Italian Wedding with Old World European Charm

Kate and Anthony had trouble deciding where to host their wedding adventure, until they recalled the picturesque location where they fell in love: Sardinia, Italy. Planning a wedding from another continent is no small task, but Ben of Italyweddings made it a breeze and brought along the wonderful Ed Peers Photography and Le Petit Jardin to complete the day. Just wait until you get a load of the reception space!

From the bride, Kate: I was living in London when Anthony and I met. We had been working at the same company for a year and had never crossed paths, until one day he sent me an article to review and, the short version is, the rest is history (though Anthony prefers telling the long version). Shortly after, we moved to my hometown of Melbourne, Australia and not long after that Anthony proposed on a surprise trip to Hamilton island. Deciding on a location for the wedding was quite tricky, given that our loved ones were scattered across two vast and distant continents! Three weeks after we met we had travelled to Sardinia in Italy and fell in love there, so we decided that Italy was a perfect, neutral (though not exactly halfway) place to have our dream wedding.

We started by Googling and found that the possibilities for stunning wedding venues were endless all over Italy, so we changed tack and decided to find our ideal wedding planner and let them lead us to our venue. After another Google session we found Italyweddings, operating in Tuscany, and were immediately drawn to their style, beautiful venues and floral design and their simple and down to earth approach to the wedding planning process (which isn’t always easy to find in Italy!). A couple of emails and a Skype chat with Ben, and we’d found our planner. The venue search continued and with so many stunning and unique places to choose from, Anthony and I were really waiting for that light bulb moment. Scrolling through the options we stopped on an image so picturesque it looked like a painting! An ancient castle nestled in the Tuscan hills, covered in creeping greenery complete with a flower garden, an open-topped courtyard for a reception under the stars and sweeping views across Florence. We had booked it before we had seen it in person.

The big weekend flew around and given that all of our guests had travelled from near and very, very far to get there and many people had turned the trip into a holiday in Europe, everyone was in holiday mode and ready to party! We kicked off the festivities with welcome drinks on the Grand Hotel Cavour rooftop so everyone could get to know each other and “lock horns” before the big day, while taking in the beautiful city of Florence and way too much prosecco. It was the perfect start to what was to be an unforgettable weekend! The day itself was beautifully hot and sunny and just so happy and fun, with everything from the food to the setting, the flowers, and all of the little touches here and there making our day so special. The post-ceremony aperitivo on the lawn to the sounds of the Tuscan trio overlooking the city was one of our favourite moments! The speeches were also a huge highlight and no one held back when it came to a thorough roasting of Anthony and I (mainly carried out by the father of the bride), prompting roars of laughter from the crowd.

Once the cake was cut and we were treated to the spectacle of our head waiter opening a champagne bottle with a huge machete (another surprise!), we stampeded out to the terrace for cocktails and to tear up the dancefloor. After our first dance, my mum and I launched into a secret, short choreographed routine to Queen Bey, which clearly set the pace for the evening! Shortly after it an epic d-floor circle formed, which saw guests in dinner suits and full length gowns break-dancing, doing somersaults and walking handstands. But the most prized moment for many was Anthony and two of his mates performing a completely impromptu Backstreet Boys dance from high school that they hadn’t done together in 15 years!! When the clock struck 1:30 no one was ready to go and we tearfully waved goodbye to the castle with a head full of crazy and wonderful memories. It truly was the best day of our lives and we have so many amazing memories to relive for decades to come.