Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…
Yves and I met through work – he is an animation director repped by commercial animation studio, Hornet (hellohornet.com) in NYC. I am the head of creative development at the same studio and we worked together for a year before we started to date (he started it).
We were long distance for 2 years before he moved to NYC. Yves is ½ French and ½ German and grew up in Paris. I am from an Italian American family in NY. We are both artists, love to travel, love to eat! He went to culinary school before working in animation so I am very well fed… We come from different worlds but were brought up with the same values and emphasis on culture.
Tell us about your special day, was there a specific theme or style? Tell us a little about the setting, the styling and some of your favourite details…
Our special day was absolutely beyond our expectations. We decided on Italy since our families are scattered all over the globe, everyone would need to travel anyway. So why not go to Italy? I studied abroad in Florence when I was in college and fell in love with the city. Florence was the one and only place my husband had never travelled to…which was crazy to me! He has been almost everywhere in the world. Plus, my Italian Nana was 87 at the time and had not been back to Italy in many years. My family thought it would be a great opportunity to all be together in the home land.
Both of our immediate families (inclusive of aunts/uncles and cousins) stayed on the villa property for the week of the wedding, which made the celebrations that much richer. This probably will be the only time our two entire families will be together in one place. The villa is set 10 minutes from downtown Florence, up in the hillside. We were surrounded by cypress and olive trees.
The theme was really just to create a super effortless, relaxed but chic Tuscan wedding. We wanted the villa and the surrounding landscape to do most of the work… we didn’t want to add too much. Tuscany is all about rustic simplicity and we wanted to let Tuscany itself do the styling. I can’t really pick one favourite detail – it was the combination of it all. The villa itself was modernised just enough but was covered in the most perfect Tuscan, muted pallet. There were frescos in all of the rooms, marble statues…But none of it felt stuffy or too fancy. It just felt like history.
We had our rehearsal dinner in one area of the property, our ceremony in another, cocktail hour by the pool, reception dinner in front of the villa with long tables…dancing inside the villa. The reception table layout and settings in front of the villa with lights that went from the house to the trees overhead might be my favourite look of the day… but the food, from the bread drizzled with olive oil made from olives picked in the backyard of the villa to the burrata filled ravioli…to the midnight snack of paninis… I wish I could do it all over again.
Tell us about your main outfits:
Yves’s suit was a deep royal blue from J.Crew Men’s in NYC. My dress was a Romona Keveza dress that I purchased through Mark Ingram Ateliar in NYC. I wanted something with structure but that felt really simple and was all about the lines. Again, our theme was really to capture a natural simplicity. No crazy frills. I wanted a dress that was easy to walk around in and felt effortless. Yves took his tie off pretty quickly into after the ceremony to complete the look…
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?
When Jessica took us into Florence 30 min before our ceremony started – that was a 20 minute excursion I’ll never forget. She was adamant we go to Piazza Signoria since she had scouted it the days before and knew it would be empty. We were so stressed and anxious but she looked me in the eye and promised me I wouldn’t regret it, so Yves’ brother drove us into the city without telling anyone (which caused a bit of a ruckus back at the villa). Jessica was right…the piazza was empty, we had it all to ourselves except for one lonely man playing music on his violin. Only Italy!! We got to just walk around the streets of Florence as she snapped away…and mentally gear up for the day ahead. It was a beautiful way to calm our nerves, connect and remember what the day is all about.
Walking down the aisle with my dad is another moment I won’t forget. Seeing Yves at the end of the aisle with a backdrop of Tuscan hills, and my dad on my arm was something truly magical.
Also the wedding cake. In Tuscany the traditional wedding cake is a Neapolitan Sheet cake that they piece together as a sort of good luck blessing in front of the guests. This was delicious and really fuTAn.
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?
Hmm. Good question. I think for us it’s always been about empathy. When you can remind yourself that neither party in this partnership is ever coming to a situation to hurt or do harm, even if you don’t agree or are not understanding one another, that moment or two you take before reacting to empathise is so important. Really hearing one another and not snapping to quick judgements, is the only way to build a true partnership that can be sustained through a life time of craziness. Everyone has their own logic, everyone’s feelings are valid, so taking a moment to try to see where the other is coming from, humanises the situation and makes it easier to come together with a clear head.
Photography: Brown Paper Parcel | Ceremony and Reception location: Villa Fonte | Bride’s gown: Romona Keveza gown from Mark Ingram Atelier | Groom’s suit: J.Crew | Engagement ring: Erie Basin | Wedding bands: Karinanoel | Bride’s shoes: Jimmy Choo | Hair and Makeup: Giulia Cresci and Angelo Nenna | Bridesmaid’s attire: Shona Joy | Styling: Olivia Magris | Planner: Authentic Italy | Flora: Happy Flowers | Catering, Beverages and Cake: L’Oste Gentiluomo Ricevimenti | Wine: Fattoria di Fugnano | Wedding Paper goods: Alstampa |
