[section title=”The Planning”]
[field title=”Wedding Colors”]We knew our color palette for the wedding would be more subdued so we decided to play with bright colors and fun design for our Welcome Dinner. The inspiration ultimately came from my dress which was bold primary colors. Our wedding color palette was built off of the color sage which is also the name of the high school where we met. We wanted a timeless color schemed that lended itself well to the surroundings.[/field]
[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]For the Welcome Dinner, we wanted fun design! I designed the menus and place cards. Each table had a different color menus and corresponding place cards.
The wedding vision was always simplicity and elegance. The property is so breathtaking as is so we never wanted to detract from that. [/field]
[field title=”Proposal Story”]The proposal story is SO good. :) It was our eighth anniversary and we were spending it in New Orleans, which is where I went to school. Eric and I are big letter writers. We write letters to each other a few times a year and always on our anniversary. We will typically exchange the letters in the morning and spend some moments reading them. The morning of the proposal, we had our usual letter exchange except Eric’s letter he handed to me had “Part 1” written on the envelope. The letter was all about the beginning of our relationship. It talked about high school, our friendship, and the early days of us dating.
Later in the day, he handed me another envelope that said “Part 2”. The following letter talked all about college and doing long distance all throughout undergrad and grad school.
At this point in the day we had gone back to our hotel and were getting ready for dinner. Eric didn’t tell me where we were going but he did say when to be ready. Once I was dressed and ready, he handed me the final envelope with “Part 3” written on it. The letter inside talked about our “present”. It talked about our life in LA together and living together.
He led me outside our room, down to the lobby, and into a private room. This cozy private lounge had four tables all with my favorite flowers (peonies) and pictures in frames. Each picture represented one “part” of our relationship. The first frame had a picture of us from high school, the second had a picture of us in college, the third had one of us in LA, and the last frame was empty. Eric got down on his knee and began to explain how the empty frame was our future and how he couldn’t wait to create that future together. I honestly can’t remember what else he said because I was so overwhelmed. We ended the night with dinner at our favorite restaurant where he coordinated a custom menu with all of our favorites.[/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Getting Ready”]
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[section title=”The Fashion”]
[field title=”Wedding Gown”]For the Welcome Dinner, I knew that I wanted to wear something bright, colorful and quintessentially Italian. After a long search, I was able to track down the Dolce & Gabbana dress that I ended up wearing.
I wore a Monique Lhullier dress which was actually the first dress I tried on. Sometimes you get it right on the first try![/field]
[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”]I only had a MOH and she wore a Shana Joy dress in green. It was gorgeous![/field]
[field title=”Groomsman Attire”][/field]
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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”]For the Welcome Dinner, there was pizza served fresh out of the ovens and a myriad of fresh summer salads to choose from. Peach bellinis and Aperol spritz (our favorite drinks) were flowing. For dessert we served tiramisu, fresh fruit, nutella pizza, and we of course had a gelato cart.
For the wedding, we had passed hors d’oeuvre during cocktail hour which included fresh focaccia that was made in the pizza oven right at the villa. We served three courses and then went straight to dessert. The courses were eggplant tartare with dry
tomatoes and pecorino, maltagliati pasta with tomato sauce and burrata cheese, and a choice of wild sea bass or braised veal cheek with brunello sauce and mashed
potatoes. Since dinner was long and we wanted to get the party going, we had trays of espresso martinis waiting for our guests as they were directed to the dance floor. Of course there was also late night pizza.[/field]
[field title=”Florals & Decor”]Our florals were whites and greens for the wedding. My bridal bouquet was made of peonies because the corsage Eric gave me for our high school prom was a peony. The dinner was probably the biggest highlight from all the events. I wanted a really dramatic long table with candles as the focal point. I learned how to embroider and spent time leading up to the wedding embroidering each guest’s names onto the napkins. Those napkins served as the seat assignments.[/field]
[field title=”Wedding Cake”]Our guests are still talking about the cake. Millefoglie is a traditional Italian wedding cake and for good reason. Everyone loved it.[/field]
[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”]The ceremony took place at an overlook on the property. A string quartet played songs that we had long associated with each other as we walked down the aisle. I walked down to the song “On Top Of The World” by Imagine Dragons. As I walked down the aisle with my dad, all I could see was Eric’s head down. He was crying. We read our own vows and one of our best friends beautifully officiated the ceremony. He was there the night we first met! There were many smiles and many tears. My family is Jewish and so we incorporated a bit of tradition into the ceremony, Eric stomped on the glass and everyone shouted “Mazel Tov!”. We sauntered back up the aisle to the string quartet playing “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by The Beach Boys. With a glass of prosecco in hand, our guests were transported from the main hotel to Villa Sant’Anna where cocktail hour awaited their arrival.
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[field title=”Special Detail #1″]Eric and I met at 15 and we’ve been together for 10 years. We were high school sweethearts. It wasn’t love at first sight, but it was like at first conversation. There was instant chemistry which helped us build a strong friendship. And as time went on, we grew closer. Our relationship grew out of a friendship and we remain friends before anything. We endured 6 years of long distance through undergrad and graduate school for Eric. Cut to now, living together in Los Angeles. I work in entertainment and Eric launches rockets for a living. I’m the creative one, he’s the level-headed one. Opposites really do attract.
When it came time to discuss our wedding, we wanted each and every decision to be meaningful since we have such a rich history. We easily decided on Italy since I studied abroad there, Eric’s family roots are Italian, and some of our favorite memories are moments from trips to Italy. It was a no-brainer. We decided on the timing of our wedding as it would be close to our 10-year anniversary. I decided to take on the wedding planning myself with the help of Eric and the events team at the venue. We wanted to host a Welcome Dinner so all of our guests could get to know each other before the big day. Each event felt intimate given there were only 55 guests and we wanted everyone to mingle. Keeping the list small was important to us because we wanted to celebrate with people who we felt knew us best.
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[field title=”Special Detail #2″]The evening of our welcome dinner was filled with touching and funny speeches and it ended with a movie night. Our friends sauntered over to the movie night viewing area but not without stopping by the gelato cart first to enjoy while watching. Since Eric and I went from friends to more-than-friends, we thought it was perfect to watch When Harry Met Sally. We wanted the evening to be a big welcome and a warm hug. It was the perfect way to set the tone for events to come.[/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #3″]We spent the night dancing under the stars. After midnight, we switched the playlist to entirely music that we had listened to in high school. Our friends loved it and tequila was flowing! The night ended with all of our friends jumping in the pool in their tuxes and dresses. We stayed so late that we even had to extend the shuttles by an hour. Our friends headed back to their hotel rooms in wet clothes and robes from our villa.[/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Couple Portraits”]
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[board_carousel title=”Reception”]
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[board_carousel title=”Wedding Weekend Events”]
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Photography: Sotiris Tsakanikas | Cinematography: WEDCINEMATICS | Event Planning: Sarah Groux Events | Floral Design: Puscina Flowers | Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier | Catering: Caterina Majolo | Wedding Venue: Caterina Majolo | Rentals: AF Opening
© Style Me Pretty, %%07pm29UTC[2024]%%. |
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