After one longer trip, we came back home, but at that time, we were still living separately, and that felt not right – we realized that being close to each other made us much happier than living alone.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
We are Kotryna and Benediktas, a couple from Lithuania; we live and work here. We really like active free time, and we always have various plans for trips and outings. We absolutely love the sea, that’s why we spend a lot of time in one of the most beautiful towns in Lithuania – Palanga, Benediktas is a beginner surfer and also loves cycling. My hobbies is a bit simpler, little by little I am discovering the pleasure of running. We both love hiking, so we have set ourselves the goal of taking at least ten thousand steps every day. We also have our tradition of going to our favourite cafe during our lunch break to drink coffee.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
We met in a modern way – on Tinder, almost eight years ago. For two weeks, we only wrote a few messages per day, which took an hour to write back because the messages were very long – about five hundred words. Even before our first meeting, it seemed like we had known each other for a very long time. We chatted about various topics, and we even started planning feature trips. When messages took too much time to reply, we finally decided to meet in person and continue our conversations. Both of us were a little nervous that messaging and real conversations are not the same thing and we will have nothing more to talk about. But it was just an unnecessary little fear because when we met for the first time, our long messages turned into long conversations while walking the streets of Vilnius. Nowadays when we share our memories about first date, we ask each other what the first impression was, Benediktas first noticed my shiny shoes and curly hair. The first thing I noticed was the frozen smile on Benedikta’s face. Our date was in a very cold winter, and it was snowing heavily, but being together, those harsh weather conditions didn‘t matter to us.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
Together, we had a few short trips to other countries where we found out more surprising things about each other. Like in Scotland, we both know English, but a Scottish accent for Benediktas was an impossible task, he couldn’t understand what people were saying, and he was just looking into me with his smiling face, other hand, I could understand easily, but couldn’t reply it in Scottish accent, like Benediktas could – we both a make great duo. After one longer trip, we came back home, but at that time, we were still living separately, and that felt not right – we realized that being close to each other made us much happier than living alone. From that moment we both decided to move in together. From that moment, we couldn’t imagine being separate.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
From our first dates, we both started to like various long walks in nature. Many of those hikes were at the Lithuania seaside which became our every year tradition. We have participated in several hiking events that have also been a good test of our relationship. One weekend in March, while resting by the sea, we planned a hike to our beloved place, which can only be reached by foot, but we spontaneously turned completely in the other direction and hiked to the Lithuanian border. We were completely alone almost the whole way, and we didn’t meet a single person. When we almost reached the border mark of Lithuania, we saw a very nice swing on a high dune, where we sat down to relax. Soon the other hikers joined in and disturbed the silence we were enjoying, but after they left, we continued to have a snack on the swing, and a few moments later, quite unexpectedly, Benediktas pulled out a ring from his jacket pocket. It was an extremely sensitive and sweet moment in our most beloved place in Lithuania.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding.
When planning a wedding in Italy, we wanted to blend in with the astonishing Italy natural beauty. We dreamed of a traditional Tuscan villa with a beautiful courtyard surrounded by fields and forests. The original idea was to have a small pizza party without a dinner table. However, throughout the planning, our ideas changed a bit. After choosing the villa, it was much easier to imagine everything, how the celebration and ceremony should look like. We decided that there would be a dinner table after all, and then the ideas for the decor were born. For example, the table was decorated with clay pots with Italian herbs and succulents. We also wanted to incorporate Italian lemon and olive details into the decor. The entire decor was dominated by shades of nature. Our desire was to have a modest wedding, we wanted to simply blend in with nature and create the entire environment in such a way that everything was harmonious and real. Our wedding was not the biggest, just our closest friends and family came. We wanted this gathering in Italy to be for everyone so that everyone feels good and enjoys being together. I think the final version exceeded expectations. Everything looked very harmonious and tasteful. Our ceremony took place in the courtyard of the villa, near the beautiful Tuscan trees.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
One thing we didn‘t hesitate at all to splurge on was our chosen Villa. From the very beginning, we dreamed that our wedding in Italy should last for several days so that after the day of celebration, we would still have a day off to enjoy free time with friends and family. So we rented the villa for three nights although the price became pretty high. We still had about a year till our weddings and we were travelling in Italy, so we decided to check Vila live. Once we saw it, from the first moment, there was no doubt left that it was a perfect choice. The villa was so beautiful we couldn’t believe that our celebration would be held here. It was a bit of a shame that not all the guests could fit in this villa, so we had to rent extra places elsewhere. Luckily we managed to find a beautiful small vineyard hotel where we could accommodate everyone else. Those two accommodation places were so great we didn‘t regret splurging on them.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
We were most worried about the heat, which is extremely hot in Tuscany in August, but there was a gentle breeze throughout the day and that heat was no longer a concern. During the time while the bride was already getting ready, a fire started in our sight not so far from our wedding place. The guests started to watch it out of interest, but after fifteen minutes, that fire started to spread pretty fast. We were worried whether our weddings would be postponed or even cancelled. The direction of the wind was unpredictable but in our favour at that time. When the helicopters and plane arrived and started to pour water, it became a little calmer. Our wedding was supposed to start at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, so by that time, the firemen had managed to successfully put out the fire. Another not-so-terrible thing that happened on the day of the celebration was that when we went to the registry office to sign the documents, they had a completely different surname of Benediktas, which caused a little laughter and a little anxiety, we didn’t know how everything would be resolved at that moment, but the employees very quickly sorted out. However, no matter what the situation was, we felt extremely relaxed that day, we didn’t have to worry about anything or think about anything, we could enjoy time with our loved ones.
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
When choosing a costume, we took into account the fact that our celebration would be in nature, so we wanted natural colours and materials that would blend in with Tuscan nature. Linen seemed to us to be the most suitable option for hot weather. We searched for such options, we could chose among various shades of nature – sandy, brown, gray, until we found green, like the shade of olive leaves. Since we value simplicity a lot, we didn’t want the traditional option – a shirt. We chose comfort, knowing that the Italian sun and heat are guaranteed, so we chose to combine the jacket with a white T-shirt. The saleswoman was very persuasive to take a classic option – a shirt, but we stayed with our decision.
I had a very clear desire for the dress to be short and comfortable, in which I could feel free. I like to feel comfortable in everyday life, so I imagined a dress that I could wear all day long. I had one and only idea for a dress a long time ago, so we implemented it together with the designer. It took quite a long time to get the final version of it, its construction is quite complex. For such a dress model, we had to visit all the material stores until we found the most suitable fabrics. We avoided low-quality and cheap materials, but after a long search, we found two materials from which my wonderful dress was born. I’ve known since I was a kid that I definitely wouldn’t wear high heels to my wedding, I still haven’t learned how to walk in them until today, so I chose shoes that are both elegant and extremely comfortable. The most beautiful detail of the outfit was my headband, which was made by the dressmaker from various leftovers of silk material.
VENUE Villa Cini, Bucine, @villacinituscany PHOTOGRAPHER Vilma Deveikyte, @vilmadeveikyte.photography VIDEOGRAPHER Romas Bistrickas, @romasbistrickas PLANNER & FLORIST Olga Raskauskiene, @ciao_weddingstories CELEBRANT Gintare Elena, @gintare.celebrant ENTERTAINMENT Brand New Swing, @brandnewswing HIRE, MARQUE, CAKE Class Ricevimenti, @class_ricevimenti STATIONERY Sugar Letters, @sugar.letters ENGAGEMENT RING Formes Jewelry, @formesjewelry; WEDDING RINGS Mellow Jewellery, @mellowjewellery SUIT Suit Supply, @suitsupply GROOM’S SHOE Massimo Dutti, @massimodutti GROOM’S HAIR Kristina Busilaitė, @kristinabu_makeup BRIDAL DRESS Neringa Geige BRIDE’S SHOE Alohas, @alohas BRIDE’S ACCESSORIES Mellow Jewellery, @mellowjewellery HAIR & MAKEUP Kristina Busilaitė, @kristinabu_makeup BRIDE’S FRAGRANCE BYREDO – Blanche EDP, @officialbybyredo
