Multicultural Rustic Boho Wedding in Eighteenth-Century Italian Villa: Giulia & Shrey

Multicultural Rustic Boho Wedding in Eighteenth-Century Italian Villa: Giulia & Shrey

Shrey and I both envisioned our wedding to happen in the countryside, so nature had to be a core element of our big day. We wanted a rustic feel to our day, with some chic elements that would be in harmony with the environment.

The location we picked was Le Risare (literally “the fields of rice” in Italian) a traditional Venetian eighteenth-century villa (called “Barchessa” in Italian), a place of history and art, immersed in an estate of over 100 hectares.

Words by Giulia. Images by Wild Heart Photo & Film

Rosa Clara

I picked a princessy bridal gown from Aire by Rosa Clara, with lace and tulle. Rosa Clara has always been my favourite wedding designer.

During the reception, as a surprise for my grandmother, I changed into the wedding dress that my mother wore on her wedding day. It was a really emotional moment as the dress was designed by my Grandmother (she was a tailor) who did not know anything about it. She was so surprised and emotional when she saw me in that dress (see the pics in the gallery). My mom’s dress was crafted by my grandmother more than 40 years ago with original YSL fabrics.

For shoes, I picked Italian Handmade leather shoes. I went for a Chanel look. We got the shoes from a small shop I have been going to since I was little. They have their own designs and are able to personalise them.

Wedding Planner

We designed our special day together with Alessio Minotto, who is a well-established Event and Floral Designer, and his business partner Roberto Astarita, who was the Wedding Planner and Coordinator.

The duo is an incredible combination of art and impeccable organisation.

Based in Paris, Alessio has designed events all over the world, especially in Europe and the US and has the unique ability to create dazzling wedding decor sure to take people’s breaths away.

Roberto has extensive experience in the wedding Industry, primarily on the stunning Amalfi Coast that is home to many incredible wedding events.

Candle Ritual

My father walked me down the aisle to Power of Love by Celine Dion, sung by one of my friends. We also had a Unity Candle Ritual which was the most powerful moment of the ceremony. Both our mothers lit the candles and passed them on to us.

During this time, we asked our guests to close their eyes and share a prayer, a wish or a happy thought with us as a couple. We felt so much loving energy around us. Some people meditated, some prayed, and some simply thought about us. It was magical.

Getting Married

We courted each other for almost 5 years before deciding to get married. During this time we moved in together, met each others’ families, and also travelled around the globe. We placed a big importance on making sure we felt comfortable and didn’t rush into getting married.

Even though we come from very different cultures, religions, and family backgrounds, Shrey and I were extremely lucky that our families accepted each other so quickly and whole-heartedly.

Italian Experience

We wanted the wedding to be inspired as much as possible by the Italian tradition. This is because we wanted to give Shrey’s family and friends the complete Italian wedding experience. We do wish to have an Indian Wedding also one day so we preferred to not mix and match too much. Still, we did include small Indian elements in our wedding to emphasise our intercultural relationship.

Being an intercultural couple, we wanted the atmosphere of our big day to feel as inclusive and comfortable as possible. Our wedding guests would be a complex mix of multiple nationalities, religions, cultures, and languages, so we wanted to ensure everyone felt welcomed and cared for.

We wanted the day to feel mindful and warm and for this, we made sure to take every decision very intentionally. We curated the experience to be representing our values as a couple.

Reception Decor

For the reception, Alessio mixed round covered tables and a rectangular wooden one aligned underneath the porch to create movement and harmony. Soft compote centrepieces for the round tables in clay vessels and a series of long centrepieces in iron vessels mixed with aromatic plants in clay pots were placed on the rectangular tables.

The number of flowers was balanced in order to give each species its right value. Iron underplates, a central runner on the long tables and silver silverware completed the design.

Memorable Moments

I would definitely say having both our grandparents being there physically with us would be our favourite memory from the wedding. Shrey’s Nana and Nani were able to fly all the way from India despite all the difficulties of travelling at this age.

My Nonno (Nana) is 90 years old, and he has several health issues so it was never 100% certain that he would be able to make it. The fact that both our grandparents could meet each other was a dream come true for us and our families and friends being in one place for probably the only time in our lives.