Elegant Peach, Italian Garden Wedding: James & Catherine

This elegant and pretty peach, garden wedding took place in a small hilltop village in picturesque Petritoli, Italy. Our gorgeous bride Catherine had this to say about her big day…

The locals in the village were a big part of what made our wedding such a success. They completely embraced our wedding and we basically took over their village for nearly a week and they were so happy to be hosting us. Some of them even moved out of their apartments and in with their parents to accommodate our guests!

It was important to us that we involved the local businesses so they could benefit from all of the guests, so we hosted meals and events in as many different restaurants/bars as possible to support the local community. I think this is very important when you are hosting a wedding in such a small place and it was really appreciated by the locals.

Words by Catherine. Images by Mustard Yellow Photography.

We were married in Santa Maria in Piazza Church in a hilltop village in Italy called Petritoli. Our reception was held in the gardens of the village hall which overlooked the beautiful Italian landscape. We chose this location because of my Dad, Michael, who we very sadly lost in 2013.

We had spent a wonderful holiday with him and our extended family a few years previously during which we celebrated an important birthday and another wedding.

We created some incredibly special memories as a family and it was important to me that our wedding venue was in a place where I felt connected to him. James was very supportive of this (particularly as he had never even been to Petritoli!) and fortunately I took him out there after we were engaged and he fell in love with it as well.

It is a charming village and the local residents completely embraced our families and the whole experience.

We had a wedding planner who was originally from the UK but has lived in the village for a long time.

She was key to the planning of the wedding (and the translation!) and we worked closely with her during a number of trips over to Petritoli to plan what ended up becoming not just a wedding but a 5 day wedding festival!

The dress  I chose felt like it was made for the venue and although there were no tears from me when I tried it on there was a huge smile on my face which was enough for me!

James opted for a tailored navy blue suit from Moss Bros with a silver/grey waistcoat. He looked very handsome :)

My father’s brother (my uncle) walked me down the aisle to Pachelbel’s Canon – he was very involved in the planning of the wedding and accompanied us on each trip over to Petritoli.

Our wedding photographers were fabulous! They had photographed my sister’s wedding three months previously and they were part of the family by the end of their time with us!

They completely entered into the spirit of the wedding and were so helpful and fun to be around – I can’t recommend them highly enough and they were a complete hit with all of our guests.

Because our venue was outside and in such a beautiful location we opted for very simple decor – lemons, candles, and olive branches.

We provided a miniature bottle of limoncello for every guest and this was made from scratch, bottled and labeled by my aunt – a real labour of love.

There were so many memorable moments!

The ceremony was beautiful and my father, Michael, was very much remembered and honoured throughout which was important to us.

Taking a moment with James during our photographs to recognise how lucky we were to have each other and feeling sheer joy at being husband and wife.

The party in the evening which lasted until 6am and involved a lot of karaoke in the local bar (which we moved to at about 2.30 in the morning) with James and I being clapped and cheered as we left the after-party at 5.30am!

The locals in the village were a big part of what made our wedding such a success. They completely embraced our wedding and we basically took over their village for nearly a week and they were so happy to be hosting us. Some of them even moved out of their apartments and in with their parents to accommodate our guests!

It was important to us that we involved the local businesses so they could benefit from all of the guests so we hosted meals and events in as many different restaurants/bars as possible to support the local community.

I think this is very important when you are hosting a wedding in such a small place and it was really appreciated by the locals.

If we could offer any advice we would say… Try not to worry about the little details too much. So much of our wedding was out of our control and our options were limited because of the remote location but everything worked out and we loved every minute of it.

On the day all that matters is the fact that you are there with your partner and all the people who love you.

I would definitely recommend a wedding abroad because you get so much longer with your guests and everyone has time to get to know each other. It certainly didn’t seem to put people off attending – we had over 140 guests in the end!

What a place to hold a destination wedding and I’m totally smitten with that pretty peach colour scheme!

wedding credits / photographer: mustard yellow photography / wedding venue: village hall, petritoli / brides dress: wtoo by watters / grooms suit: moss bross / brides shoes: rachel simpson / hair & makeup: local hairdresser, own makeup / catering: palazzomannocchi.com

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