To all of these reading this blog, surely you were looking for some advice on how to plan your wedding in Tuscany day since months. But now…well, let’ s say that we are all postponing our plans….. only for a few months! Here in Italy we’ve been hitten in a hard way by this virus so what I really want to do now that I have some time to spend at home is reading and thinking about how to organize ( if possible) nicer events than these I’ve planned last year and how to continue doing it in the future.
As I got plenty of time to browse all my favorite websites like SMP, Rock my wedding, my own Pinterest board to get some inspiration I already know it will be not so difficult. Give me one more month and I’ll be as busy as always planning visits to new venues for my couples and new magical weddings! I was just looking for some pictures to show on IG and I found these of a lovely day about last July.
When I got the first contact from K&L was exactly the opposite of today : they wrote me 2 years before their wedding date as they got my contact from a venue owner that was not able to help their big group. I was in the middle of a hot wedding season and I felt so bad and I couldn’t go with them to visit venues….. I started thinking on how to help this young couple when my assistant Rebecca called me to offer support and drive them around Tuscany. After 2 days visiting venue they found the one who touched their hearts and decided to sign a contract with both, the venue and me. It was a long distance planning even if they came back twice to Tuscany to select suppliers and do food tastings. There were many different moments during the three days they stayed at Le Filigare.
Everything started the first day with a Tea Ceremony: having the groom asian origins their parents wanted to follow the tradition with a typical tea ceremony. During this rite the couple offers some presents to the parents that in this way allow them to get married and wish good luck for their new life as a married couple.
On the wedding day, after breakfast it all started with hotel preparation of bride and groom party in two different apartments. The sun was really hot so, as the ceremony was held on the top of a hill, they decided to postpone it. They had the blessing at 5pm. Just after the ceremony drinks and some canapés where served by the pool. In the meanwhile Britpops were singing some songs for us. As the sun was no more scorching we decided it was time to move to the upper part of the farmhouse. A nicely decorated green and white table was waiting for welcoming us.
The newlyweds carefully selected each dish of their wedding dinner. To be honest when I sat down and had the first bite of tagliolini with black truffle I couldn’t think to anything else than this delicious pasta!
A great beef fillet was following and when the wedding cake arrived it was spectacular. A show cooking for traditional Italian millefoglie decorated with figs and olive leaves , to die for! I’m sure all guests loved it as there were just a few pieces left that were brought upstairs were the party started.
Britpops began the show as well as Alberto and his mate were serving nonstop drinks. Look at the nice cutie 500 Fiat they received as present from the open bar company ! It was a magical night and I didn’t want to leave but another hard day of planning was waiting so I had to stay goodbye to this magical place wishing to get back very soon!
To all of you still thinking about a nice wedding in Tuscany: have a look at these pictures: they really share the feeling of relax and amusement they had in these days and hop they convince all of you there reading to drop me a few lines despite the hard moment we’re in!
Venue: Le Filigare
Pictures:Ar J Photo
Flowers: Agriflor
Celebrant: Sofia from Tuscan Pledges
Catering service: Le Cirque
When you decide to plan a destination wedding, there’s a lot that goes into it. From the venue to airfare, and everything in between, it can be easy to exceed from the wedding budget when it comes to the planning process. To avoid overspending and draining your bank accounts before you even say “I do”, follow these tips when planning your destination wedding!
The most important part of planning any wedding, especially a destination wedding, is setting a realistic wedding budget that works with your personal finances. You’ll want to go over your savings accounts, debt, and bills before committing to anything. Figure out how much you have to spend so that you can stick to that dollar limit throughout the planning process. In order to avoid going over what you can afford, you can consider utilizing a low-interest loan to keep you in check and give you some wiggle room if needed.
With all of the moving parts of a destination wedding, try to cut costs by booking an all-inclusive plan. If you can find a bundle for you and your partner that covers your flights, hotel stay, and excursions around the resort, you’ll be saving yourself a lot of money. Encourage your family and friends who are attending to do the same so they can more easily afford your trip and increase their chances of coming.
Both a blessing and a curse of a destination wedding is that everyone won’t be able to make the trip. While it will be a bit of a bummer to not have everyone you’ve ever met at your wedding, you’ll be able to save a lot of money by only inviting your closest friends and family. Keep your guest list as small as you can. You might still get “RSVP no”s from a couple of your guests, which will only shorten the list further. Check out this article for more tips on how to cut down your invite list.
There will likely be popular dates at the venue you choose for your destination wedding where the price is a lot higher than usual. Pick a less acquired date to save a big chunk of money. Instead of getting married on the usual Saturday, get married on a weekday to get a discount on your venue. If your schedule allows it, plan a wedding for a Monday or Tuesday.
A huge plus of destination weddings is that the beautiful location pays for itself! With a destination like Hawaii or Tuscany, your ceremony and reception will be decorated by nature. You won’t need to spend your money on decor or clever signs. All you need for a gorgeous wedding is the backdrop before you, so you won’t need all of those extra details most weddings do. For a fall wedding in tuscany, you could use leaves as your backdrop and decor to create a beautiful scene.
Take advantage of the beautiful location you get married in, and continue your trip right into your honeymoon. You’ll cut down on costs by not having to fly elsewhere after your wedding, and you could inquire with your resort location to see if they give discounts on hotel stay or excursions when you book your wedding with them. Take the time to research unique activities or events in the area. Since you won’t have to travel to another location for your honeymoon, be spontaneous and leave the venue your wedding took place at to explore the location even more!
Photo credits Livio Lacurre
Dear Brides, I don’t think there’s another wedding that can be called more destination wedding in Tuscany then this one! Andrea and Camilo arrived this last September after having the experience of hurricane Irma visiting their homes…. To be honest , here in Europe we’re not that used to this kind of event and I can’t even imagine which problems this can cause to your ordinary life….Anyway, Camilo, Andrea and their families made it safely to Tuscany where they booked a wonderful Villa surrounded by nature and plenty of animals like horses and ducks .
After several Skype calls and a couple of email to explain which documents were required to get married in the church their papers were finally ready to obtain the Nulla Osta of the Priest who met us the day before in a lovely church of the village. Religious wedding are more and more requested by couple wishing too get married in Italy and this is not always easy to accomplish as priest may be a bit reluctant to marry a foreign couple .
But looking at the tears of guests and empathy of the guests you really understands that this wedding in Tuscany in the church was really important for them.ùEven of September can be a bit risky as for the weather, that day sun was shining bright to their happiness and they all came safely to the church and back to the Villa with the magic vintage school bus!! I loves it and was sad not to be able to hop on as I had to be at the church before to check music and last details!!!!
Even of September can be a bit risky as for the weather, that day sun was shining bright to their happiness and they all came safely to the church and back to the Villa with the magic vintage school bus!! I loves it and was sad not to be able to hop on as I had to be at the church before to check music and last details!!!!
Despite the hard times they’ve just had at home it was a day full of joy and happiness spent together with family and friends and ending with good food and wine provided by the villa owners. If you wish to see more pics just have a look at the website of the talented photographer who captured the day: Beatrice Moricci. Thanks for the great pictures and hope to see you again in the next destination wedding in Tuscany!
Credits: Flower by Agriflor Fiori
Make up and Hair from Wedding allover, Mauro Vitali.
As you surely know I love Fall weddings: mild temperatures, bright colors and above all avoiding the scorching hot Summer sun. This last September I
had the pleasure to be the wedding planner of the most lovely and nice couple I’ve had this year: Francesca and Tom. I met Francesca and his passionate mom last April. They first came to select their favorite venue from the bunch I had selected for them. It was love at first sight with a nice Fattoria (farmhouse) in the middle of Tuscany between the Chianti and Arezzo regions. The great landscape, the good food and the nice accommodation made it easy for them to choose that spot for the wedding.
The planning was quite easy as the bride already knew what she wanted. She dreamed to a relaxed country wedding with lots of pastel flowers and a great party with family and friends. So step by step we booked all the suppliers to help organize and build the Big Day. Once we met back at the Fattoria in September for the last trial and I saw Peter, the husband. He shared that he had an announcement to make. Francesca was pregnant and they were very happy to discover it before coming to Tuscany! With tears in eyes I decided to buy a present for this couple and it was a real challenge. Choose between all these lovely baby things in the shop was not easy! Anyway, time was running fast and I had to drive up and downhill to get to the Fattoria to be on time for the bride preparation. Francesca was very relaxed and we went together with some of her bridesmaids in the living room to get ready .
Hair and make up artists were waiting for us. Unexpectedly Francesca’s Dad came in with a bottle of Prosecco to calm down the nerves
The photographer was there to start taking picture of the getting ready. In the meanwhile the florist also came to set up the ceremony and deliver bouquets and corsages for women. In a moment the whole party was ready to go down the aisle! The music started playing and the Major officiant could celebrate the rite with a nice poem read especially for the newlyweds.
After the ceremony, all the people moved to the upper garden to take some family pictures and were delighted by a grande aperitivo served in the garden. A couple of hours after a little bit of rain started so we had to move inside for the last pictures and the dinner.
Tables were ready inside the main Sala della Macina (the old mill) and the wedding breakfast started with a speech by the father of the bride. What he
said brought tears to everyone in the room; remembering Francesca’s childhood. The best part of course was when the groom Peter announced that they would soon be parents! An explosion of applause and rounds of congrats to the bride and groom. A beautiful evening ensued, with the most spectacular moments including the cutting of the cake and dancing until the first hours of the morning. A perfect, unforgettable night and wedding!
Thanks to all my wonderful suppliers:
Photos by Federico Pannacci
Flowers by La Gardenia
Hair and Make up Weddingallover
This ceremony took place in a country villa near Siena. The lovely couple come from Sweden and they contacted me a year and a half before the wedding date, so we had plenty of time to plan everything in the best detail! As you surely know if you’ve read my post on legal requirements the civil wedding for a couple like them is quite daunting so they opted for a symbolic wedding celebrated open air.
Their whole family came over for the wedding, so it was a big affair with lots of children and friends – they outnumbered the family! Anna Karin wanted a mystic feel to her ceremony but with an elegant and sophisticated feel to. So they decided to have the tables decorated with long garlands of greenery and roses. It was beautiful and very elegant, despite the weather we have had this summer – even before the ceremony it was raining a bit. We are always prepared with a Plan B though and so we covered the tables and at luckily in the end they could have their ceremony under the Tuscan sun and then had their white family dinner surrounded by their many friends and touching speeches in the courtyard of the Villa.
As you surely know guests who have speeches sometimes take a bit more of the time they are given to congratulate with the newlyweds. Well, their speeches exceeded expectations so instead of 11pm, the party started at 1pm, when the open bar was going to end. As wedding cake they opted for a great millefoglie of puff pastry filled with cream. It was decorated with fresh fruit and done in front of the guests. This is one of my favorites cakes as it’s perfect for a summer event and instead of just one , sometimes I like to try 2 pieces, just to be sure it’s very very good!!
We had the dancing area in one of the 2 rooms prepared for the plan B and all the guests enjoyed the great cocktails prepared by Nicola and his staff. The night was magic anyway and all the friends of the couple had a good time and I’m sure they will remember this night forever.
Tuscany has plenty of magic villas like this to offer to foreign couples. Are you looking for some new venue that can host your guests and family for a wedding in Chianti? Just have a look at our website for new wedding venues and you can find the venue that fits your needs: https://weddingvenuesintuscany.info . If you don’t just write us an email and we’ll be glad to send you some more info.
Thanks to all the wonderful suppliers of the day like :
Snowflake photos for the great pictures
Ursula Spicchiaioli for hair and make up
Class ricevimenti for caterers
Central house for lights and music
First time I read an email from Kathy it was one year and a half before her wedding day. After a couple Skype calls she introduced me to her lovely mum. That wonderful woman was the one who came first to Tuscany to select the right venue. She was really a big help and took care of every detail of the wedding in Tuscany. She did it as Katy decided to fly to the Emirates to start her new career in a big company.
After a couple of visits to different farmhouses with Kathy’s parent she came back to me with a decision. Villa Elena was the right place for their wedding in Tuscany. And so a long year and a half of planning started, with options for both a symbolic ceremony at the Villa and a civil one in the amazing townhall of Siena . Time flew by very quick and the big day approached fast so last details were decided directly at the bride arrival in Siena. Kathy had a busy working trip before getting to Tuscany. Due to I didn’t want to stress her with some many details.I needed just a short meeting in the afternoon to finalize a couple of things.The following day was the big day. The sun was shining around the Chianti hills. Everything looked perfect for the blessing in the garden. I took care of the flowers and decorations with the help of Kathy’s mum. When the bride came with her bridesmaids everything was ready for their moment.
As the Villa host a very famous restaurant the dinner was prepared by the house chef and It was served by the pool.
As the sun went down it was time to cut the cake. The bride asked for an ice cream cart and she enjoyed her favorites gelato.In the meanwhile guests take some pictures.
I love every wedding I organize but this was really special. I spent many many years of my life living just in front of Casa Elena so still keep good memories of these hills. It reminds me their colors and their perfumes… Chianti Classico, such a nice place to have your perfect wedding!!
A huge thanks goes to Federico Pannacci www.fedepan.net for the hard work and great job he did with my couple… It’s always a pleasure to work with you guy!
