If you have a panoramic view of Florence, sprawling villas with cypresses and Italian food, do you really need to embellish much more? Today we share how choosing the right location (and the right planner) can make wedding planning at the destination so easy.
Sapna & Taj chose Villa La Vedetta for its magnificent views of Florence. Over the ornate city, while they were taking a quick vespa ride around the city, the hotel and venue provided a backdrop for their wedding that didn’t require much additional decor. With classic white roses, small pieces of rouge and lots of greenery, the scene of the wedding day was a timeless Tuscan opulence.
It is thanks to the Tuscan wedding planning team that the decor and the day look so simple in the natural photos of Photo Santucci.
And if the elegant day of Sapna & Taj inspired you to go to romantic Tuscany, you should bookmark my own travel tips for our one-month honeymoon in Florence.
The dress and the outfit
My wedding dress was designed by Sophia tollli and I spent a couple of pleasant evenings at the Caprice bridal shop in Hammersmith trying out different dresses, the staff was great here, reliable and professional and they had a brilliant selection of outfits.
Taj’s costume came from Suit Supply in Mayfair and it had an absolute gem from a personal designer in John Natoli who has an awesome eye for assembling outfits, we highly recommend it.
Place
We chose our Villa La Vedetta because of the breathtaking views. The place effortlessly highlighted the beauty of Tuscany, which we wanted our guests to appreciate. The place also offered enough rooms for our family and close friends who seduced us.
From meeting the hotel staff to tasting food and plonk, we felt that this place could offer everything we were looking for, the whole place echoed in the “class” and was a great home for a three-day wedding celebration. We loved how the place had different areas that we could use for different events that would highlight the beauty not only of the villa’s grounds, but also of Tuscany. We wanted to keep the decor and the color palette soft and neutral, with the breathtaking view of Tuscany that we made, we were able to simplify the decor, but in an elegant way with a feeling more “less is more”.
In addition, the location of the villa was ideal for the guests, as it was not far from the city center, so everyone could do a little sightseeing before the events, which was ideal for the guests to have a vacation.
Favorite moments
My favorite moment was when I wanted to walk down the aisle. I remember standing at the top of the alley with my dad, who was just walking down the alley (which was quite long), and I looked up and saw Taj quite in the distance and everything stopped for me.
The weather was a bit boring on the wedding day and apparently a thunderstorm had started in the distance in Tuscany, but as I was walking down the steps of the Taj, the sun rose between the clouds and I remember how accurate the timing was. Seeing Taj’s beaming smile as I approached him brought me so much comfort, I wish I could relive that moment.
Photography
We decided to choose Stefano Santucci because we liked his style of photography, with the photos taken naturally, we don’t particularly like cheesy photos. After seeing the photos, we were so pleased with our choice, we loved the way Stefano told the story of the day, from the preparation for the ceremony and the reception. The sign of a good photographer is when you do not notice that he is there and is still able to capture the moments of the day in a beautiful way, what he has done.
Planning
We had talked to some wedding planners in Tuscany, but the Tuscan wedding was by far the most insightful, helpful and responsive and we immediately made a connection with Daniela and the team. They made everything so easy for us that I really enjoyed the wedding planning, Daniela thought of everything and we really trusted the team to carry out our vision, what they did with such a class. The best decision we made was to hire her.
Advice For other couples
Get an awesome wedding planner you can trust! Honestly, the Tuscan wedding allows us to enjoy the day. Daniela and the team were our best decision, and all the guests noticed how organized and controlled the team was.
Enjoy the day as it goes by.
Food
The food of the day was out of this world, we enjoyed every dish. The presentation of each course was beautifully done with such accuracy.
Moon
We got married in May, but we decided to go on a honeymoon in October, which, in my opinion, was a better idea, since we still had something to hope for after the wedding.
We went to Sri Lanka and the Maldives and can not blame one destination or another. With Sri Lanka we had the adventurous side of a honeymoon, immersed in the days of culture, saw temples, ate incredible Sri Lankan food, an elephant safari and took the train from Kandy to Ella, where we saw the beauty of Sri Lanka. We decided to go with Sri Lanka Wide Tours who organized a private driver for us, our itinerary and our tour guides for our seven day tour and they were fantastic and we highly recommend them. They have taken away our thoughts so that we can enjoy everything that Sri Lanka has to offer.
The Maldives were picturesque, quiet and a great way to relax after Sr Lanka. We stayed at Anantara Khiveh for seven nights in the water villa. The Maldives is a great place to relax and unwind. We enjoyed the good food the islands have to offer, massages for two and an evening with a star guru. We recommend both destinations as places for your honeymoon and both destinations offer something different.