Tucked away in Tuscany, Wee Three Sparrows captured one truly significant celebration. I’m talking a castle ceremony full of beautiful surprises, and the highlight – though there are many – is the sudden rain shower that proved to be a wonderful omen. It’s all waiting for you in a gallery that redefines romance in the most regal way, and you can see it all here!
From Wee Three Sparrows… In April I had the honour of travelling to Tuscany to capture the wedding of Stephan and Julie, clients who became friends. Their wedding was full of family love, beautiful details and the most spectacular views, from the castle ceremony to hor d’oeuvres overlooking the hills of Tuscany.
From The Bride…Once we decided to go with a destination wedding, we considered a few options, and after discussing it with one of my best friends, who lived in Florence for art school, we realized that Tuscany would be a perfect setting for our small family wedding, since it would be more quiet in the spring than during high season, it would be a relaxing but less commercial spot than other destination locations, and if we could set it in a villa, it would be a perfect family vacation. When we were planning, we kept saying that our vision for the wedding was a sense of home. As well, my parents met and fell in love in Europe while on a tour, and had one of their first dates in Italy, so it has always had a draw for me.
We found a beautiful villa in a sleepy town with a storied medieval history, in Poppi, Italy. We got in touch with Francesca Panci, the owner of Fattoria Quercia Vecchia (meaning: Old Oak Tree Farm). She was so hospitable and knowledgeable throughout our planning and our wedding week. We also connected with officiants in Italy (blessings from Italy) who took the time to get to know us and bring together a meaningful wedding celebration. With these guides, we knew that we would have exactly the kind of wedding we both had hoped for – intimate, relaxed, but also meaningful and memorable. I was super lucky to have my sister and friend as my artistic consultants, for every aspect of planning – from my dress, makeup, hair, flowers. We visioned everything beforehand and went with local flowers that we arranged together, including a beautiful centrepiece of olive leaves (from the villa’s trees), branches and lemons that my friend handcrafted.
The wedding was originally planned for the villa, but we chose to have it in the Poppi Castle, also the city hall, in case it rained, as April rains are common in Tuscany. We loved that everywhere we went in Poppi – shopping for groceries, buying our flowers for the wedding – people recounted to us their story of getting married at Poppi castle. It was nice to be connected to the community immediately.
It turned out to be such a wonderful choice, full of surprises and beauty. The castle was very quiet on the Monday we got married, with a few guests visiting the castle, who joined in to clap and cheer for us. We had our choice of settings within the castle and chose in the end to have our guests sit along the long hallway in the castle, opened up to the rest of the castle, with a view out the window and upwards to the castle’s ceiling where there were doves perched. It was both intimate and grand. We got married right next to the library where Dante’s original works are archived, meaningful for us as we first met in the University of Toronto library, and Dante’s words resonate with us, speaking of ‘the Love which moves the sun and the other stars’ which brought us together.
Our wedding was attended by close family and my lovely friend who had lived in Florence, and we couldn’t believe how it all came together – with our two families connecting from B.C. and Toronto – enjoying the Tuscan countryside, beautiful wine, food, nature and sights and sounds, in the peaceful pace of Italy.
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Photography: Wee Three Sparrows | Wedding Dress: La Sposa | Ceremony Venue: Poppi Castle | Reception Venue: Fattoria La Vecchia Querica | Make-up: Bride's Sister Mina Kim | Floral Design + Hair: Bride's Best Friend Esther Hollywood | Officiants: Blessings From Italy