts. The final direction is therefore decided shortly before, together with the pyrotechnician.
- Timing: celebrant, pyrotechnics and photography need to know to the second when the kiss is coming. One signal, one look, then it goes off.
- Hotel: pyrotechnics on hotel grounds need approval in advance. We sort that out early.
- White stays white: distance from drapes, carpet and flowers, so nothing is stained afterwards.
And if something falls through at short notice? That is exactly what happened: the pyrotechnics partner originally booked had to cancel at short notice. For us, that doesn’t mean panic – it means network. Christian Ziegler of ziegler shows&events stepped in and made the colour bomb at the kiss possible. The couple only found out once everything was already settled.
After the ceremony, everyone moved on to the champagne reception on the Verlinde Terrace. Music, champagne, views across the lake – and time for congratulations.
Saturday: dinner at the Atelier and a party into the night
Dinner was held at focus ATELIER, the hotel’s two-Michelin-star restaurant. A tavolata menu with a seafood platter was served: dishes go in the middle and everyone shares. That suits a wedding where guests are meant to get to know each other.
The tables were dressed in milk-white linen, long tables and round ones mixed, with plenty of white florals. Custom stationery guided guests through the evening.
- Sweet & sour table outdoors, styled to match the concept
- Kids’ table with toys and drawing materials, so even the youngest guests had their place
- Music: band and DJ after dinner, with a permit until 2 am
For the evening, the couple wanted a real line-up of artists in different styles. So we planned the music for the whole weekend from a single source: from the strings at the ceremony to the party.
Sunday: brunch by the lake
Sunday was time to breathe. Over brunch by the lake, the previous evening was retold, phone numbers were exchanged and plans for the next reunion were made. A calm ending that rounds off the weekend.
While guests enjoyed brunch, our team started the take-down. Quietly, quickly and so that the terrace stayed beautiful to the very end.
Behind the scenes: a big team, clear processes
A weekend with three events in one place is, above all, logistics. From our warehouse in the Black Forest to Vitznau it is a good 220 kilometres. Whatever is missing there cannot be fetched quickly. That is why we plan every item in advance, from the acrylic chair to the sandbag for the banner wall.
| Day | What our team did |
|---|---|
| Friday | Delivery with several vans, set-up of the get-together, aperitif area and photo booth |
| Saturday | Set-up of ceremony, dinner and outdoor area; running the schedule all day; coordinating all suppliers |
| Sunday | Take-down in parallel with brunch |
On site were wedding planners, a decorator and several logistics staff. Our team stayed in the village and could reach the hotel within minutes at any time. For destination weddings, that is standard for us: whoever is first there in the morning and last to leave at night needs to stay close.
What do couples notice? Ideally nothing. They simply know there is someone who knows the schedule, steers the suppliers and has a solution before a problem becomes visible.
This experience doesn’t come from a textbook. We have been planning weddings in Germany and Switzerland for many years – as a wedding planner for Zurich, Lucerne and Central Switzerland as well as in the Black Forest – and work closely with vonRock Events. Furniture, decor and logistics come from one source.
Park Hotel Vitznau as a wedding venue: all the facts
Park Hotel Vitznau is located at Seestrasse 18 in 6354 Vitznau, right on the shore of Lake Lucerne at the foot of Mount Rigi. It is one of Switzerland’s best-known grand hotels – and for weddings, a stage that hardly needs any decoration.
History
The hotel opened on 22 April 1903. It was built by the Bon family of hoteliers and designed by architect Karl Koller. In 2009 Peter Pühringer’s group of companies bought the property, closed it and had it extensively renovated. In March 2013 Park Hotel Vitznau reopened – as a year-round hotel with suites and residences only.
The hotel in numbers
- 47 suites and residences from 45 to 160 m², each individually designed
- focus ATELIER: two Michelin stars and 18 Gault&Millau points, head chef Patrick Mahler, creative French, seasonal cuisine
- grill restaurant & lake terrace for more relaxed dining with a lake view
- Wine cellar: around 32,000 bottles in six themed cellars, including a champagne cellar
- Spa: outdoor pool by the lake, saunas, steam bath, ice grotto and treatment rooms
- Rigi railway: the cog railway up Mount Rigi starts in Vitznau – a lovely programme for guests staying longer
Venues for ceremony, aperitif and dinner
Capacities according to the hotel’s venue overview (banquet = gala seating):
| Venue | Size | Banquet | Aperitif |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verlinde Terrace, Garden & Island | – | – | 100 |
| Verlinde Hall | 154 m² | 64 | 100 |
| Music Hall | 154 m² | 70 | 100 |
| Panorama Hall | 132 m² | 70 | 100 |
| Gotthard Salon | 112 m² | 40 | 80 |
| focus ATELIER | 70 m² | 42 | 50 |
| PRISMA Expérience | 120 m² | 24–40 | 50 |
| Stanserhorn Hall | 54 m² | 20 | 25 |
What to know before you enquire
- No weddings in high summer: Park Hotel Vitznau does not host weddings in June, July and August, to protect the privacy of its other guests. May, September and October are therefore in particularly high demand.
- Ceremony by the lake: outdoor ceremonies take place on the hotel’s private lawn, with the ceremony spot right on the shore.
- Wedding package: according to the hotel, from 40 guests, CHF 550 per person with ceremony or CHF 540 without. It includes a 1.5-hour champagne aperitif, a five-course menu, the wedding cake, menu cards, the bridal suite for the wedding night and a tasting menu and cake tasting for two. Alcoholic drinks are charged on consumption.
- Contact: you can reach the hotel’s event team via the Park Hotel Vitznau weddings page.
All details according to the hotel’s website, as of October 2026. Prices and conditions may change – please confirm them directly with the hotel.
Our tip from practice: the package covers the food and the hotel. Concept, decor, furniture, music, florals, pyrotechnics and the schedule across several days are up to you – or you hand them over to us. Especially for a weekend with a get-together and brunch, it pays to have someone who holds all the threads together and coordinates with the hotel.
More Park Hotel Vitznau: another wedding we planned there features a lakeside ceremony, a boat tour and macchiato-beige table design – see our wedding on Lake Lucerne at Park Hotel Vitznau.
The team behind this wedding
A weekend like this only works with partners who love their craft. Thank you to everyone who was part of it:
| Service | Supplier | Their part in the weekend |
|---|---|---|
| Venue, hotel & cuisine | Park Hotel Vitznau | Private lakeside lawn for the ceremony, Verlinde Terrace for the reception, dinner at focus ATELIER |
| Wedding planning & concept | rockwedding – Anna-Maria Rock & team | Concept, suppliers, schedule and coordination on all three days – our services |
| Furniture, decor, logistics & photo booth | vonRock Events | Acrylic chairs, platforms, columns, linen, aisle, banner wall, photo booth, set-up and take-down |
| Florals | myawina | White roses and hydrangeas for ceremony and dinner |
| Photo & film | HopeStudio | Photo and video on the wedding day |
| Hair & styling | Mario Novak | Styling on the wedding day |
| Celebrant | Carina Pellegrino | A personal ceremony by the lake |
| Stationery | Marga | Place cards, menu and monogrammed guest fans |
| Music | Variety Music | Live music on Friday, strings at the ceremony, band and DJ in the evening |
| Colour bomb | Christian Ziegler – ziegler shows&events | The colour bomb at the kiss – stepped in at short notice |
| Wedding dress | Bridal Boutique Baden-Baden | The wedding dress |
| Team accommodation | Hotel Vitznauerhof | Our team stayed within walking distance of the hotel |
Frequently asked questions about Park Hotel Vitznau and our wedding
Where is Park Hotel Vitznau?
Park Hotel Vitznau is located at Seestrasse 18 in 6354 Vitznau in the canton of Lucerne, right on the shore of Lake Lucerne at the foot of Mount Rigi. Vitznau can be reached by car and by lake steamer from Lucerne.
Can you get married at Park Hotel Vitznau?
Yes. The hotel hosts weddings with outdoor ceremonies on its private lawn by the lake, an aperitif on the Verlinde Terrace and dinner in its halls or at focus ATELIER. There is a dedicated wedding package.
When can you get married at Park Hotel Vitznau?
According to the hotel, no weddings take place in the high-season months of June, July and August. May, September and October are ideal – our wedding took place in mid-September in sunshine.
How many guests does Park Hotel Vitznau hold?
For the aperitif, the Verlinde Terrace, garden and island hold up to 100 guests. For a dinner with gala seating, the Music Hall and Panorama Hall each hold up to 70 people, the Verlinde Hall up to 64 and focus ATELIER up to 42.
How much does a wedding at Park Hotel Vitznau cost?
According to the hotel, the wedding package costs CHF 550 per person with ceremony and CHF 540 without, bookable from 40 guests. Alcoholic drinks are charged on consumption. Decor, music, florals, photography and planning come on top.
Which restaurants does Park Hotel Vitznau have?
focus ATELIER holds two Michelin stars and 18 Gault&Millau points, with head chef Patrick Mahler. There is also the grill restaurant with lake terrace and the PRISMA Expérience space for private dinners.
How many rooms does Park Hotel Vitznau have?
The hotel has 47 suites and residences between 45 and 160 m². There are no standard rooms. For wedding guests, it is worth reserving an allocation early and planning additional hotels in Vitznau.
How old is Park Hotel Vitznau?
Park Hotel Vitznau opened on 22 April 1903. After an extensive renovation starting in 2009, it reopened in March 2013 as a year-round hotel.
Is a whole wedding weekend worth it?
Especially if guests travel from far away or don’t know each other yet. A get-together the evening before and a brunch the day after give everyone more time together.
Is a colour bomb allowed at a hotel wedding?
We clarify that in advance with the hotel and an experienced pyrotechnician. What matters is space, wind direction and distance from guests and decor.
Do you plan weddings in Switzerland even though you are based in Germany?
Yes. We plan weddings around Lucerne, Zurich and Basel as well as in the Black Forest, Frankfurt and Munich.
Planning your wedding by the lake?
Do you want high standards and still a sense of ease? A weekend your guests will remember for a long time, without you having to worry about the details? Then tell us about your ideas. We look forward to hearing from you.
