It seems like I’m falling in love on a daily basis here at SMP and it’s really no surprise when beauties like this come knocking on our cyber door each and every day. These beyond gorgeous images from Lisa Poggi photography truly capture the romance between this travel loving couple. The fluffy white peonies, the linen napkins tied with sage, the cobblestone streets and old brick buildings, the views that go on for days and days…I could go on and on about the beauty of this perfect, Italian wedding, but I’ll let you get to the goods. Oh, and don’t forget, there are more where these came from in the full gallery of images!
Click here for entire image gallery!
From the Bride…I always said I was never going to get married. That was until I met Magnus. We met while studying in Poland, I from Canada and Magnus from Sweden. We knew that we were getting into difficult territory considering we were from different continents, but we knew we were it for each other from the start. When it came to deciding a location for our wedding, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy considering we both had family and friends scattered across the globe. It took us a while to decide on Italy – neutral territory for us both – and it happened rather by chance. We both share a love for travel and agreed that Italy was one place we’d never been. Most of our guests would be crossing oceans for us so we wanted to make sure that we gave them an event to remember. We rented a villa in the Chianti hills for a week – and having seen it only in pictures – were blown away by the beauty of the site the minute we got there. It was absolutely perfect. We arranged for some activities during the week long event – wine tastings, food tours, a BBQ and pool party. Having more than 18 months to plan definitely helped.
The wedding day itself was a dream come true. I couldn’t believe I was on my way to get married driving through the Tuscan hills in our rented vintage VW with my dad. We were married in a civil ceremony the medieval townhall of Certaldo Alto, in a room above a courtyard with frescos from the 14th century. During the champagne toast we had after the ceremony in the old town, the locals even pulled up chairs to watch…As for the reception, we always knew we wanted it to be outside. We wanted the feel to be very romantic, rustic, organic and natural. Lots of candles, and soft light. We had a neutral palette that complimented our surroundings, so the olive motif was an easy choice. It was important to us to have a relaxed, non-traditional feel during the reception, like a dinner party with all the people who were important to us throughout our lives. We wanted to acknowledge everyone who had come so far to celebrate with us, so we put together a reception program which had a numbered seating chart printed in it, with each number correlating to a short, quirky description of the person seated in that spot. Another thing we did was we asked everyone to bring a picture of themselves with us, and we hung them on a clothesline above the guestbook table.
It was incredible to have everyone there in one place – people that had met for the first time, spending a week together in a breathtaking location, and some of who we know may never get the chance to meet again…it was absolutely surreal. We chose not to have bridesmaids or groomsmen, either, as we had a small wedding and as everyone there was special to us, we just could not choose. And if there’s anything I learned during wedding planning, it’s to go with what feels right to you, and not be bound by every wedding tradition there is out there…I could not have imagined more beautiful location to get married – to share our love in front of our loved ones. I feel like I’ve lived through a dream…but thanks to Lisa Poggi, our wonderfully talented photographer, the pictures are proof I was there!!!
Wedding Photography: Lisa Poggi photography / Reception Venue: Villa La Poggiolaia / Ceremony Venue: Commune di Certaldo / Catering + Cake: Gli Specialisti / DJ + String Trio: Alma Project / Wedding Planning: Weddings in Tuscany / Paper Goods: Belletristics / Dress: Blue by Enzoani Groom’s suit: Zara
