Ciao! Nozze! Italia!
7 years ago by
Wedding update!!! I have SO much to share with you.
You’ll get to hear the full, unabridged story on an upcoming episode of Pocket PMF, but big wedding news…
We’re getting married in Tuscany!
Yeah—so a bit of a departure from Cape Cod, or New York, but we decided that the best thing for us was ultimately to have a real destination wedding. We came to the decision pretty quickly and on a whim – we were sitting on the couch on a Friday night, feeling totally defeated about planning the wedding and Josh said, “Let’s get married in Italy” and I said, “sounds great!”
So now we are well into the planning process. I e-mailed Nicole Cari, an Atelier Doré favorite, and asked her for her wedding planner since she also got married in Tuscany a few years ago. So wedding planner, check!
We found a venue in basically two seconds (not hard to do in Tuscany, everything is beautiful), and that’s booked. Venue, check!
We found the invites we want and both agree on (very difficult with Josh, since he’s an art director). Invites, check!
We’ve also started to build our registry (SO MUCH FUN!!) and our wedding website with Zola. We’ve had friends who have registered with them and recommended it since you can pull from anywhere on the web. And now they have wedding websites! So everything is integrated! Simplicity!!! Ease!!! Registry + website, check and check!
The site also comes with a checklist and organizer (which I clearly don’t need — but I enjoy a list too much not to use), and eventually will manage all our RSVPs (more ease, count me IN.)
Now we’re working on photographers. Then food and music! And of course, I still need to find a dress, but we have time…
After the stress of figuring out where the hell we were going to have this wedding, and how we were going to do it for a reasonable amount of money, things are becoming more enjoyable to plan and we’re having fun! I’m so happy things are looking up.
I still love to get your recommendations and tips so please keep sharing! And I promise I’ll share more with you about this whole crazy process, but I want to keep a few things secret until it actually happens. I guess you’ll have to keep following along until September 15 of 2018…
I know at least one couple who did a Tuscan wedding, despite no ties to the area. However, when my now-husband (European) and I decided to marry, things were complicated. It turned out the easiest option (no notarized translations and all that jazz), above all easiest for my family, was to marry in the U.S. So we did, with 24 hours notice to the family.
If you and your family have the means to pull it off in Italy, then bravo and congratulations!
That is so exciting! Tuscany is absolutely breath-taking. I know you don’t mention it, but have you thought about a wedding video? Check out this guy, his work is amazing: https://www.kacovideo.com/
How exciting!! Enjoy the planning process, as it is such an exciting time! xo
You are going to have a blast! it is beautiful there. Highly recommend the video as well. A friend gave us a video – amateur, simple but brings me to tears every anniversary when we watch it. It brings it to life in a different way that you cannot tap into because no matter how hard you try, your energy is flying high all over the place on that day! much love and a life full of it for the two of you.
What do you mean by “the limits of a reasonable budget”? Sounds like a huge wedding to my french vision of marriage!!
Hi Ema!
You’d be surprised how much more affordable this wedding is shaping up to be than what you’re probably thinking! So far, we’ll probably be spending less than anyone I’ve spoken with and will still have something beautiful that’s meaningful to us. It will also be 4 days of time with friends and family instead of just one party, so we’ll get to spend time with everyone. We’re very excited!
x Emily
Eeek, exciting!! Tuscany wedding, love it! Imagine bistro lights outside of an old stones mansion, beautiful hills covered with vines… great choice for September, nest time there!
Can’thanks wait for the dress part to come!! Guess you are too :)
That’s wonderful news and Monteriggioni is a great choice! I know the region pretty well and so does Georgette aka “Girl in Florence” – I recommend you checking out her several posts on her wedding in Tuscany. Here is an interview she did with a Tuscan wedding planner: http://girlinflorence.com/2016/03/21/planning-wedding-tuscany-interview-simona-cappitelli/
Hi Mavi,
Thank you so much for the recommendation! Going to check it out!
x Emily
can’t believe it!! congratulation! you’re getting married here where I live (near Florence) aaaand you’re more organized than me apparently (I’m getting married in 2 weeks from now….)
If I can suggest flowers and photographers (I guess your wedding planner will do everything, anyway…) go check my favourite, (completely out of my budget) buuut the best in town La rosa canina Flower http://illaboratoriolarosacanina.tumblr.com/
and Lelia Scarfiotti Photographer…
have fun and enjoy my country, I’m excited as if you were an old friend of mine…!
Hi Maria!
Thank you so much for the recommendations! And congratulations on your upcoming wedding! You’ll have to share updates with us :)
x Emily
Sorry for the not very nice comment, but I can’t forgive people who organise weddings in far destination. It is so rude to the guests. it is basically forcing them to go on an expensive trip at a date and place they haven’t decided. A dear cousin decided to wed in Asia, and I told her that I wouldn’t come, because I don’t being forced to pay 700 € plane ticket to go to a wedding, in a place I would never have decided to go
Hi Emma,
Everyone is entitled to their opinion! For us, we completely understand if people do not want to come–we are really not looking to “force” anyone to join us. The wedding is for us first and foremost. And for us, the best choice was to do it in Italy. I’d much rather have a nice dinner with my friends and family who cannot attend on our own time than force them to join us, but if they’re able to and would like to then that’s fantastic. With having family spread out all over the country, anywhere we chose to get married, even if it was in New York, would have been a destination wedding.
x Emily
Hi Emily,
I just sas your post as i follow GD website for a long time now, all that planning sounds lovely, hope you dont mind this email I juts would like to propose my services :-) I’m actually a destination wedding photographer based in Paris and I’m going quite often to Italy to photograph wedding and I love it, this is the country to get married !!! So well please free to have a look to my portfolio here : http://www.lifestorieswedding.com and if you like it please feel free to send me an email, I’d love to cone again to Tuscany and Florence.
Cheers, Yann.
Oh wow this sounds amazing…and I will for sure keep following as the 15th of September is my birthday :). I have been to a couple of weddings of all styles and sizes and I can recommend that you make sure to keep it your wedding, meaning that you don’t let yourself get talked into doing things you do not want a hundred percent. But I am sure you know what you want :) And enjoy the planning process guys!
My mom’s birthday is September 15th also! It’s one of the reasons we decided to chose it as a date. My parents were married on my grandfather’s birthday, so we are keeping the tradition.
x Emily
So good to hear about Nicole Cari! I loved what she did for band of outsiders! Hope to see her back soon :-)
Congrats for your wedding! Tuscany is beautiful!
Moi aussi je me marie en septembre 2018, mais je ne suis pas aussi organisée que vous! Votre site est très mignon, bon succès!!
As you’re looking for a photographer, please check my latest wedding pics on my instagram account : https://www.instagram.com/andraneandthefamilies.
Would love to work for you !! :)
I was there last year for a summer vacation… beautiful, beautiful area! All the best to you two <3