Sarrah + Kyle by Ria Georgia - Together Journal

We went for a classy, timeless, Italian-themed wedding.

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

Sarrah is a realtor based in Los Angeles, and she is very passionate about the industry she works in. She works very long hours. Kyle is a prop master for reality TV shows; he travels all over the world for work. He is very handy, creative, and has a great eye for design. We have two hairless cats that are our pride and joy, Jasper & Jinx. On our days off, we love to lounge at home with them, watch a good movie or binge a show and eat sushi.

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

We’ve been dating since 2015. We met at a high school party. We did not go to the same school, but we had a lot of mutual friends. We immediately clicked, cracked jokes with each other, and ended up finishing the night/early morning at a park with Del Taco, spending hours together! And the rest is history 🙂

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?

During college, we had a little break from each other, and we both realised that it was a mistake. The separation made our relationship much stronger and ultimately put things into perspective. We both feel like we matured a lot from that period of time apart, and we were able to link back up as better versions of ourselves.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood and style of your wedding. (theme, key styling elements, florals, colour palettes etc.).

I wanted the beauty of the natural scenery of Lake Como to be the highlight. I really let the landscape, the lake, and the design of the hotel speak for itself. We went for a classy, timeless, Italian-themed wedding. We specifically did not want a ton of flowers, candles, decor, etc., because we felt that it would take away from the natural beauty of Lake Como. Kyle and I work a lot and we know weddings are stressful events. We’ve witnessed friends of ours go through financial distress after over-the-top weddings, we’ve seen them stress for months while planning, and we’ve seen them upset on the wedding day when a small hiccup occurred. We both did not want that, and we wanted it to feel as stress-free as possible, and we did not want the planning process to consume our days. We wanted it to feel like we just woke up that morning and got married.

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).

The scenic beauty of our location was really all we needed. Grand Hotel Tremezzo is a breathtaking property.

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

At first, we were so back and forth with our wedding planning. We were considering locations in Mexico, California, and Vegas. However, none of the locations were speaking to us. I have a college friend who posted photos of her elopement in Italy, and I felt like it was a sign that this is what Kyle & I needed to do. Kyle & I have always wanted to go to Italy, so we researched different areas and absolutely fell in love with Lake Como. I really enjoyed using TikTok for my research! We have never been to Lake Como, so we literally started from scratch with our planning process. There were great reviews, recommendations, and real videos of the spaces we were interested in. After stumbling upon the iconic Grand Hotel Tremezzo, I learned that they offer an elopement package. This was incredible as we did not have to worry about planning the details of the wedding, and we mostly spent the planning process towards the vacation aspect of the trip. We went with their elopement package but tweaked a few things since we did a mini wedding with our immediate family.

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

I ended up picking the very first wedding dress that I tried on! The veil that I fell in love with just so happened to be one of the last veils of this kind, as they were no longer going to make them. The veil was hand-sewn in Italy! Very awesome coincidence.

What was 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?).

The venue is 100%! Grand Hotel Tremezzo is very pricey but the amenities were so worth it. It’s also so beautiful, all of our wedding photos & day before photos were taken there. We didn’t need any other locations!

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?

OMG, our first dance. We totally did not even plan this, but we played one of our favourite songs during dinner and got up to dance together in front of our family. We both have zero dance skills, and we were so out of sync #embarrassing. I wish we would have taken a dance class together so we could have learned the basics.