WEDDING BLOG

Emily and Kale’s intimate destination wedding had all the makings of a quintessential Tuscan party: gorgeous views over the Italian countryside, endlessly romantic moments, and a stunning Italian meal under the stars. The Canadian couple’s Villa Le Piazzole wedding was decorated with a natural greenery floral design, accents colors of blush and lavender, and terracotta pots filled with rosemary plants to emphasize Tuscany’s natural beauty. Photographer duo Shari + Mike documented every moment of Emily and Kale’s wedding beautifully, including the impromptu wedding day serenade they received from a traveling a’cappella group!

The Couple:

Emily and Kale

The Wedding:

Villa Le Piazzole, Tuscany, Italy

We wanted our guests to have an experience, something that they would remember and talk about for years to come. With that in mind we started thinking of what we thought our guests would enjoy the most and decided food and a great party needed to be a priority. Armed with our goals we started the search and we landed on Italy for 4 days in a Villa we could rent out exclusively. 

We wanted our guests to experience all that Italy has to offer while keeping the overall look and feel of the wedding tradition and timeless. We started with the venue and chose a 15th century Villa which was surrounded by olive groves and vineyards. We rented the Villa out exclusively so that our guests could enjoy the all of the villa’s grounds. We then welcomed our guests with a pizza party where they learned how make authentic Italian pizzas in a forno oven this gave them the chance to get to know each other.

We were in Piazza del Duomo having photos with our photographers and we were flagged over by a group of people. This group was an a’cappella group who there for a competition and said they would like to sing us a Welsh love song. They started singing a beautiful song and when we looked up the whole square was full of people watching. It was one of those moments that we will keep with us forever.

Kale wore a black custom tailored tux with custom purple paisley silk lining and personalized monograming in his jacket. For accessories he wore black Prada shoes and his cuff link were a family heirloom passed down from my late mother.

When I was thinking about what we would wear we both agreed we wanted to look timeless and classic. I wore a lace Berta Bridal dress which was a backless and had a fun element in the illusion V-neck. I accessorized my dress with pearl drop earrings, a cathedral veil, and blue suede Christian Louboutins.

The wedding ceremony was in a small garden located on the Villa grounds and had a back drop or rolling tuscan hills and we had a tenor serenading them in Italian.

Our wedding was a very intimate including 18 of our closest family and friends. We worked very closely with Sofia, of Tuscan Pledges, to craft our ceremony and wrote our vows to each other to be very personal. The groom’s aunt did a special reading during the ceremony of “How Do I Love Thee.” The most memorable moment was walking down the aisle while the tenor sang, it was very moving. I saw Kale and all of our friends and I realized how lucky we were to have such an amazing group with us in an unbelievable setting.

Groom’s Processional: Bach – Cantata 147
Bridesmaid’s Processional: Pachelbel – Canon in D
Bridal Processional: Andrea Bocelli – Con te Partiro (Live)
Signing Song: John Legend – All of Me
Recessional: Il Volo – Mattinata (Live)
First Dance: Otis Redding- That’s How Strong My Love Is

I can’t say enough about how amazing our photographers were to work with. Mike and Shari go above and beyond to make sure that your are happy and that every shot captures who you are as a couple. They not only produce award winning images they also add an amazing element of fun and friendship to the wedding.

The wedding dinner was something I don’t think I will ever forget, everything was beautifully plated and the service was white gloved and very professional. We ate under the stars and laughed the night away.

As we were coming to Italy from Canada we were not able to do many DIY projects but we did manage to take on the favours for all of the guests. They were small vases which we filled with olive oil from Italy and rosemary sprigs. The favours were also the escort tags which we finished with hand calligraphy.

I think that it is important to pick what really represents you as a couple. We are both people who love to travel, enjoy good food and wine, and we wanted our guests to share in that. I think that we had a lot of “learning curves” for planning a destination wedding of this scale but I also think that it is important to never be deterred from your dream and vision.

The wedding cake was done in a traditional Italian style, this is where they make the cake in front of the guests and ask the bride and groom to help.

Congratulations to Emily and Kale, and a special thanks to Junebug members Shari + Mike for sharing their wedding with us. Can’t get enough of this wedding’s Italian countryside vibes? Then you’ve got to see this gorgeous Tuscany elopement that will make your jaw drop!