The large evergreen tree was decorated with a single dusty pink sheath and wedding flowers served as somewhat of an altar. The ceremony was conducted by our close mutual friend. His heartfelt speech was very emotional and made us and the guests cry with tears of joy. After the ceremony, we proceeded to celebration showered with fresh rose petals by our guests.
After the sunset, we lighted long petal pink candles in golden holders to create an intimate, relaxing atmosphere for our guests during the dinner reception.
OUR WEDDING FEAST
We wanted our guests to have a taste of Italian cuisine. All food was locally sourced and prepared at Hotel delle Cave. We started with light snacks in the best tradition of Italian aperitivo, we had local cheese and ham, fried seasonal vegetables and fresh fish washed down by French champagne Piper-Heidsieck and the finest Sicilian wine. At the dinner, Italian pasta, sea bass fillet, beefsteak and a whole lot of traditional Sicilian pastries were served.
CAKE
I was adamant from the start that I did not want a traditional (read: boring) white cake at my wedding in Sicily! This grand 4-tier wedding cake is a creation of a talented Sicilian cake designer and dessert stylist Marco Failla from the Bakery Boutique. This is one of Marco’s signature creations that he designed from scratch. For this fabulous design, Marco was inspired by his homeland and Dolce & Gabbana fashion collections. For instance, those hand-painted white chocolate majolicas are his declaration of love to Sicily. The whole cake was covered in ganache made from exceptional Modica chocolate. It did not only look beautiful but tasted like heaven!
The cake was the centerpiece of the big-day sweet selection also catered by Marco. There were caramel cupcakes with vanilla mousseline frosting, custom chocolate bars, macaroons, and cakesicles. The color palette (mauve, dusty pink, burgundy, caramel, gold) set by Marco matched our autumnal wedding perfectly! The whole food selection was elaborately decorated by 24 thousand of leaves made with edible gold.
ENTERTAINMENT
We invited a Swing & Jazz band ‘Rouge et Noir’ to play at our wedding in Italy. We selected songs from the proposed repertoire: for walking down the aisle it was timeless Hallelujah and Stand by Me (major inspiration from the royal wedding of Megan & Harry). At dinner, we sang and danced together with our family. After that, a DJ took the stage and gave our guests a night to remember!
MORNING PREPARATIONS
As a former bride-to-be, I know just how stressful the whole process of getting ready on the morning of your wedding can be. I was lucky to have three of my very best friends to support and help me with morning preparations. They kept me chilled out as much as possible.
We had a toast of champagne during preparations to have some fun and relax (but remember, avoid having too much, you have a long day ahead). My bridal party and I are wearing soft satin robes from Homebodii and a chiffon robe and lingerie from Olga Kiseleva. Maryna Gulevskaya is one of few artists I can trust my hair and make-up in the whole world. She made sure to turn my bridesmaids and me into fairy ladies on my big day.
ADVICE FOR FUTURE BRIDES
When your big day is here, slow down and enjoy every moment of it. Just accept and limit the stress with the understanding that everything will turn out just fine and perfect. Apart from the overwhelming happiness of getting to marry your best friend, take a moment to step back and look around to see all of our closest family and friends laughing, joking and dancing together as if they had always known each other. This is true happiness.