When an All-Star Vendor Team Makes Magic in Tuscany

Lauren Megerdichian
August 29, 2023
Categories: Real Weddings, Romantic, The Blog

[section title=”The Planning”]

[field title=”Wedding Colors”]Our wedding colors were “Dusty jewel tones” with a key emphasis on dusty lilac – we really wanted to keep it light and whimsical, the venue was so gorgeous we didn’t want to over-power with bold colors. We asked all of our wedding guests to dress in the color palate which really added an elevated vibe. [/field]

[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]I really wanted to make it feel extra romantic– being in Italy, in a 1000 year old castle, on a vineyard was so magical and the rolling Tuscan hills in the background really set a scene. I wanted to make sure that for the whole 3-days all of the guests felt like they were part of an experience. Each day was set in a different part of the castle and drew inspiration from the surroundings. I loved an elevated glam but rustic farmhouse cross over which is what we really accomplished through textures and details. Over the pandemic we had loved shows like Bridgerton, we love country music, love wine and food and wanted to incorporate all of those things in the events. Our welcome party was “elevated country chic” theme, we had a cooking class, and wine tasting on the 2nd day available for our guests, then rehearsal dinner with a trivia game about Anthony and I afterwards. [/field]

[field title=”Proposal Story”]Anthony and I met at work and quickly had a lot in common- our love for travel, wine, music, good food, and having our family/friends close. We often visited wineries and had many memberships (and a large collection!). Anthony proposed to me while we were on a trip to Walla Walla (in eastern Washington) at a gorgeous winery with some of our closest friends. Because we got engaged at a winery, we knew we wanted to tie-in wine and a vineyard into our special wedding day. [/field]

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[board_carousel title=”Getting Ready”]

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[board_carousel title=”Bridal Portraits”]

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[board_carousel title=”Flat Lays”]

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[board_carousel title=”First Look”]

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[section title=”The Fashion”]

[field title=”Wedding Gown”]Surprisingly, this dress was the FIRST dress I tried on. I have always dreamed of being in a Monique Llhulier gown and was able to pick so many classic gorgeous gowns to try on. I picked a few styles which I thought were “different and bold” that were outside of my mental pinterest board of what I wanted to wear. To my surprise I was blown away. My friend immediately started crying. I wanted to make sure it was THE ONE so I tried on what I think were 100s of dresses.. but every time I put this one back on, whoever I was with would burst into tears. It was so wild. I knew that my mom would be the ultimate test of approval and she too did cry. She was the last person to see it on me and it was the last dress I tried on.. I immediately purchased it.

What I loved about the dress was that it was so unique. I didn’t want to wear a veil but I still wanted a dramatic look and the long silk cape just made it such elevated fashion. I’ve always been obsessed with fashion and designed our wedding aisle to be seating more like a fashion show runway versus a traditional aisle. Funny enough, once I said yes to the dress, I knew we needed a gorgeous dramatic venue. The one we had originally picked (in the US) was no longer going to “match the dress” :) [/field]

[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”]I wanted my bridesmaids to feel just as drop-dead beautiful as they each individually are. Each of them has a different style and different personality that I think really came through with the dresses. I helped curate ideas and wanted each to be in a different color/style/texture. I drew inspiration from a Giorgio Armani runway show where everyone had such different textures and fabrics and it all looked so great together.

combination of Show Me Your Mumu (Jasmine Halter Maxi Dress), Revolve (Sabina Musayev Skylar Gown), Marchesa Notte (Ruched Bodie Tulle Gown and Watercolor Floral Print Ruffle Neck Chiffon Gown), BCBG (Raven Pleated Cutout Gown), Ted Baker (Roger Wool Blend Suit) and Jenny Yoo (Essex Gown)[/field]

[field title=”Groomsman Attire”]Dressing Anthony for the wedding events was so fun. we worked with a stylist at Nordstrom and with a styling team in LA (stylelab) to create a mood for each event. I loved the look of a white dinner jacket (Armani) with tuxedo pants (Zegna) but wanted to play with textures so we got him velvet louboutin shoes. [/field]

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[board_carousel title=”Wedding Party”]

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[board_carousel title=”Ceremony”]

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[board_carousel title=”Cocktail Hour”]

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[section title=”The Details”]

[field title=”Food & Drink”]We were in Italy and obviously went with Italian food. The chef on site at Vicarello deserves a Michelin star — for our wedding meal we had a 3-course meal and served

Starter: Panzanella with Burrata cheese cream

First: Butter and sage tortellini

Main: Steamed salmon with citrus mayonnaise and spinach/ Roasted lamb cooked in milk with Mediterranean herbs

we had two signature cocktails (and drew inspiration from our favorite show FRIENDS, which also reflects somewhat our personalities as a couple)- “the Monica” was a tequila with lime juice (the way I drink my drink) and “The Chandler: was an old fashioned with blood orange (Anthony’s favorite).[/field]

[field title=”Florals & Decor”]To go with the fairy-tale vibe we sprinkled touches of butterflies throughout our decor (on the cake, stationary and some of the table settings). My florist and design team worked together to incorporate our color palate and really made it all look like a dream. [/field]

[field title=”Wedding Cake”]Our wedding cake was designed and created to match our theme and was a delicious Chocolate cake with gianduia cream and raspberry geleé. we also had a more traditional Italian Sponge cake with chantilly cream. [/field]

[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”]My best friend since 7th grade officiated our wedding and we had a string quartet for our ceremony music. Nicky flawlessly delivered a heartfelt ceremony which included quotes from our favorite movies, tears and laughter. To draw inspiration from the show bridgerton, we picked all fun songs and wanted our guests to “name that tune”– our wedding party walked down to Hoobastank “the reason”, I walked down to “Speechless” by Dan + Shay, and we walked out as Mr. and Mrs. to the friends theme song “I’ll be there for you” by the rembrandts. [/field]

[field title=”Special Detail #1″]First look with Anthony– we had a weather warning all day and were nervous about the rain. We had to call-in for last-minute tenting the night before the wedding and rushed to get everything set. Right as we were about to start out first look we got a few droplets of rain. Not only did Anthony cry, which I knew he would, it was just a magical moment between the two of us. We had about 20 minutes of special time together before we had to be basically shared for the rest of the evening. Those photos of the rain were some of my favorites taken the whole day. As we were wrapping up and got back to the main castle, the sky opened and it started POURING rain which caused us to delay our wedding for about an hour. As soon as the rain stopped, the sky cleared up and it didn’t rain the rest of the evening.. just leaving a perfect (a little warm) afternoon.

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[field title=”Special Detail #2″]All the little details. My team of vendors really did an amazing job pulling together the most perfect details– from the little butterflies in the cake, tied to the butterflies on the invites etc. alongside the gorgeous velvet linen (which we flew in from the US to match), I had no idea what the flowers or the cake was going to look like (I trusted my team to make those decisions) and they were just perfect. We also added a few Persian traditional moments throughout our day — we did a cake knife dance, and I was able to have special moments with my family — including a first-look with my Dad, where he cried so hard![/field]

[field title=”Special Detail #3″]We laughed, a LOT. there was a lot of special tears and a lot of laughter which is exactly how I wanted the day to go. Anthony held up the wrong hand during the ceremony and I put the ring on the wrong finger.. which led to a hysterical video, to jumping in the pool (every night) all with our clothes on at the end of the night. It was a big fun close-knit group that got to enjoy this special week with us.

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[board_carousel title=”Reception”]

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[board_carousel title=”Wedding Weekend Events”]

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