11

May

2018

Elizabeth and Lee’s Rustic Chic Intimate Wedding in Tuscany by Facibeni Fotografia

Happy Friday everyone, I hope it has been a good week for you? I don’t know about you, but I haven’t had a clue what day it is all week due to the bank holiday! But I’m very happy that it’s now Friday as my weekend officially starts here! Today I have a cinema date with my little man, then I’m taking him out for tea as Nik is away for the night. Tomorrow I have another trip to the hairdressers with part 2 of my hair transformation and then Sunday it’s family day. What about you? Are you off to any weddings? Or maybe you are getting married yourself? If so, I wish you a very beautiful day.
On with the last wedding of the week and it’s the turn of Elizabeth and Lee who chose to have a gorgeous destination wedding in very sunny Tuscany. This wedding is just beautiful, classic, mixed with rustic chic, and filled with so many beautiful flowers and rustic wooden decoration ideas. The whole day is just stunning and captured perfectly by Facibeni

It was the most incredible, relaxed and happy day. A pure celebration of love and happiness, in the beautiful Tuscan sunshine.

Elizabeth and Lee were married on 23rd August 2017 at Casa Cornacchi Country House in Tuscany. ‘Lee and I wanted to get married abroad with our closest family and friends.  We were looking for an intimate exclusive hire venue with an authentic Italian feel. I saw Casa Cornacchi on Pinterest and fell in love with it instantly! We had 40 guests and it took us about a year to plan the wedding.’

How they met 
Lee and I met when we were at school doing the Duke of Edinburgh Award. We were doing a conservation project and kept in contact on Facebook. When I was at university I came home during the Christmas holidays and was working in a bar when we bumped into each other again. We had have been together 8 ½ years when we got married but we met originally when we were 13!

The proposal
In May 2016 we went on a two week trip to Italy, visiting Rome, Tuscany, Cinque Terre, Lake Garda and Venice. Lee proposed to me towards the end of the trip after a day of sightseeing when we took the cable car up to the top of Mount Baldo. He got down on one knee at the side of the lake in the beautiful Garda Town just before the sun was setting. The ring had been in his backpack for 10 days!!!

How did you allocate your budget?
We used most of our budget on the venue and wanted to include meals and drinks for our guests who were travelling to spend the week with us. In addition to the wedding day, we organised drinks on arrival, a welcome BBQ, pizza and prosecco night before the wedding day.

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
We splurged on the music to make sure the atmosphere would be just right. This included live music from Wedding Music & Lights for the whole day. A harpist and violin for the ceremony, musicians by the pool for the drinks reception and a band to see us out in style for the evening.

How did you choose your photographer?
We found Cristiano online and again instantly fell in love with his style of photography. Photos that were full of emotion and love with beautiful light, we loved their elegance and timeless appeal. Before the wedding day we arranged an engagement shoot in the October when we went over to Italy to visit the venue and meet suppliers. He put us instantly at ease and we were thrilled with the results. Organising an abroad wedding can be a challenge due to the distance but everything about the photos was made really easy.

The dress 
My dress was by Stella York, shoes by Rolland Cartier and veil by Rainbow Club.

The suit and bridesmaids
The suits were all tailor made by Moss Bros and the bridesmaid dresses were from Debenhams. Lee wore a watch I brought him from MVMT.

Theme or colour scheme?
I didn’t really have one! Other brides to be out there don’t panic if you don’t have a colour scheme. We just kept things natural against the green of Tuscany. We went for a light pink colour for the bridesmaids but the setting at Casa Cornacchi is so beautiful I just wanted to make the most of it.

Flowers 
The flowers were from the wonderful and talented florist Stiatti Fiori! We visited their showroom when we visited the October before the wedding. My bouquet was made from seasonal flowers, peonies, Tuscan leaves and neutral colours – white and green. Bridesmaids had the same but a slightly smaller version.
For the ceremony, we had rose petals for our flower girls in little white baskets and little music note confetti cones. We had flowers on the chairs and then flowers at the end of the isle on big wine barrels. After the ceremony these were moved to the terrace for us to enjoy in the evening.
We had table arrangements in wooden boxes again the same neutral colours, white and green and lots of candles. We had empty wine bottles with tall candles which looked beautiful when they were lit in the evening.

Decoration 
We paid extra to have string lights put up on the ceiling of the Bellavista Terrace but overall the décor on the day was rustic and simple, in keeping with the style at Casa Cornacchi.

Food
Antipasti for the Starters. Lasagne baked in the oven with meat sauce (mama’s recipe), Risotto with porcini mushrooms, And then Roasted chicken with local herbs and roasted potatoes. Homemade Tiramisù for dessert

Wedding cake
We didn’t have a wedding cake in Italy but decided to go for the Gelato, ice cream cart in between the band sets in the evening. When we got home we had a small drinks reception in a local pub and arranged to have a beautiful lemon cake which reminded us of Tuscany.

Entertainment
Wedding Music & Lights, as described above.

Who supplied the stationery?
The stationary was supplied by my friend Emily who owns Whyte Weddings UK, she did a bespoke rustic design with craft paper and lace. We also had little wooden aeroplanes made with our wedding date on.

Personal touches
Lee made some gorgeous wooden boxes for my dad and our best man that had aftershave, their socks and a bottle of something for the wedding morning. I had some handkerchiefs made for both mums which were for “Happy Tears”

Special moments
We used Tuscan Pledges and had Jo Bertolino as our celebrant. My favourite part of the day was the ceremony. Jo is a delight and the ceremony was really personal and beautiful. I remember standing in front of everyone in the sunshine and couldn’t believe we had made the dream and reality.
Getting ready with the mums and my bridesmaids was amazing too. Our photographer recommended hair and makeup by Silvia Gerzeli and she did not disappoint! This was something I was really unsure about booking but I’m so glad I did, it took the pressure off and we all relaxed while they worked their magic.
I also loved the speeches and dancing all night!

Advice for other couples 
Don’t stress, no one knows what you have planned. If you are thinking of getting married abroad – do it! Use recommended suppliers and I’m sure they will go above and beyond your expectations. Spending a week with all our special people was the best week ever.

Biggest surprise 
Lee’s wedding present to me was a hot air balloon ride in San Gimignano. Luckily I opened the card for this pre make up!

 

For more information on Facibeni Fotografia work go to

http://www.facibeni.com www.photographertuscany.com/blogFACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / PINTEREST

 

Facibeni Fotografia is a destination wedding photography boutique based in Tuscany, Italy. We aim to capture those sweet little moments and details that make your wedding your own. The pictures of your life with all your story in.

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