I really wanted the wedding to feel very Sicilian and vintage.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
I (Julie) am an editor and on-air talent for The TODAY Show in New York City, and Gavin is in the military, so he’s lived all over the country. We love travelling (we’ve been to three continents in three years!), hiking (we’ve hiked the Grand Canyon and a volcano in Guatemala), and we have a Golden Retriever named Chloe. We’re really active people and often work out together, but also love restaurant hopping across NYC in search of the best Italian food.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
We met on the dating app, Hinge. When we first matched, Gavin had to leave town immediately to help his parents move to Florida, so we weren’t able to meet in person yet. In order to keep talking, he sent me daily pictures of Chloe since he knew I loved dogs. When Gavin came back, I debated whether or not to even go on the first date. I had a flight early the next morning for my birthday trip to New Orleans, and was sitting on the floor of my apartment, doing my makeup, sipping wine, and talking it over with my roommate. But I kept thinking, “I should just meet him. He seems so sweet.” The bar — a place called Taproom — was only a few blocks away, after all.
Gavin, nervous and not yet confident navigating the city (he was still new to New York), gave himself plenty of time to find the bar. He arrived 90 minutes early, stood outside in the cold rain for a while, then finally gave in and went inside, texting me that he was “just about to leave,” when in reality, he was already seated and sipping at the bar. I, in classic fashion, was just 15 minutes late.
When we met, Gavin said he was stunned and excited, and I thought he couldn’t have been more of a gentleman. He was instantly easy to talk to. We joke ever since that we’ve never stopped talking. And from that night on, it’s been one beautiful, unending conversation ever since.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood and style of your wedding. (theme, key styling elements, florals, colour palettes etc.).
I really wanted the wedding to feel very Sicilian and vintage. I loved draping fabrics and unique florals. Simona was really the genius behind making my vision come to life.
What styling and visual elements worked best for you? (could be things, the florals, particular hire products or your marquee, etc., something the stylist created or simply just the scenic beauty of your location or the existing design of your venue).
Our venue by itself was extremely beautiful, so it was easier to make the wedding appear gorgeous. I loved the little details, though — our “Sicily” tambourines at each of the guests’ seats, our Testa di Moro favours that each person got for good luck, and even the fabric menus. These small details made the wedding feel more unique and traditional.
What did you enjoy most about the planning process, and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?
My biggest tip is that your wedding will be the best day of your life, no matter what happens. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong on my wedding day (ex. It stormed all day, my fiancé had an allergic reaction on the morning of the wedding and almost needed a doctor, my sister in law and niece didn’t get their passport in time so had to miss their flight, one of our friends completely missed the bus to our ceremony and was unreachable — don’t worry, he made it eventually), and it was still the best day of our lives. Things will go wrong, and it’ll still be so absolutely incredible that it won’t actually matter in the end.
Tell us about your vendors. Were there any standout suppliers you would like to make special mention of?
Alfio, our florist, was incredible. Our entire wedding was originally planned for outside, but the morning of our wedding, we woke up to thunder and pouring rain, so we had to move everything inside. He made our wedding feel like we were walking into a fairy tale. It was GORGEOUS. It felt like he built a garden inside our venue, and I was so impressed.
La Torre Catering also stood out to me — our guests gush the most about how incredible the food was. Our guests keep mentioning how much food we had and how delicious it all was from start to finish. The food was the event.
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, and is there a story?
My Katherine Tash dress was from the first wedding dress shop I went to. I ended up going to 6 more wedding dress shops and trying on 30 more wedding dresses, but I just couldn’t get the Katherine Tash dress out of my mind — I knew it was the one for me. I bought my veil with my cousin from a shop in Messina, Sicily. She lives in Messina, and it was a really beautiful day together finding the perfect veil.
Tell us about your wedding and engagement rings.
My engagement ring is a bezel from Lauren B Jewelry in New York City. I had gone ring shopping with Gavin multiple times and tried on tons of different rings, but he completely surprised me with this one — I love it. We have matching simple gold bands.
What were one or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on? (food, photography, florals, the venue, your outfits?).
We really wanted the food at our wedding to impress our guests, so we added more options to our catering, and I’m so happy we did. Our guests talk about our food more than anything else. Also, the venue was so accommodating and beautiful. We stayed there for two nights and it was the perfect place to be with family and friends — if anything, I wish we had paid for another night!
Was there a favourite moment (or two) that you will treasure always?
Julie: There’s one moment that’s burned into my memory. Standing with my dad at the beginning of the aisle at our ceremony, and seeing Gavin at the end of it. When I saw him, my heart fluttered, and I started tearing up. It was such a powerful moment. Also, when Gavin’s dad was giving a speech, I turned around and looked at my parents, and they were holding hands & both were tearing up, which was really sweet.
Gavin: I’ll never forget doing our entrance into dinner, and as we walked in, everyone was cheering and shaking their tambourines — it was epic.
BRIDE Julie, @jricevuto GROOM Gavin, @its_smith_03 VENUE Commenda di San Calogero, Augusta, Sicily, @commendadisancalogero PHOTOGRAPHER Antonio La Malfa, @antoniolamalfa_fotografo VIDEOGRAPHER Francesco Giorgianni, @sicilywedding_film PLANNER Simona Parisi of Brilliant Wedding, @simona_parisi_brilliantwedding FLORIST Alfio Flowers, @alfioflowers CELEBRANT Ally Moroni of Love & Wine, @loveandwinebyally ENTERTAINMENT That’s Amore Band, @thatsamoreband; DJ Denis Conti, @denis_conti_ CATERING La Torre, @la_torre_catering TAMBOURINES Verygraphy Calligrafia, @verygraphy_calligrafia STATIONERY & MENU Studio Grafico Maze, @studiograficomaze RINGS Lauren B Jewelry, @laurenbjewelry BRIDE’S DRESS Cecilia Dress – Katherine Tash, @katherinetash BRIDE’S ACCESSORIES Earrings – Bride’s mother’s; Wedding Band – Bride’s grandmother’s HAIR & MAKEUP Tannaz Beauty Bar, @tannaz_beautybar SUIT The Black Tux, @theblacktux BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES Jenny Yoo, @jennyyoonyc; V. Chapman, @vchapmanstudio
