Our wedding day was rainy and gloomy but we were determined to continue with our plans. After a few hours of rain showers in the morning, the sun came out: the land, the sea and the sky were all well balanced in one. It was the moment to walk down the aisle. The ceremony was short, with vows written by us, and so many giggles and tears. Thinking and rewatching the ‘I do’ moment on our video brings tears to my eyes every single time. It was the happiest and the most romantic day of our life.
We feel so incredibly lucky that our paths led us to find each other so early. Marriage for us is recognition of how lucky we are to continue on a path we’ve created together.
I hope this post to be a wedding inspiration for many brides-to-be.
OUR PREPARATIONS
It is no secret that trying to put together a wedding can be pretty stressful. However, I can honestly say that I loved every minute of planning this special day. Largely this is due to the efforts of Angela Giordano from Style a Wedding, my wedding planner. I believe that every savvy bride should, for her own sanity, get herself one. Angela helped me to keep everything on track and since it was a destination wedding and some arrangements were made distantly she made sure that everything looked exactly like I wanted it to. Her eye for detail is truly exceptional, and the most important thing was that I knew, Angela had my best interests at heart.
VENUE
When I was a little girl, I used to dream about my wedding day – princess dress, celebration on an island near the sea with hundreds of guests. Later on, we travelled to Italy with my husband to be and we were quick to fall in love with the country, so we both intuitively knew that this is where we would marry (because a wedding in Italy is #goals, isn’t?). Moreover, it was a good midway point for our family and friends who came from all over Europe and Georgia to celebrate with us.
When we got down to searching for our venue, we decided to explore more unique and uncommon regions for wedding celebrations rather than very popular Tuscany and Amalfi coast because we were sure that we would be able to have a chic exclusive event for a rather appealing pricing point. I spent hours looking for the right location on the Internet. I wanted to have an outdoor reception in a unique setting.
STATIONERY
The special moments began a couple of months before our wedding with a few handmade cards that we sent to our family and friends. The invitations are the first impression the guests will get our special day so it was very important for me to set the right tone. Alexandra Kartamysheva created unique cards with beautiful floral aquarelle illustrations and calligraphy just perfectly matching with our venue and the main theme.
CEREMONY & RECEPTION DECOR
We did not intend to throw a huge party. Instead, we preferred to have an intimate ceremony and reception to celebrate this day with the people we are closest to. Inspired by the island’s magnificent nature, to create a suitable setting, the brief was to complete the natural surroundings of the hotel courtyard. I am so grateful to Angela for finding such an incredible team of florists from Hanami Atelier to decorate our reception. It was perfection, straight out of my dream. I’m always very picky about everything but Hanami Atelier managed to mix more than 15 varaeties of flowers of different colours in a perfect way. The main theme was jewel-toned plants, fall fruit and golden details in furniture and cutlery.