Last Friday, Marry Me In Tuscany kicked off the wedding season in Siena with a beautiful wedding for a fabulous couple Dan & Marie from America. They brought with them 17 family and friends to help them celebrate their wedding.
Dan a man always on the go decided that lots of activities were the order of the day to make sure that they made the most of their trip here and trust me they did! They had guided tours of Florence & Siena, a cooking class with Elena at Fattoria Corsignano, a Chianti wine tour and a rehearsal dinner at the superb restaurant Taverna di San Guiseppe in Siena, where they were treated to a surprise by the staff, won't spill the beans on that just in case you go there too for a special occasion but I can honestly say that the food and service is wonderful and it's well worth a visit if you are in Siena even if you're not celebrating something special.
So after months of emails the BIG day finally arrived, and I went up to the fabulous venue Fattoria Corsignano, which Dan & Maire had chosen but which I know well as a great wedding venue to meet with a very relaxed Marie and her mum Susan & sister Rachel who was the MOH, they'd just had a massage and the wine was flowing!
Fattoria Corsignano is situated about 8km from Siena and is run by Elena & her husband Mario, a wonderful couple that will do everything and more to ensure that your stay is memorable and your wedding is the best day of your lives, the wines that they produce are wonderful too and with lots of wonderful areas to use for the wedding you'll be spoilt for choice as to where to hold the wedding breakfast.
The hairdresser and make-up artist arrived and set about making everyone look a million dollars, when I asked about putting ribbons on the wedding car, they decided that perhaps it might need a clean, so I set off with Dan's dad to take it to the local car wash, while I organized that, he nipped into MacDonald's for a quick chicken burger and chips! So with a clean car I drove back to the Fattoria to put on the ribbons and see how we were getting on with the preparations, as I imagined everything was going according to plan. Amy had arrived and she was busy photographing the preparations.
So with everyone looking absolutely fabulous we set off for the short journey to the beautiful church La Certosa di Pontignano, which is situated a couple of kilometers from the Fattoria. This is a wonderful church which has beautiful cloisters and gardens which are perfect for photographs. On arrival at the church I lit the candles in the aisle and made sure that everything was OK with the harpist and the priest and that Dan wasn't too nervous. And then the harpist started to play and bridal party procession began. Marie came in on her proud dad's arm looking gorgeous in her beautiful Italian lace wedding dress that she had bought in the States and call it fate or destiny but her wedding consultant was from here!
The wedding service was very touching and there were a few hankies at the ready for those moving moments and as they were declared husband and wife they walked out into the sunshine for some lovely photos in the cloisters with their friends and family while I dismantled the church to take the flowers and vases filled with candles back to the Fattoria.
The guests went on ahead to freshen up while Dan & Marie stayed on with Amy for some photos in the gardens and then they joined their guests around the pool for an aperitivo and some delicious food prepared by Elena and the chef. Before going into dinner Dan & Marie took to the dance floor for thier first dance, they had been taking dance lessons secretly so they wowed their guests with a fabulous display. Marie then danced with her dad to the song "footprints in the sand" which made everyone cry including me, the words are so beautiful and are just so perfect for a first dance although do be prepared to sob heartily.
The wedding colours were chocolate brown and fushia pink the florist pulled out all the stops for some wonderful wedding flowers the girls are amazing and never cease to amaze me with their creativity I'm sure that you'll agree the wedding flowers were fantastic.
After a veritable feast, speeches and cake cutting, the guests all took to the dance floor to let their hair down and danced the night away till the wee small hours.
Dan & Marie had a wonderful Tuscan wedding and am so pleased that I helped them make it all possible, to see what they say about me and Marry Me In Tuscany check out their lovely testimonial under "What people say".
As you know from my previous blog on "why you should have a professional photographer at your wedding", for more evidence of why you should the photos here are mine and really don't do the day justice so to see some truly great photos of the day, check out Amy's blog from Imag1ne as always Amy has captured the day perfectly and they are way better than mine 😉
Thanks for the lovely comments. I agree this wedding has been absolutely perfect in the all. Dan and Marie were fabulous, all the guests were fabulous, the flowers, the food, the wine, the candles, the music, the dances. A great event! Jackie has made a fantastic job, I like very much to work with her because she is really professional.
Jackie is the best! Wonderful wedding, my family and I had a great time! No words describe how beautiful it all was.
Aw! thanks Rachel it was a very special wedding and am so happy that you all had the most amazing time ;-D x
Aw! thanks Rachel, I'm so happy that you all had a great time it was a truly amazing wedding made even more special by the lovely people that helped such a fab couple celebrate their wedding.
Jackie. We had to put all our faith in you since this wedding was planned from the US. You came through for us in everything from the flowers to the hair stylist, the make up, decorating the car - even getting the car washed! You had the best contacts for us and made sure everything went smoothly. Rachel is right that words cannot describe how beautiful it was.