An Intimate Ceremony in Tuscany and a Texas Sized Reception in Dallas

Lauren Megerdichian
December 19, 2023
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog, Whimsical

[section title=”The Planning”]

[field title=”Wedding Colors”]In Italy the bride and groom chose to keep it neutral and play of the colors of the Tuscan environment with whites and greens. However in Dallas they wanted to be fun and colorful and bring back hints of Italian design, with pops of greens, yellows, oranges, and fuchsia as our main color scheme.[/field]

[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]The bride Merissa had always dreamed of getting married in Italy as she’s a dual citizen in US and Italy and took many family trips there growing up. The bride and groom went on a spontaneous trip to Italy four years ago and it became a special place for the both of them. Little did they know four years later they would be saying their vows at the same castle in Tuscany that they visited on a wine tasting.

Merissa and Cole started at rock bottom. Literally. The two met Merissa’s first night out of college at a popular dive bar near TCU called Rock Bottom, or The Bottom. They stayed in touch but started officially dating two years later, and became inseparable for the 7 years to follow.

From the beautiful views of the Tuscan countryside to the live musicians, gelato cart, vintage car, and twinkle light dinner it made for the wedding day of their dreams.

Their Dallas reception was a 250 person formal soirée held in a custom tent at Arlington Hall. They used inspiration from Italy for the overall design of the reception such as bougainvillea and lemons hanging from the ceiling, yellow striped awnings, terracotta pots, and a custom Tuscan pattern dance floor that matched our invitations. They also brought in a lot of personal and fun touches- from a drone show, to disco dancers, to custom trucker hats for the after party, to a vintage TCU getaway car. They even played a 2 minute trailer video of the wedding in Tuscany done by the talented Mountaintop Films as an intro to their grand entrance, allowing the guests to see the emotions and beauty of their ceremony day in Tuscany. [/field]

[field title=”Proposal Story”]Shortly after celebrating their six year anniversary, Cole decided it was time to propose. Since Merissa photographs many proposals herself, he had to be extra sneaky when coming up with a surprise plan. His family had her convinced that it was his uncle’s 60th birthday party, with a fake invitation and all. One of his recently engaged cousins asked Merissa if she could snap some photos of them before the party at a nearby waterfall in the neighborhood. Merissa arrived to take the photos and when she walked down to the waterfall she saw Cole, and her two best friends taking photos and videos. That wasn’t the last of the surprises though. After the proposal they walked into the backyard where the “birthday party” was being held and Merissa saw all of her friends and family there with a huge part of 100 people that had come in to celebrate them. [/field]

[/section]

[board_carousel title=”Getting Ready”]

[/board_carousel]

[board_carousel title=”Bridal Portraits”]

[/board_carousel]

[board_carousel title=”Flat Lays”]

[/board_carousel]

[section title=”The Fashion”]

[field title=”Wedding Gown”]Merissa ended up choosing 2 gowns from the same designer- Ines Di Santo. The gowns were from Stanley Korshak in Dallas. The Italy gown was whimsical and romantic while the Dallas gown was chic and dramatic, with a custom bow added to the back.[/field]

[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”]Merissa had her honorary bridesmaids all choose their own dresses of any bold, bright color for the Dallas reception. [/field]

[field title=”Groomsman Attire”][/field]

[/section]

[board_carousel title=”Wedding Party”]

[/board_carousel]

[board_carousel title=”Ceremony”]

[/board_carousel]

[board_carousel title=”Cocktail Hour”]

[/board_carousel]

[section title=”The Details”]

[field title=”Food & Drink”]In Italy the bride and groom chose to have apertivo cocktail hour with Aperol spritz, negronis, and some classic Italian appetizers. For dinner the castle chef served them homemade gnocchi, beef short rib, eggplant parmesan and they had a gelato cart for dessert.

In Dallas there was a large variety of food, from tuna towers, to pasta, to steak. Some special touches were the lemon sorbet and limoncello spritz welcome drinks.[/field]

[field title=”Florals & Decor”]In Italy the bride actually designed many of the decor items herself, from the personalized embroidered napkins for each guest, to the menu cards and bar signs.

In Dallas all florals and design were done by the talented Emily Clarke Events. Since Italy was very classic and neutral they wanted the reception in Dallas to be more fun and colorful- with lots of inspiration from Italy. [/field]

[field title=”Wedding Cake”]One of the most unique parts of the wedding was doing a non-traditional cake. In Italy they opted to have a gelato cart instead of cake, from Vivoli Gelato. Little did they know the owner of Vivoli himself would be the one serving the gelato that day!

In Dallas they chose to do 2 “groom’s cakes” instead of a typical “bride’s cake”. They had fun cake displays done by Sugar Bee Sweets that showed off each of their passions: a golf bag for Cole and a camera for Merissa.[/field]

[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”]The bride’s brother officiated the ceremony in Italy which was a very special touch. Merissa walked down the aisle to “Video Games” by Lana Del Rey, played by a live violinist and harpist.

At the reception in Dallas all of the special dances were performed live by the talented Goga Music, from the country first dance song- “Quite Like You” by Shane Smith and the Saints, to the Italian father-daughter dance song- “Figlia Mia” by Gigione, to the mother-son song honoring the groom’s late granddad- “My Way” by Frank Sinatra. Goga also preformed some Andrea Bocelli Italian opera during dinner.

For the after party in Dallas they had Dom Nagella from Le Force DJ for a very modern, club vibe.

[/field]

[field title=”Special Detail #1″]When choosing a photographer, Merissa had a specific vision after years of photographing couples herself. In Italy she chose Vlasta Weddings, a photo team with a background in fashion that creates beautiful magazine worthy images with a more artistic vibe. For Dallas she had Mikayla C Photos, a talented photographer friend of hers shoot the even. Her style was perfect to capture the bright, vibrant colors and her use of film/polaroids was also a selling point.[/field]

[field title=”Special Detail #2″]Having a ceremony and honeymoon 2 weeks before a reception definitely isn’t typical, but it was perfect for Merissa and Cole. After their Tuscany wedding they honeymooned in Puglia for 10 days, returned to Dallas, and had the reception 6 days later. [/field]

[field title=”Special Detail #3″]Since the bride is a photographer herself, she was able to photograph her own flatlay/detail photos- which was a special touch and made it easier getting them done in advance versus the day of! [/field]

[/section]

[board_carousel title=”Couple Portraits”]

[/board_carousel]

[board_carousel title=”Reception”]

[/board_carousel]

[iframe https://www.youtube.com/embed/oWNk6Ws4k7s 600 338]