Many of us do not fit into the traditional wedding model: a day where the bride and groom are the center of attention and which often follows certain "rules", outfits, music, fancy meals, decorations, opening dances... By doing something different, we can even be afraid of disappointing the family!
So I want to talk to you about our wedding just to say that we don't care about the rules and that's not what we remember in the end 🥰
For us, the meaning of celebrating our wedding was primarily about spending quality time with our loved ones, especially since we live abroad compared to our families. So instead of just one day, we decided to plan a week-long vacation!
We booked a villa in Italy at the border of Tuscany and Umbria, simply because we felt like it, and invited about twenty people (we ended up being 17 due to last-minute unforeseen circumstances). From Tuesday to Tuesday, we were truly able to enjoy everyone's company and it was magical!
Our loved ones arrived progressively from Tuesday to Friday.
On Friday night, I wanted to cook a fancier meal (scroll down for all the menus) to delight everyone with Italian dishes 🥰
Saturday was the wedding day! In the morning, we had a leisurely brunch like every morning, then prepared the meal and some bouquets. We had set up tables and chairs outside, but after a week of beautiful weather, there was a heavy storm right during our wedding in the afternoon 😅😍 The sky was magnificent! And we moved everything inside the house.
After a lovely ceremony, the signing of official papers, and beautiful, unexpected speeches from our loved ones, we had cocktails and enjoyed delicious bites, mini focaccia, spanakopitas, vegan cheese platters...
For the meal, we made large platters of lasagna in 3 different flavors 😍 then two cakes. In fact, our dream meal!
The week was wonderful, hanging out by the pool together, drinking cocktails, playing board games, chatting, cooking, eating a lot... And organizing was much simpler than anything you can imagine!
Organizing
Actually, we just had to rent the villa online (one year in advance, though). And we contacted our photographer La Bohème Photographie also a year in advance (@laboheme_photographie). A few months before, we also rented chairs and dishes to be sure we could accommodate everyone and set a nice table.
I had my wedding dress made by a seamstress 7 months before the wedding (check below for the links). We then booked our flights to Rome and rented a car on site. After that, we thought about the menus for the week, which we printed on beautiful paper. I created cocktail recipes in advance, and that's it!
My outfit
I had my dress made at @boutiquelustre, actually, it's a crop top and skirt set. I really wanted something that looked like me, something light and not too formal for the relaxed daytime atmosphere of our wedding. I found my forest green velvet shoes on Etsy. And I ordered earrings and hairpins from @mignonnehandmade.
My hubby wore linen shorts and a linen shirt with espadrilles, all found at La Baie.
Our wedding rings are the Foliage model from Myrtille Beck.
Meals for the entire week
I received a lot of help in the kitchen from everyone, so all that you see here was prepared by everyone, and not just me alone, huh 😛😍
The meals were designed to be quick to prepare, so we could maximize our quality time together!
In summary, we had the perfect wedding according to US, and that's what matters. Our loved ones also had a fantastic week-long vacation, and they still talk about it with a smile! Our friends coming from several countries and regions did not know each other, but in just a few days, we became a group of friends who were very comfortable together. We never thought that everyone would get along so well! We knew there would be a connection, but not to that extent, and it touched us deeply.
I end with a few photos, all photos are by @laboheme_photographie.