Destination Florence Castle Wedding

Now that we’ve feasted our eyes on not one but two amazing Jen Huang weddings from Cape Cod to Singapore, we’re rounding out our world tour of pretty in a little place called Florence. It’s what happens when an Irish couple opts for a destination wedding, and brings Fly Away Bride, House Of Hannah, and of course Jen and her camera lens along for the ride. And just when you think it can’t get any better, let me direct you to the gorgeous full gallery.

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From The Bride, Giselle… John and I got acquainted on a night out in our home town of Ennis, Ireland. It was a fresh autumn night in Ireland and he strolled up and introduced himself. It was getting late so after we had made introductions and had a quick chat I headed home for bed. After I left, John asked a mutual friend to ask me if he could have my phone number and I agreed! A few days past and eventually, 4 days later he texted me and asked me out for dinner.

Two years later, and after I had finished university, we decided we wanted to take some time out to travel so we departed Ireland for Australia. One year of travelling turned into two, and we both loved Australia so much we decided to stay a little longer. Fast forward 3 and half years to my birthday, we flew up to the beautiful Whitsundays Islands on the Great Barrier Reef. There, while walking back to our beach bungalow, after a stunning sunset, John got down on one knee and proposed. He carried out 6 months of research & planning to surprise me with the perfect ring!

Living in Australia and with friends and family located all over the world a destination wedding seemed the best option. After living in the beautiful stone village of Casole d’Elsa in Tuscany with my parents for 9 months when I was a child, I always dreamed of getting married in a little rustic chapel, followed by an outdoor dinner in romantic courtyard set in the Tuscan countryside. When searching the internet for our venue I had a good idea where and what I was looking for and when I came across Castello di Vincigliata and saw that courtyard I knew I had found our perfect venue! The 13th century castle located in the hilltops of Fiesole with breath taking views of Florence has their own winery which allowed us to serve truly authentic wines at our reception. Both being big foodies having good wine and food was a must and from the number of comments we received from guests about the incredible cocktail reception, dinner and “best wedding cake ever” our cater definitely delivered on this!

Planning a wedding in Italy from Australia was never going to be easy and I definitely couldn’t have done it without my fabulous wedding planners, Lindsay and Amy from House of Hannah and Fly Away Bride. As a bride you tend to get wrapped up in all the little details that no one else will notice, I had to have white chiavari chairs, lilac napkins, peonies and gold cutlery! Without Lindsay putting together an inspiration board with my colour scheme I would have been lost, it kept me focused on what would suit my wedding. There are so many beautiful wedding ideas out there it is easy to get side tracked trying to incorporate all of it and creating a monstrosity!

I loved every moment of our special day. From getting ready with my bridesmaids, to walking down the aisle surrounded by 80 of our closest family and friends, and arriving at the castle and seeing everything we had planned for the last year fall into place. However, there was something magical when it got dark, sitting down for dinner in the gorgeous castle courtyard, surrounded by hundreds of candles & sharing the most delicious food with such great company, it was truly amazing.

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Post categories: Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance