Florence is bar none my favorite place on earth. It’s a city rich in history, architecture, scenery and romance — but that’s only the beginning. Dive in a little deeper and you’ll find a city just begging to play backdrop to a gorgeous wedding like this, which is why the full gallery from Emm&Clau is a complete and total must. Have a look here!
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From the Bride… When one of our friends started telling us about her recent, small wedding in Italy, we thought, why couldn’t we have an intimate Italian wedding? After all, we DID get engaged in Florence, Italy back in November of 2011- it just seemed idyllic.
My fiance, Jone, and I first searched for a wedding planner who could find us our perfect venue. We knew we wanted to get married in a castle, late night dancing and unlimited open bar was a must, andit had to be easily accessible for our guests.We scoured through locations such as Venice, Rome, Verona, Lake Como, Almalfi Coast, and Florence. Every Italian city oozed romance and deciding on one location proved to be a daunting task. Our hearts were set on Castello Di’Vincigliata-a 13th century old castle perched up in the rolling Tuscan Hills surrounded by olive trees and vineyards served as a perfect backdrop to our Italian wedding!
I wanted our wedding to exude elegance, glam, classical romance, and soft tones. We chose champagne, ivory, gold accents, and white flowers to compliment our castle venue.
The week started out with 50 of our closest friends & family arriving in to Italia. We toured through Tuscany where did some wine tasting , had some of the world’s best gelato, and ate the most succulent, local organic food made on-site at a vineyard. Jone and I hosted a welcome/rehearsal dinner at a Florence favorite, Mamma Gina’s, the night before our wedding where everyone got to stuff their belly’s.
Predicted to rain on our wedding day, and being that we were both from the Northwest, it wasn’t something we weren’t used to acclimating to. A couple hours before our wedding, we had thunder showers, but the skies cleared, and we had perfect sunny weather for our special day. No treacherous plan B needed. As a nod to my Vietnamese heritage, I wore a traditional Vietnamese dress (ao dai), and we paid tribute to our parents and family with a customary tea ceremony in the morning where plenty of tissues were used to wipe the emotional tears.
My fianc had a vision of a very particular dress he wanted me to walk down the aisle to, and when I fell in love with this Lazaro number online, I had to immediately try it on as soon as it came off the run way. I loved the exquisite French alencon lace with the delicate sweetheart neckline, and the dramatic layered ball gown skirt made of silk organza…nothing else I tried on could even compare, it was perfect. It was the one. Needless to say, Jone was very pleased when he saw me walk down the aisle.
Some personal touches included: our Save the Date cards were local post cards specially delivered to us from our wedding planner in Florence. In lieu of the guest book, we had everyone sign a handmade map we purchased from Etsy, which indicated where we first met,, where we got engaged, where we would marry, where we’d be living as husband and wife, and where we would honeymoon.We released two doves to symbolize our eternal love and had our guests write well wishes on wish tags that would hang on the reception chandeliers.Our guests enjoyed local Italian aperitifs and belinis in the castle’s courtyard while overlooking the garden and Tuscan sunset. Dinner proved to be a culinary experience as our palates were met with wine from the castle’s cellar, delicious Tuscan cuisine, and an Italian wedding cake delicately made in front of our guests, which they all still rave about. To thank our guests, the wedding favors were Italian limencellos.
To have a fun-filled week with our nearest and dearest friends and family meant the world to us. We loved that our guests got to experience Italy and see why we both fell in love with it’s old world charm. We even got to stay in the same room at the same bed and breakfast where Jone proposed to me!
It all went by in a blink of an eye and we are so blessed with the team of vendors who made a stressful destination wedding, an enjoyable one. Our wedding exceeded our every desire- it truly was an unforgettable day, in which I wish we could relive all over again, in slow motion!
Photography: Emm And Clau | Cinematography: MICKAFilms | Wedding Planner: Il Cerimoniere Italian Weddings | Flowers: Marie Lou | Wedding Dress: JLM Couture, Inc | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Andy Bridal | Catering: Delizia Ricevimenti | Makeup: Azzura | Hair: Mej Staff | Groomsmen Attire: Men's Wearhouse | Celebrant: TUSCANPLEDGES | Venue: Castello Di Vincigliata | Bride' Shoes: Louboutin | Bride's Jewelry: Nadri | Chandelier Rental: Il Cerimoniere Italian Weddings | Groom's Ring: Cartier | Groom's Tuxedo: Calvin Klein | Grooms Shoes: Hugo Boss | Programs, Menu, Place Card, Reserved Seating: By Invitation Only | Rentals: Delizia Ricevimenti