Andrea + John by Cristiana Fiorini Photography

On the wedding day, we softened it with watercolours, pastels, and a view overlooking the town.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

We live in New York City with our corgi, Cocoa, who is very much the centre of our little family. John works in finance, and Andrea works in tech, and outside of work we’re both very social and love spending time with our friends, exploring the city, and travelling whenever we get the chance. As we write this, we are celebrating our honeymoon in Japan!

Travel has always been a big part of our relationship and ultimately became part of our wedding story too. We first discovered Santa Margherita Ligure while travelling through Italy together and completely fell in love with it. We never could have imagined on that first trip that we would eventually come back with all of our closest friends and family to get married there.

When we are home, our ideal New York weekend is taking Cocoa on a long walk through the city or to the park, meeting up with friends, and eating our way around our neighbourhood. We’re lucky to live surrounded by some amazing restaurants, including Rubirosa, our favourite pizza spot right across the street.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

We met in late summer 2021 at a bar in the West Village, in what felt like a very typical New York way. We had both moved to the city only a few months earlier and were still meeting people and finding our footing.

Our memories of the first interaction are slightly different. Andrea remembers John coming up, showing off a few dance moves, and then disappearing. John was convinced he had made a fool of himself, but Andrea was actually very impressed. John eventually circled back and struck up a conversation.

We ended up going to three different bars around the city, spending the rest of the night talking and laughing. Andrea’s first impression was that John was incredibly fun and funny, while John remembers Andrea as “mysterious”, something we now find hilarious because she is the ultimate open book. We were pretty much inseparable from that night on.

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).

We were drawn to the natural beauty of Santa Margherita Ligure, such as the architecture, colours, church, and gardens at Villa Durazzo. There was already so much beauty around us that we didn’t want to compete with it. Everything we added needed to feel like it belonged there.

Our signage was the perfect example. For the welcome party, we pulled from the blues and oranges of the sea and beach club umbrellas, added illustrated Aperol spritzes, and suddenly it felt like part of the space. On the wedding day, we softened it with watercolours, pastels, and a view overlooking the town.

We did the same with florals using softer, neutral tones that complemented the gardens. Our whole philosophy was to let the Riviera be the decoration.

What did you enjoy most about the planning process, and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?

One of the things we enjoyed most about planning was watching the wedding slowly take shape together. It almost felt like putting together a puzzle; at the beginning, you have all of these separate ideas, and little by little you start to see how they fit together and what the finished picture is going to look like.

There was so much excitement in each new decision. Finding the venue, choosing the food, seeing a watercolour illustration of the invitations for the first time, deciding which friends would sit together. Every piece made the weekend feel more real. There was this wonderful momentum that built over the year as we watched something we had imagined gradually come to life.

Our biggest advice would be to let yourself enjoy that part of it. Wedding planning can absolutely become stressful if you allow the work and the decisions to overshadow the excitement, but the anticipation is part of the experience too. You spend so much more time looking forward to your wedding than you do actually living the wedding day. Treat it the way you might plan an incredible trip: researching, discovering things together, and getting excited. If you spend a year dreading the planning and only allow yourself to enjoy the wedding day, you’re missing such a special part of the experience.

Tell us about your vendors. Were there any standout suppliers you would like to make special mention of?

We feel incredibly lucky with the team of people who made our wedding happen. So many of our vendors went beyond simply doing their jobs and genuinely added to the experience of the weekend.

The team at Villa Gelsomino, where we stayed with our families, became almost like family to us. We had stayed there on our first trip to Italy and during our venue scouting. By the time our wedding came, we had countless messages back and forth with Maya and her team regarding taxis, rooms, and other special requests. They handled everything with such warmth and made our entire family feel so special throughout our stay.

Our photographer, Cristiana Fiorini, and our videographer, Francesco from 35 Studios, were also incredible. What stood out most was how well they listened to us and made us feel comfortable. They each brought their own creative vision, but really understood what we wanted the day to look and feel like and brought that to life. They were also such a joy to have around that being photographed and filmed felt fun and effortless.

And lastly, there was our band, Britpops. From cocktail hour, to roaming through dinner, to turning the evening into what felt like a live concert, they completely set the energy of the wedding. People are still talking about them, and we genuinely couldn’t imagine having chosen anyone else.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, and is there a story?

One of the most meaningful parts of my wedding look was my veil. It belonged to my cousin, and I remember watching her walk down the aisle in it when I was a little girl. My late grandmother hand-sewed the cathedral-length mantilla veil, choosing the fabric and embroidery. It was so special to have a piece of her with me on such an important day.

The veil helped shape the dress I ultimately chose. My gown was from Sept NYC, and I loved taking a little piece of the city where we met with us to Italy. I wanted something airy, romantic, and unique. My stylist Alyssa helped me with the vision, and we combined elements from different dresses to create a look that felt entirely my own.

John chose a white linen tux jacket that felt perfect for a summer wedding on the Italian Riviera and stood out against his groomsmen’s black tuxedos. It was also a tribute to his grandfather who wore a white tux jacket for his wedding. His grandparents have been happily married for over 60 years, and we look forward to building a life together that will emulate that love.

Tell us about your wedding and engagement rings.

Our rings feel especially personal because we designed all three with Jordan at SDG Private Client, a jeweller and longtime friend from John’s hometown.

John worked with him to create a custom engagement ring incorporating details he knew I would love. After we got engaged, John showed me the original sketches they had worked through together, and seeing the thought and care behind the design made it even more meaningful.

We continued that same approach with our wedding bands, adding small details that felt personal to each of us. We love that all three rings were created by someone who has known John for so long and that each one carries a little piece of our story.

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?).

One thing we knew we were happy to spend a little more on was the music. We both love music, we’re big dancers, and we met while dancing, after all! We knew we wanted a band that could help set the tone for every part of the day.

That was one of the reasons Britpops felt so perfect for us. Their sound was incredibly diverse, and we were able to curate the music around what we loved while trusting them to read the room. They took us from relaxed acoustic music during cocktail hour, to a fun strolling band through the tables during dinner, to a full band performance that felt like a live concert, to finally a late-night DJ set with some of our friends on the mic.

Music has such an ability to change the energy of a room, and we wanted each part of the wedding to have its own feeling while still flowing naturally into the next. Looking back, we’re so happy we prioritised it. Some of our favourite memories are from the dance floor, and hearing how much fun our guests had.

Was there a favourite moment (or two) that you will treasure always?

After cocktail hour, while all of our guests were being seated for dinner, we stayed behind for a few minutes waiting for our entrance.

We were looking out over the sea together, and for a little while we were just quiet, taking everything in. From where we were standing, we could see our guests in the distance, all seated together, talking and laughing. It was one of the first moments all day when everything seemed to slow down.

We had spent so much time planning and looking forward to this weekend, and suddenly we were there having the best day of our lives, surrounded by everyone we loved most in the world. We just looked at each other and had this feeling of immense happiness, some relief that there was nothing left to plan, and a tinge of sadness that it was halfway through. We took a Polaroid of ourselves for our guestbook as a way to remember the moment.

The day moved so fast, so having those few quiet minutes together to look around, be grateful, and really take everything in is something we’ll always treasure.

What does being married mean to you, and are there any special rituals you have that you would like to share?

For us, marriage is about choosing each other every day, in the big moments and the small ones. It’s laughing together while cooking dinner in our tiny apartment, surviving laundry day, and finding joy in all the mundane things that make up most of life.

It’s getting to spend forever with your best friend. Growing together with someone who’s rooting for you and who you get to do the same for. It’s navigating life as a team with each other at the forefront, and at the end of the day, it’s doing all of this with unconditional love.