There is something magnetic about Sandy and Andreas. Their beautiful chemistry shines through every lovely portrait captured by Gianluca and Mary Adovasio and there’s no doubt that the Bride’s smile glows like a sunset. Francesca Caddeo Slowdecor made sure that their day was equally as alluring as their bond—watch it all unfold below and please make sure to view the joy-filled video from 2Become1.
Andreas and Sandy met 2011 in Zurich, Switzerland where they both lived at that time. Andreas was having after-work drinks with colleges outside a bar. When it started to rain Sandy and her friend saw some covered seats, and asked the guys if they could sit down. Seconds later Andreas came back from the bar realizing his friends just gave away his seat. Whenever somebody else went to the bar or for a bio break he took his chance to sit closer to Sandy. So they finally ended up talking for hours. This was the beginning of their relationship.
After 3 years of happy relationship, they moved to Hong Kong. After two amazing years and on their last trip before relocating back to Zurich, Andreas popped the question in a romantic dinner setting in Hoi An, Vietnam. Arriving back home they could not only celebrate the end of the life changing adventure of living abroad, but also the start of a new chapter together.
From the Bride… Whenever we thought about our wedding, we always imagined it outside of Switzerland and as a weekend spent with family and our closest friends. We experienced many destination weddings before, and loved that feeling of being far way from everyday life. We started looking for destinations in Italy as we love the Italian culture and the way of living.
When we started looking for our venue, we thought of Stresa as a strategic location. Only few hours drive from home. We love this part of Italy with the mountains and lake backdrop, good food and a timeless feel to it. During our visit we met Carola the owner of Villa Muggia, she showed us around in the garden and the beautiful interior of the villa. We lost our heart to the villa as it was easy to picture our perfect day in this wonderful setting/surrounding.
We met our wedding planner Francesca Caddeo through a friend. At that time, we very still in the process of discussing venue options. Francesca helped us to see the full potential of the venue and how to bring our vision of our wedding to life.
My dress was by Limor Rosen. I saw a picture of it at the very beginning of my search for the dress. While trying many dresses it was always in the back of my mind. My mom pushed me to find a boutique where I can try it as she wanted to make sure I’ll find my dream dress. I tried it on and there was no doubt. I loved everything about. It was elegant, flowing and romantic in a modern way.
Our formal invitations made by the The Little Press, Australia. They were letter pressed on hand made fabric paper consisting of the main invitation and a poem we wanted to be a theme on our day: “ I look over at you and see sunshine” – describes so well how we see each other and how we live our life together.
We always pictured a romantic garden setting for our wedding. We wanted it to feel lush, but in a natural way. We’ve chosen to go palette of muted blues and pinks to match with the antique look of villa Muggia. The floral arrangements by Il profumo dei fiori exceeded our expectations: flowers in a mix of dusty pink and dark reds arranged in natural style, loads of candles, greenery and garlands to show the beauty of the place without adding too much, it was very sophisticated and chic.
We decorated the beautiful outdoor lounge in the gardens with antique rugs and sofas, mixed with more contemporary-design seats. Our wedding planner Francesca worked on the design proposal for us. She was able to get exactly what we had in mind and guided us to create this wonderful backdrop to a perfect day.
The ceremony was hosted by a friend of the bride’s family. We sat down with him and told him our story, what we love about each other and about our values. From that he created a very personal ceremony that ended in traditional vows. The ceremony was framed by the music of the solo acoustic singer James Mc Lean who we had flown in from London. The setting was sophisticated and lush, with a romantic flower arch as a center point.
At the arrival guests were offered fresh lemonade and beer as a welcome drink. After the ceremony, a typical Italian aperitivo followed in the gardens by the fountains, with the most gorgeous sunset views on the lake. We had a 2 hour traditional Italian aperitif including a buffet of freshly carved prosciutto, Italian cheeses, bread, canapés, and champagne.
For dinner we had a seated 3-course dinner under the beautifully decorated marquee. We decided to go with a mix of round and rectangular tables to avoid a too traditional look. The tables were decorated with flowers in the colors of dusty pink and dark red in vases of different styles and sizes, dark grey table clothes to break the white fabrics of the marquee, all lit by candles.
After dinner we all gathered on the terrace of the villa. The caterer arranged a live preparation of the huge Italian layer cake with red fruits (mille feuille). The event ended in the morning after hours of dancing.
After the wedding, we spent a couple days in Puglia, Italy. A beautiful masseria and the cute villages were the perfect backdrop for unwinding and sharing our impressions of the wedding day.
There are so many wonderful moments to remember that are still giving my goose bumps: walking through the park down to ceremony space, to meet Andreas there surrounded by our loved ones; bursting of happiness entering the marquee as husband and wife where all the guest were cheering and waving their napkins in the air and our first dance. But nothing made me prouder than hearing Andreas’ speech, a perfect mix of humor, giving thanks to our family and friends and words of love towards me, his wife. The day was more than we could ever dream of. We are more than grateful for this experience and the unforgettable memories created with our favorite people.
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Photography: Gianluca And Mary Adovasio | Videography: 2Become1 | Event Planning: Francesca Caddeo Slowdecor | Flowers: Il Profumo Dei Fiori | Invitations: The Little Press | Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Catering: Class Catering | Hair: La Femme A La Page | Venue: Villa Muggia | Bride Dress: Limon Rosen | Furnitures: Sofi Design | Music: Camilla Pagani | Singer: James McLean