Cruising in a 1959 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider, bride Francesca looks glamorous beyond measure in her crimson lace wedding dress and gold Casadei peeptoes. After tying the knot with her husband Diego at Rudiano, Italy’s Town Hall, the happy couple joined their friends and family for a fabulous party where wedding photographer Daniele Del Castillo captured it all!
The Couple: Francesca and Diego
The Wedding: 6.8.2013 – Town Hall, Rudiano, Italy
The Goals: The most important thing for us was the exchange of the rings and when we went out to the town hall where all our friends were waiting for us.
The Inspiration: I love old cars, especially Alfa Romeo, so we kept that style as an inspiration for the wedding. We wanted to keep our passions at the center of it all and to make the wedding be truly “us”! The ceremony was meant to feel modern and stylish. We wanted for the whole day to be fun and light but stay chic and glamorous!
The Photography: Daniele Del Castillo was fantastic! He was there with us, photographing us all day long but we never felt his presence. The resulting photos are incredible!
The Wedding Team:
Photographer: Daniele Del Castillo
Ceremony Venue: Town Hall of Rudiano, Italy
Officiant: Mayor of Rudiano
Catering: Longhi S.r.l.
Florist: Longhi S.r.l.
Cake: Longhi S.r.l.
Wedding Dress: Made by the Mother of the Bride
Bridal Shoes: Casadei
Bridesmaids’ Apparel: Michael Kors
Groom’s Apparel & Accessories: Prada
Hair & Makeup: Acconciature Bina
DJ: Stefano Sangalli
Car: 1959 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider
Thank you Francesca and Diego for sharing your glamorous wedding day with us!
Thinking of having a destination wedding? Getting married abroad is becoming more and more common lately, but it is essential to be prepared for the requirements necessary to be married outside your own country. We’ve connected with Italian wedding planner Alessia Santa of White Emotion to learn a little more about what it takes to get married outside of your legal country of residence.
Junebug: What laws do you need to abide by for a marriage to be considered legal in both your country of residence and wherever you choose to tie the knot?
White Emotion: You need to abide by both! You need to be compliant with your country’s laws and the country’s laws where you are get married. Once you are legally married in one country, you are legally married in your country as well! Be sure to look into both country’s legal requirements, as they are oftentimes different.
Junebug: What kind of preparation is necessary to getting married abroad?
White Emotion: It depends on your citizenship and where your legal country of residence is, but as a general guideline, you need to prepare the following documents: you will need to produce your Birth Certificate, documentation of termination of any previous marriage and most importantly, an Affidavit which is the final declaration to be made before the consulate or embassy stating that you are free to marry. We advise couples to start the process 6 months in advance and to arrive to their destination at least five days before the wedding to be sure that everything is in order.
Junebug: Do many couples simply wait until they return home to make the marriage legal?
White Emotion: It is definitely easier, because you skip all the document preparation. Actually most of the time couple get married in their country before coming to Italy for the big celebration with relatives and friends. This is a great way to avoid all the preparation necessary to be married abroad.
Junebug: What is the most important piece of advice you can give to couples getting married abroad?
White Emotion: The biggest piece of advice that I would give is to hire a local planner who is familiar with legal requirements and with the location. And don’t forget to enjoy the long celebration with your nearest and dearest. It will be an experience that everyone will remember and talk about for years to come!
Hosting a destination wedding on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland was a dream come true for newlyweds Jenn and Jeff, who always thought of the small coastal town of Dingle as their home away from home. With family traveling from all over the world, it was more important than ever to celebrate the local culture, cuisine and beautiful landscape that surrounded them. With camera in hand, Eric Savoie of Savo Photography was there to capture it all!
The Goals: Our guests were our top priority. We had a destination wedding, so all of our 40 guests had to travel to Ireland. We wanted our guests to experience all the Dingle Peninsula had to offer and fall in love with Ireland just as we had on our first trip there together more than eight years before. We created a detailed wedding website with places to go and things to do on the Dingle Peninsula, and greeted our guests with welcome bags filled with travel brochures, restaurant listings, tea bags, personalized koozies, local postcards and custom, hand-painted wedding map cards outlining the events scheduled during the three days our guests were in town.
We are foodies, so good food and beverage was another priority. As Dingle was recently crowned the top foodie town in Ireland 2014, we knew it would not be difficult to source fresh, local, delicious food for all of our events. For our wedding reception at Ballintaggart House, we let Chef Ian take the lead and prepare an amazing four-course Irish dinner featuring a smoked salmon appetizer, leek and potato soup, a main course choice of Kerry beef or sea bass, and strawberry panna cotta for dessert. Later in the evening while our guests were enjoying the bourbon we brought with us from the States, we served a midnight snack of brick oven pizza and ice cream.
Another priority for us was “keeping it local” by sourcing as many items as we could from Ireland, and specifically Dingle. When we started planning our wedding, we made two prior trips to Dingle to meet with vendors and get to know the locals, and we wanted to show our support by incorporating local touches into our wedding day. We think this really enhanced our wedding because we supported the local businesses and gave our guests a taste of something they can only get in Dingle.
The Design: We wanted to highlight the beautiful scenery of the Dingle Peninsula and our reception venue, Ballintaggart House, so we created a “shabby chic” atmosphere with a lot of natural fabrics, wood and herbs. We met with our florist, Ann Marie O’Leary, twice before our wedding, and she took our vision and translated it into an amazing design that perfectly complemented the natural beauty of Ballintaggart House. We brought wooden, Booker’s Bourbon boxes from the States, and Ann Marie stained them and used them for our table centerpieces, filling them with fragrant herbs (basil, rosemary and cat nip), hydrangeas, white and purple lilacs, roses, and sweet peas. The tables were decorated with burlap table runners, and we used wine corks to hold up our shamrock shaped escort cards.
The Moments: Probably the most memorable part of the day was upon our arrival at the wedding reception. As a nod to Jenn’s Slovak heritage (and to honor her Slovakian relatives in attendance), we incorporated a Slovak wedding tradition into the reception. When we arrived at Ballintaggart House, Jenn’s cousin was supposed to break a plate on the ground and we were to work together to sweep up the pieces, which symbolizes cooperation and working together in the marriage, all while the best man (Jeff’s brother, Sean) tried to kick the pieces of the plate away from us. Well, Sean took “kick the plate” a little too literally and kicked it while it was in midair, shattering the plate and sending shards of porcelain everywhere. We ducked for cover but luckily no one was harmed in the incident, although we did end up getting quite a good video of an American’s interpretation of a Slovak tradition.
The Photography: We were looking for a photographer with something a little bit different; something that didn’t look like “everyone else’s wedding photos”. We got that and more from Savo Photography. When we first saw Eric’s photos and how he took advantage of landscape and lighting, we knew that he was the one we wanted to preserve our wedding memories. We consider Dingle one of the most beautiful places in the world, so we wanted a photographer that could really incorporate the natural beauty of the Dingle Peninsula into our wedding photos. It was also very important to us to have an Ireland-based photographer rather than bringing someone with us from the States. We wanted someone who was used to working in the Irish climate and could use the changes in weather, the clouds and peeks of sun to create amazing photographs. We took some time to meet with Eric when we were visiting Ireland a few months before our wedding, and he got to know us as a couple and saw our vision for our wedding. He really listened to us and captured some truly memorable moments. He gave us enough direction for photos, but also took some wonderful candid shots. During certain parts of the day, you didn’t even realize he was there – the trait of a great photographer.
The Advice: If you’re planning a destination wedding, make sure it’s a meaningful destination to you – if you’re able, travel to the location a few times before the wedding and take the time to get to know the locals. Having this kind of connection to your wedding location really makes your wedding day that much more special – you’re getting married at your home away from home, and sharing your love for each other and that place with your closest friends and family.
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