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What made you choose Italy, and a Tuscan Villa, as the destination for your wedding?
We had some great trips to Italy and both love the nature and culture. When Johan proposed to Nadia and she said yes, both said at the same time ITALY, without having discussed it before.
What was the inspiration behind your wedding location in Italy?
We wanted an old beautiful villa with Tuscany surroundings.
How did you select your venue? Did you visit multiple locations before making a decision?
We got tips from a friend about the villa and after we had looked at a few locations we decided for this one.
Did you hire a wedding planner, and if so, how did they help with the planning process?
No, we contacted several but they didn’t feel committed as well as professional (when not replying to emails as well as asking for money for sending a quote). Luckily for us, Nadia has worked as an event coordinator/manager so we felt comfortable doing it ourselves after all.
How did you manage the legal requirements and paperwork for getting married in Italy?
We had a symbolic ceremony in Italy and got officially married in Sweden.
What was your budget, and how did you manage it while planning a wedding abroad?
Our budget was initially around 30000€ but we increased it after we decided we wanted an extra day as well as some extra activities. In addition prices raised slightly and the Swedish currency got weaker compared to the euro during the 2 years of planning. Also there were some hidden costs from the catering and venue appeared after contract signing. The total cost ended up being around 40 000 euro, not including travel and accommodation.
Wedding Day in a Tuscan Villa: the Experience
If you had to choose one, what was the most memorable moment of your wedding in Italy?
Johan: definitely the ceremony, to enter it and reading the vows. Seeing all the guests reactions.
Nadia: The ceremony and the way we decided to make it more personal with our loved ones being part of it, as well as the vows. Our closest friends was leading the ceremony as well, reading beautiful speeches instead of having poems or other religious texts that just didn’t feel like us.
Both: To have all our loved ones gathered for multiple days on a beautiful location and seeing them all having so much fun with each other was truly amazing and will forever be valuable memories.
How did your guests react to the location and the overall experience?
Stunned and saying multiple times that it was one of the most amazing stays they ever had and that we all should do a copy and paste of the days for every year to come, haha!
Were there any challenges or unexpected situations? If so, how did you handle them?
One of the biggest vendors for the wedding didn’t answer emails/texts/calls for several months which resulted in problems in taking decisions with other vendors as well as uncertainties. We tried to stay calm and contact them on different communications channels. There wasn’t much else we could do.
The vegan dishes were a bit of a disappointment. The catering company had assured us of their experience and professionalism of catering vegan meals and we had several discussions of the importance of making sure also the vegan dishes were good, since the bride and several guests were vegan. In the end several vegan dishes did not meet our expectations. The only way to handle it would have been to discuss it on the spot.
There will always be things that goes wrong in events, which it did on our day as well - things didn’t get delivered the way we had agreed on, but we focused on us and all our amazing friends and family, and not the details that didn’t go as planned.
Did you incorporate any local Italian traditions into your wedding ceremony or reception such as rituals or live food corners?
Yes, we had Italian food theme on all our days:
On Wednesday, we had a family dinner with Italian dishes.
On Thursday we had a “pasta evening” with different pasta dishes cooked in front of us (one meal directly in a big Parmesan cheese wheel), Italian drinks and a local Italian folk band playing.
On the wedding day we had an espresso bar and gelato truck instead of a cake on the evening. The wedding dinner started with antipasto, including a caprese corner, cheese corner and cured meat corner. The first course was risotto, second course pasta and main course a Tuscany beef. And of course Italian wines and drinks!
The Pasta Evening
The Wedding Night
Post-Wedding Reflection
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently in your planning or on the wedding day itself?
We wished we had time to test the food beforehand, which was offered by the catering firm, but it’s hard to do when you live in another country. We also wished we had some more planned free time during the rest of the days - time goes fast!
What advice would you give to other couples that considering a destination wedding in Italy?
Make a priority list on what’s most important for you with your days. We’re also happy that we were not more than 50 people - felt more personal this way.
How did you and your guests handle travel arrangements, and did you plan any group activities or excursions around the wedding?
The guests were responsible for their own travel arrangements but we created a facebook group were they all could discuss and sync their travel arrangements. We had also a website where people could RVSP on extra activities that we planned and offered.
What services did you gifted your guests (accomodation, flight, next-day brunch) or none of them? Do you consider this a taboo?
The guests in the villa all got a welcome kit (beard oil, shea butter, wedding sunglasses, fudge, toothbrushes etc) as well as the Dinner Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. On Saturday we had pizza-pool-party as well as garden cinema on the evening with burgers that catering grilled on spot. This activities you could sign up for before and pay for. For the garden cinema we had brought a lot of Swedish candy (it’s the best!) to a candy buffet.
The Pizza-pool Party
Did you have a honeymoon in Italy as well? If so, where did you go and how was it?
We had a mini-moon south of Cinque Terre where we just relaxed and enjoyed some calm days with dinner and walks.
Would you recommend a Destination Wedding in Italy to others, and why?
Definitely! The nature, the food, the weather. Above all a destination weddings give you the opportunity to spend more time with your loved ones.
How did you get on with suppliers?
Pretty well. Most were good to work with and replied quickly on emails and messages.
In what time of the year did you get married and how was the climate?
In the end of June. At that time it’s getting dry and temperatures are getting high but still cooler than in July or august.
Destination Wedding in Italy: Personal Insights
What was the best piece of advice you received during the planning process?
To take time and enjoy with your partner.
What did you enjoy the most about your destination Wedding?
That our guests were so thrilled, happy and were enjoying themselves which gave the wedding such a great vibe!
All the images are from Linda Liv Eliasson och Malin Poppy Darcy Mörner. Visit their website for more info on their services!
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