A Black Tie Wedding in the Spectacular Italian Countryside
Morning sleepy heads – here’s hoping that Tuesday is kind to you and that you have a good day today – may this blog post set you on the path of positivity and happiness We’re travelling over to the rustic backdrop of Umbria in Italy for these morning’s nuptials, where lingerie designer Amelia married her fiance Dave on 31st May this year. The wedding was held at Caiperti (Amelia’s family holiday house since 1987) in San Pietro a Monte, Citta Di Castello, Umbria, Italy – a 200-year-old farmhouse, lovingly restored by Amelia’s dad Keith.
I love the sense of family captured in these beautiful photographs taken by Laura McCluskey of LM Weddings and the sense of relaxed fun depicted in this fabulous little film created by the couple’s good friend Jen Russell of JF Productions…
“We wanted to keep the wedding as simple as possible and let the beauty of the buildings and countryside be the main event (we trusted we would have sunshine!). Everything we did was intended to complement and accentuate the surrounding rolling Umbrian hills.”
Film Production Copyright (c) 2014, JF Productions
“Dave and I met in a bar when we were both living in Hong Kong and fell in love at Fuji Rock music festival in Japan. We had a long distance relationship between New York and Hong Kong for fifteen months and got engaged at Jisan Valley music festival exactly three years after we started dating. We were engaged for just under two years before the wedding day.”
Photography Copyright (c) 2014, LM Weddings
“I didn’t enjoy the experience at the bigger bridal shops in London and was recommended Belle Bridal by a friend. They specialise in selling designer sample wedding gowns at a discount. Jo and Claire were so lovely to my mum and I and we ended up buying a Pronovias Marbella sample. I then had the dress altered in Hong Kong by Chinoiserie.com they did an amazing job of removing the halter neck and making the dress strapless and then I had a delicate toile and lace top made using the off cuts of lace.
As my dress had a long train, I loved the idea of having a long veil. And you only have one chance to go all out on your wedding day.“
“A friend with her own olive grove kindly offered to make our little olive oil favours. The oil was so delicious and for some it didn’t even make it home as they used it at the table.”
“I knew I wanted white bridesmaids dresses from the beginning of planning. We chose a Catherine Deane dress – recommended by our talented friend and bridesmaid Philippa who works as a designer for Catherine. Philippa thought the dress would work well with the wedding dress and all of the bridesmaids and I fell in love with it.”
Readers – watch out for our upcoming piece on designer Catherine Deane on 1st November.
“As soon as we decided not to work with the wedding planner and his pre-packaged photographer the first thing I did was email Laura McCluskey of LM Weddings. I had seen one of her weddings shot in Italy on Love My Dress® just a few days after we got engaged and thought the photos were beautiful.
Laura was great to work with both pre-wedding and on the day. She even made sure we didn’t deviate from our own schedule, and did all the finishing touches to my hair and veil. We would highly recommend her.”
“We used i Fiori di nicoletta’ in Citta di castello for our flowers - Nicoletta and her team were great and I would really recommend them. I did send them an 11 page manual that they followed and also added in their knowledge. All the foliage was matched to the surrounding area-olive branches, rosemary, oak leaves, bay leaves & then some of my favourite white flowers-peonies, freesias, cabbage roses, wild garden roses.”
“Dave wore a Ludlow wool tuxedo from J. Crew. He didn’t want to hire a suit, because they never fit properly, so we opted to ask the whole male wedding party to wear black tie.”
“Accessory wise, I wore my engagement ring and pair of matching earrings – a gift from Dave before our wedding, and the wedding band of course – all by Haywards of Hong Kong.
I wanted to look myself on the wedding day so my sister and I did my hair and make-up together. She kindly bought me a SpaceNK make-over for Christmas before the wedding. I would highly recommend it.”
“My shoes were from Dune, chosen more for practicality and sturdiness but love that I can continue to wear them and remember the day. I could also wear them all day and danced till 3am in them.”
“My dad walked me down the aisle. Forty-five minutes before the wedding he was still in his work clothes finishing-off last-minute jobs. He looked fantastic in his 1970’s tux and when he first walked in to the room we were getting ready in all 3 daughters burst into tears.
“I wore my usual Jo Malone’s English Pear and Freesia perfume, mixed with a little of Jo Malone’s Orange Blossom scent – because for me, it smells like Italy.”
“We used a local bus company to transport guests to and from the venue. It was a challenge to coordinate getting 95 guests to a remote location (but nobody wants to drive to a wedding!) – the bus company really came through for us and we were only twenty minutes late starting the ceremony (an amazing achievement, all things considered).
Dave was master of the bus schedule and seemed amazed that it all worked-out as planned.”
“I walked out to Bright eyes first day of my life. Dave is a big fan and they were the first act we saw at the Fuji Rock together.”
“Dave had a seven-man wedding party, including Best Man, Chris, who had the tipsy crowd in stitches during his speech. Our good friend, George, officiated the wedding and looked like he’d been doing it all his life. He’s probably now taking bookings!”
“We wrote our vows ourselves which we had decided to do from the very beginning. I wouldn’t advise being so busy that we had to write them one hour before the wedding, but they were very personal and moving nonetheless.
My sister also read a poem which she found and suggested called ‘I carry your heart’ by E.E. Cummings, and Dave’s mum Lynne read a lovely poem called ‘Love vs Cherish’.”
“Our rings were plain yellow gold bands, made to order by Hayward’s of Hong Kong engraved with the house name and date ‘Caiperti 31.05.14’”
“We used Ristorante Tonino from Cortona for the catering. My sister went to a few tastings but we selected Toninos as they were most recommended and seemed unfazed by the unique location. The food was amazing. We had aperitivo around the pool with a meat table, cheese table, fried table, and beautiful individual canapés – A lot of people thought that was the main meal.
We then had two pasta courses, a beautiful steak and then a plate of three min desserts – an individual tiramisu, chocolate molten cake, and a cream & summer fruits biscuit basket. It was incredible food, particularly given it was prepared in a field kitchen!”
“I wore my veil until after the dinner and then switched to a floral crown for the dancing. I was worried it would look silly but loved it and wish I could wear one more often.”
“We selected a band from a company based in Florenze called The Alma project. Finding the right entertainment was tough but we are so glad we held out as the band were amazing and great to work with.
We love Marvin Gaye and wanted a song that would get everybody dancing with us. So we selected ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ for our first dance track, as its fun and we were in the mountains after all!”
“For both of us the ceremony was a highlight and favourite part of the day. Seeing all our friends and family smiling back at us and reading our vows to one another was a wonderful experience. We also had a lovely five minutes together after the ceremony where we were in disbelief that it had all gone without a hitch.
The dinner was also spectacular (we are biased but it was honestly the best wedding food we’ve ever tasted) and as soon as the speeches were over and people started dancing, we knew that we had done it. The fireworks were also a highlight. We didn’t spend a fortune on them but got a really great display which everybody enjoyed.”
“We didn’t have an official wedding cake as we weren’t fans of the traditional Italian wedding cake. My mum makes great chocolate brownies so my mum and I made them before the wedding and made a few arrangement trials. Everyone was having so much fun on the dance floor we forgot to cut the cake! But they were great fuel to snack on the dancefloor.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom…
“You can’t please everyone (I found this tough). But it’s your wedding day and hopefully, the doubters will realise why you made the decisions you made on the day. And even if they don’t, you and your groom will love that you made it so personal.
I’d really recommend a rehearsal and to brief all the wedding party of the order of events so things run smoothly (our rehearsal was chaos so we definitely needed it). Try to make sure you finish all your wedding chores before the wedding day. We left a few simple tasks to the last day and ended-up working until the last hour.
Finally, if you have the opportunity, plan a welcome party and a hangover get-together. The ‘day after de-brief’ was so fun and it doesn’t need to stretch your budget – you could just all meet in a local pub.”
What a gorgeous, relaxed, fun-filled day, just beautiful – HUGE congratulations to you both Amelia and Dave, it’s such a pleasure to be able to share your joy-filled day with our readers.
Many thanks also to photographer Laura McCluskey - you can see more of Laura McCluskey’s beautiful photography here on Love My Dress® and you can explore more Italian and destination weddings too.
Are you planning a wedding in Italy?
Love Annabel xx
Photographer - LM Weddings
Film - JF Productions
Venue - Caiperti, Umbria, Italy
Wedding Dress Veil - Belle Bridal
Shoes - Dune
Ring Accessories - Haywards of Hong Kong
Perfume - Jo Malone’s English Pear and Freesia Orange Blossom
Groom - Ludlow wool tuxedo from J. Crew
Bridesmaids - Catherine Deane
Flowergirls - John Lewis Zara headbands
Florist - i Fiori di nicoletta’ in Citta di castello
Entertainment - The Alma project
Catering - Ristorante Tonino from Cortona
