Real Wedding

A Rustic, Romantic & Elegant Real Wedding in the Tuscan Hills: Jamie & Chiara

Here at Want That Wedding, we absolutely adore an Italian wedding and if you’ve ever dreamt of a destination wedding in Italy, this rustic wedding held in the courtyard of a magnificent castle, with the sun setting over the Tuscan hills is the wedding for you!

Surrounded by charming olive groves and picturesque landscapes, Jamie and Chiara had a romantic ceremony followed by an alfresco celebration with family and friends situated amidst twinkling fairy lights, rustic wedding decor and elegant candles.

Words by Chiara. Images by Giuseppe Giovannelli.

I instantly fell in love with my wedding dress after trying it on. I loved how it sat against my body, I loved loved loved the train! I loved how it didn’t make my shoulders look huge, which was my biggest insecurity.  I loved that despite there being so much material it felt light.  I loved the delicate details of lace throughout; it somehow made it feel romantic and I could immediately picture how the clear sequins would sparkle under the Tuscan sun.  It made me feel like a bride and I did not want to take it off.

I did not decide on this dress straight away and went for coffee with my mum and sister to talk it through.  As soon as my mum asked me if I could picture walking down the aisle to Jamie in that dress, I started to cry.  It was at that moment I said yes to my wedding dress!

After a full day of shopping, trying on every dress in every shop we finally found our dresses! They all wore gorgeous, floor-length, navy blue dresses from John Lewis.

My sister Maria and sister in law Nic both wore the Oliver Bonas bracelets I bought for them.  My little sister Carla does not like bracelets and the dress did not allow for necklaces so she wore no jewellery.

Jamie went for a classic summer look. It consisted of tailored chinos, jacket and slim fit shirt. He opted for no tie as he wanted a smart but relaxed look. He also wore a simple buttonhole with a paisley pocket square and Italian suede loafers.

For the flowers, we wanted a simply stunning look and that is what we felt we got. We wanted flowers which represented a Tuscan wedding. We pictured this as elegant, rustic, breathtaking and romantic.

Jamie proposed to me on a romantic weekend away in London on September 6th, 2015.  He proposed to me in St James’s park because he knew I love it there. There was nobody else around which made it perfectly private. He had asked my dad’s permission sometime before.  

Being proposed to in a park like that felt even more special as my dad proposed to my mum in a park and my brother in law proposed to my sister in a park.  All of these were coincidences as my brother in law and Jamie (to my knowledge) did not know.

I walked down the aisle to Des’ree ‘Kissing You’.  I kept it a surprise and chose that song as I knew how special it was to Jamie.

I have wanted to get married in Italy for as long as I can remember.  My mum’s family is Italian and it has always been a country I have adored.  We both wanted to keep it rustic and simple which is how we ended up with the style we had.

Everything was outside except the party which took place indoors. For the decor, all we used was white bunting and pretty fairy lights.

Our wedding photographer Giuseppe Giovannelli was relaxed, approachable, professional and fun to be around. He worked tirelessly all day. So many of our guests complimented him to us for how hard he worked.  

His photography skills are brilliant, and we are so pleased our wedding planners Sandra and Sara recommended him to us. Without them, we would not have found him and that would have been such a shame.

It is too hard to say what was the most memorable moment as I loved it all. I really loved walking onto the terrace where we all ate as husband and wife. We walked in to Florence and the Machine, ‘You’ve got the love’.  

Our first dance felt particularly incredible too, but also when the sun set over the Tuscan hills, and the terrace was lit up with candles and fairy lights, our breaths really were taken away.

If we could give any advice to other couples planning their wedding day we would say. Enjoy EVERYthing; I really loved planning my wedding and I very rarely got stressed about it (a couple of things made me stressed, but not much!) I made a conscious effort to embrace the planning as I knew the day would be over in a blink of an eye.  

Do not sweat the small stuff.  Have exactly what you want.  Make sure at each section of the day you practice some mindfulness and really absorb how you feel and what everything looks like.

Take some time just you and your new husband. Dance all night if that’s what you want to do, people can come to you on the dance floor. DELEGATE. If you are getting married abroad make sure little things like who announces you or your first dance is planned.

Finally, stop worrying about what you weigh, what your back fat looks like, how toned your arms look, how chubby your cheeks are, how flat your stomach is because there was not one point in the day where any of those thoughts entered my head. I felt beautiful and loved how I looked.

Obsessed with Italian weddings? Us too!

wedding credits / photographer: giuseppe giovannelli / wedding venue: il castello del trebbio / wedding planner: ilbiancoeilrosa / brides dress and veil: eddy k via cheshire bridal / grooms attire: unknown / brides shoes: house of frasier / bridesmaid dresses: john lewis / hair & makeup: friend claire / florist: fiori e fiori / wedding dessert and catering: la sosta del gusto

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