A Limoncello Inspired Welcome Dinner and Tuscan Wedding That Will Have You Dreaming of Italian Summers

Lauren Megerdichian
May 19, 2020
Categories: Real Weddings, Romantic, The Blog

Oh Italy, how we miss you so. Until we meet again, we’re living vicariously through this dreamy Tuscan weekend captured by Anya Kernes Photography with planning by The Tuscan Wedding. From a limoncello inspired welcome dinner that’s beautiful enough to be the actual wedding, to a fairytale ceremony and ballroom reception decorated in blooms from Flowers Living. The entire gallery will leave you feeling inspired and dreaming of those perfect Italian summer nights.

About the Welcome Dinner…

From the Bride… Shortly after deciding upon a destination wedding in Florence, we knew we wanted to host more than just a wedding ceremony and reception, so we could treat our friends and family to multiple events and celebrations — after all they were traveling great distances to celebrate our special day, and we wanted to maximize our time with them! Therefore, in lieu of a traditional “rehearsal dinner,” we decided early on that we would have an all-guests Welcome Dinner the Thursday before our wedding to welcome guests, break the ice among those that didn’t know each other, and welcome our loved ones to Tuscany, with a night filled with everything that we loved about it in the first place: hand-made pizza, flowing wine, views of rolling hills, Italian hospitality, and of course… the wonderful early spring weather under the Tuscan Sun!

With the help of our lovely wedding planner, Dani of The Tuscan Wedding, we discovered Villa Medicea di Lilliano — a XVII century villa and former retreat of the Medici rulers of Tuscany (talk about history!) turned family owned wine and olive oil estate! We visited the Villa on a bitter cold and rainy February day in 2018, but even then we were instantly enchanted with the Villa’s breathtaking views and charm. We knew that the Villa’s wonderful outdoor garden and stunning views would be the perfect location to kick off our Italian Wedding Weekend!

Color Palette/Design Aesthetic:

We were torn between a “true-to-Tuscany rustic and natural” aesthetic versus “classic-elegant-Duomo” inspired aesthetic for our wedding, and felt lucky that we could have both — the former for the Welcome Dinner in Villa Medicea di Lilliano, and the latter for the Wedding at Villa Cora. For the Welcome Dinner we wanted to lean into all-things-Tuscany, embrace the beautiful outdoor setting of VML, and pay homage to the natural vineyard, olive grove, and abundant lemon plants. We let the natural surrounding and Tuscan vibe inspire every inch of our Welcome Dinner.

Because we were doing a more traditional color palette for the Wedding, we wanted to have “a little fun” with the Welcome Dinner. We decided on a lemon yellow and blue-and-white porcelain design for the table setting, with royal blue wine glasses for a pop of color. We’d always dreamed of a dinner under twinkly lights at a long table with all of our loved ones, and brought this dream to life with a stunning never ending table in the VML garden for dinner. We had the idea early on to work lemons and wine bottles (both nods of admiration to VML) into our décor and aesthetic, and worked with Dani to create Lemon Leaf name cards and Wine Bottle Table numbers — two small touches that made all the difference! Those touches, accompanied by eucalyptus and airy linens as a runner made for the perfect never-ending table.

Unique Elements:

· Ice Cream Miss 500 Car: What’s Italy without Gelato? And of course it must be served in an Italian Fiat – no? Italy is synonymous with great food, and Ben and I fell in love with the Gelato that Florence had to offer during our first trip together. We knew we wanted to serve our guests Gelato at some point, and to be able to do it in such a charming and fun way was a plus! We were able to select 4 flavor for our guests to enjoy, and heard later that many of our guests tried all 4 (can you blame them?): coffee, pistachio, lemon (duh!), and straciatella.

· Charming Signs: In addition to the beautiful rattan lounging furniture, twinkly lights, and seemingly endless dinner table, we wanted to work in some personalized whimsical decorative signs. Dani worked with a local shop to create one that we had read the essentials of the night: Saghar & Ben, Pizza, Vino, Formaggio, & Spritz. We also had an olive oil tasting station set up with various olive oils from the Villa, and a matching signed that described each one. We wanted to provide as many little Tuscan and VML touches as possible, so our guests could fall in love with Italy as we had.

· Limoncello to Go: We knew we wanted to serve small take-away gifts for our guests, and decided small Limoncello bottles to go were the perfect touch. We worked with Dani and our Florist (Flowers Living) to create a charming sign that read “When Life Gives You Lemons Make Limoncello.” My parents still have a bottle in their kitchen!

Bride’s Dress:

I knew I wanted a long sleeves lace dress for the big day, so I wanted to go in an entirely opposite direction for the Welcome Dinner. I knew I wanted to incorporate an open back, a high neck line, and white satin — so I worked with my mom’s friend (&seamstress) to custom make my dress for the welcome dinner. Satin can be stubborn, so it took several fittings, but the end result was worth it! I wore my grandmothers pearl earrings and matching bracelet to the Welcome Dinner — it was very special to be able to include her in that special moment.

The end result was an unforgettable night filled with happy tears, full stomachs, wine-stained teeth, and belly laughs. We remembering saying to each other then that if nothing else goes right the rest of the weekend, this will already have been the best night of our lives. It was truly special to enjoy what Italy has to offer in a beautiful Villa with our closest family and loved ones. The night ended with shuttles into town while cheers-ing our Limoncello’s and hitting up a Whiskey bar in the Florence with our close friends until 4 AM (this is why we did the event 2 nights before the wedding, not the night before!). It was the perfect start to the perfect week!

About the Wedding…

Why Italy?

Ben and I had been dating for 2 years, when we visited Italy for the first time together in August of 2015 for my “Bar Exam Trip” (typically, law student graduates go on a trip after spending grueling months studying for the bar exam). We were fortunate to travel all over Italy and enjoy every minute of it… But Florence, was definitely a highlight. One night during our trip, we were enjoying take-away wine while sitting in the Piazza Santo Spirito when we casually mentioned how lovely it would be to come back to Florence with our closest friends and family.. Perhaps a destination wedding one day? Fast forward 3 years later, Ben proposed on Valentines Day in our favorite neighborhood restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and within a week we scheduled a quick trip to Florence to look at venues. After consulting with family and close friends, we were determined to pull off a dream wedding weekender in Firenze!

Before our venue-hunting trip in Florence, we quickly interviewed a handful of wedding planners via Skype (thank goodness for technology!). After interviews and research, we trusted Dani of The Tuscan Wedding to help us put together our dream wedding! Dani was an easy pick, because she was very responsive and even put together an itinerary for venue hunting without our asking. Having a wedding planner with boots on the ground, and one who was fluent in English and Italian, was absolutely essential to our planning process. Halfway through planning, Ben and I moved from NYC to LA, which made the time difference with Italy even more challenging (read: many early morning wedding planning conference calls), but with the help of technology, a very responsive wedding planning team, and bride-groom team work we were able to pull off long distance planning, and have fun doing it.

Ben and I were fortunate to be able to make two trips to Florence during the planning process — one to venue hunt and a second trip with our parents during Thanksgiving, which we called wedding-planning-bootcamp. During that trip we did what many couples do over a span of months in 4 business days: food/wine tastings, cake tasting, venue re-visits and walk throughs, florist appointments, etc (but don’t feel too sorry for us, pasta-tasting isn’t too tortuous). It was very important to us to see/meet with as many vendors as possible during this trip, and to give our parents a preview of what was to come. The trip was not only extremely productive, but became a memory for our families that we now treasure.

For two type A attorney’s this part was difficult, but we couldn’t recommend rolling with the punches and being flexible more! When your wedding is in a distant location, there are inevitably many features and details you won’t be able to inspect or witness first hand before the big day (even if you make two trips!). We decided early on, that while we had a certain vision and aesthetic, we vowed to be flexible on some of “small stuff” and to roll with punches and trust Dani.

Invites:

We wanted to get our guests pumped up about visiting Florence from the jump, and decided to work with Jolly Edition to create a custom wedding suite that laid out what the weekend would look like, and incorporated imagery from Florence. Laura of Jolly Edition hand painted the Duomo and Florence landscape on the inside of the wedding envelopes, created a map of Italy that featured our selected venues, and even created a custom crest of our initials! It took a few questionnaires, a couple of conversations, and collaborations — but we were so happy we decided to go the custom route for invites and make them extra special and individualized. (We also ordered vintage stamps for the envelopes which was a romantic touch many guests noticed).

Design & Aesthetic:

We knew we wanted the overall feel and design for the big day to be: classic, timeless, and formal BUT above all fun. And, importantly, we wanted to work in as many personal details and homages to Florence as possible — so when it came to color scheme, we drew inspiration from the Duomo di Firenze, and decided our colors would be off-white, eucalyptus green, peachy pink, and a touch of gold. We worked these colors into our black-tie affair by incorporating them in every detail and aspect of the wedding: invites, floral arrangement, signs and decor, dinner menu, napkins, etc. We also wanted to compliment the venue’s historic and timeless feel.

Venue:

Dani introduced us to Villa Cora during our trip to Florence, and we were immediately taken aback by this stunning property. Villa Cora — a stunning modern-day luxury hotel built in 1868 by Baron Oppenheim as a gesture of love for his bride Eugenia Fenzi — was everything we had dreamed of for our Florentine wedding and more: stunning indoor and out door spaces, unparalleled hospitality, unforgettable Italian cuisine, AND A HEATED POOL (IN FLORENCE!). We knew Villa Cora would be the perfect back drop for the elegant and intimate affair we were planning.

We were slightly obsessed with details! We wanted to individualize the wedding week as much as possible, and have our guests fall in love with Florence the way we did.

Dress & Tuxedo:

When thinking about our wedding day, I knew I wanted to look as timeless and classic as possible, and quickly entrusted Oscar de La Renta for my wedding gown. I had a vision of long-sleeves and lace, and knew immediately that my dress was the one, when I put it on the first time. I wanted my hair and makeup to be subtle, natural, and compliment the gown. Most of all I wanted to look like myself that day — nothing too drastic or different. Ben wore a bespoke tuxedo and shirt designed by Johnathan Behr in his shop in the Miracle Mile area of Los Angeles. The Jacket was white, shawl-collared, with a delicate floral pattern stitched into the fabric. We had our groomsmen in tuxedos, and bridesmaids in different black satin-back crepe gowns — all tying into our black tie and classic feel.

Otter Napkin & Cuff Links:

Because the wedding was going to be Italy, our favorite four legged friend and rescue pup Otter could not be there. Ben has had Otter since he was a puppy, and he is truly a part of our relationship, so we wanted to include and honor him on our special day. We worked with an Etsy Shop, The Emerald Hound, who created a custom portrait of Otter for napkins and cocktail sitters to be used during cocktail hour, and we decided to go with a punny slogan, “I’ll Have an-Otter.” Being an intimate wedding, most of our guests know and love Otter, and loved the napkins! I also had pictures of Otter incorporated into custom cuff links for Ben, which I gave to him as a gift on our wedding day.

Champagne Scrolls:

We wanted the place cards to have an added double feature — champagne for toasts! So we had Champagne Name Scrolls created for each guest which they picked up after cocktail hour, right before dinner, to keep the energy going. They turned out beautifully and were a lovely elegant touch.

Italian Beverages During Cocktail Hour.

We kept the nods to Italy going with two of our favorite drinks during cocktail hour: Sposi (Bride): Aperol Spritz, and Sposa (Groom): Negroni. We also had a three piece Italian folk trio (accordion, guitar, and violin) play traditional Italian songs during the cocktail hour, which led to dancing early in the day! We also incorporated little signs during the cocktail hour which said Cheers in the three relevant languages: English, Farsi, and Italian.

Persian Ceremony:

I am Iranian-American, so Ben and I knew early on we wanted to do a traditional Persian Ceremony — one that is culturally rich, filled with symbolic gestures and decor, and ancient in historic precedent. One of my dad’s best friends conducted the ceremony, and we wrote personal vows which we exchanged for the first time during the ceremony.

Favorite Aspects

Quality Time With Guests:

We felt so fortunate that we were able to celebrate our wedding by celebrating on multiple days, and maximizing our time with our closest family and friends. Some of our favorite memories of that week are the days leading up to the wedding where we laid pool side at Villa Cora with our best friends, ate pizza and drank wine in the Piazza Santo Spirito with our guests, and celebrated at VML while enjoying views of the rolling hills of Tuscany. Being able to spend quality time with our guests in the days leading up to wedding, reduced a lot of the stress of “hosting” on the big day. Ben and I never made formal rounds to the guests at dinner during the wedding, because by then we had already chatted with everyone multiple times – this was great!

Amazing Music:

Another memorable highlight from the wedding was the music! We entrusted DJ Sam Young, Deji Carr, and Ben the Saxman (all hailing from London), to create a unique music ensemble — DJing our favorite hip hop and pop tunes with live Saxophone and drumming. Our guests were blown away from the music, and it felt like we were at our favorite dance party.

International Affair:

Our wedding was truly a reflection of our diverse and international relationship: held in Florence, Italian food, guests from America/Iran/Turkey, music from England, Sofreh decor from Iran… All made for a memories we will cherish!