Ash + Richard’s minimalist Masseria wedding in Puglia
Photo: Angela Trabocci Photography
Ash and Richard fell in love with the minimalist beauty that is Puglia early on in their relationship, but it wasn’t until plans were coming together for a London celebration they both realised that Italy held their dream wedding. “As soon as Puglia was mentioned, we both jumped on the idea and within a week we had nailed down a venue, a caterer, a bar service, lighting and a planner - everything just fell into place!”
Married at Masseria Angiulli Piccolo in May, and despite a few hiccups along the way, the couple were fated to marry on a sunny day. With their budget set to 23,000 EUR, they hosted fun pre and post wedding events and a relaxed, happy wedding day; only pushing over their initial figure so as to include the stretched tent…never trust an Italian summer!
Wondering how they managed their budget? Ash kindly gives us the inside scoop!
We saved money by not having a proper ceremony, instead choosing to say our vows during the drinks reception ahead of dinner. I was adamant I didn’t want to walk down an aisle, so this was perfect for us.
Our table decorations were just eucalyptus leaves with candles.
We self-catered at the Masseria for the pre and post wedding drinks. We asked everyone to bring a bottle of their favourite Italian supermarket wine - it was great fun. We then had loads leftover for the after party so it was perfect.
We filled the Masseria with family who paid for their own rooms, which reduced our venue fee to a very small amount.
SUPPLIER TEAM
Venue: Masseria Angiulli Piccolo | Wedding planner: Sona Weddings | Photographer: Angela Trabocci Photography | Caterers: Rotondo | Bar: JoBar | Lighting: Gio Lighting | Tent: Vision Stretch Tents | Transport: Antico Viaggi
How you first met?
“Richard and I met on Hinge in 2018! It’s safe to say I had been on enough app dates to know that this was different! We shared a love of travel, culture, landscapes and the outdoors so it was only natural we got engaged on a remote lock in Scotland and married in Italy.”
“We hadn’t done a tasting and just trusted our gut based on recommendations - mildly anxiety inducing!”
“Probably the biggest hiccup was one of our suppliers double booking us.”
Why did you choose Italy?
“Richard and I had been to Puglia early on in our relationship. We fell in love with the landscapes, the lighting, the sunsets and the relaxed lifestyle of the locals. We returned when I was pregnant with our baby, George so it had become a really significant place for us.”
Best money spent?
“I have to say our bar service. We used JoBar, a well known supplier in Puglia. They were amazing. We had the most gorgeous free flowing cocktails all night. They looked stunning and everyone was raving about them. When we started the planning process our first priority was having an open bar serving cocktails all night, JoBar not only delivered but for a surprisingly good price too!”
Stand out Supplier
“I find it really hard to choose! I honestly think they were all amazing. But aside from Sona Weddings, our planners, it would have to be our caterer, Rotondo. The food was amazing and they were incredibly professional on the day. We had so many of our guests comment on the food which was a relief (we hadn’t done a tasting and just trusted our gut based on recommendations - mildly anxiety inducing!).”
Stand out moment
“We chose May because the previous year when we were doing our planning it had been warm and dry. But this year, it was wet. VERY wet! It rained almost every day of our wedding week, and whilst we had a good plan B in place (we had paid the deposit for a stretch tent) we would have preferred not to use it. As it happened the weather cleared in the most glorious way for one day and one day only - our wedding day. I could see it happening on the forecasts but I refused to believe it. When I woke on our wedding day I ran to the window and opened shutters to the most beautiful clear blue skies and my heart sang - my dreams had come true and the sun was coming out. It was WAY too unpredictable not to put the stretch tent up so we did end up using it despite the clear day.”
Any advice you have for future couples
“Hire a wedding planner, just do it. You might think you can do it on your own, but you can’t and you’ll only get so far. Get one early on in the process and enjoy it. And budget for a plan B! I didn’t, so I got a shock when we suddenly needed to find an extra 5000 euros. I knew we needed one when we chose our Masseria, but I buried my head in the sand a bit until it was crunch time. ”
“Hire a wedding planner, just do it. You might think you can do it on your own, but you can’t and you’ll only get so far.”
Favourite styling feature
“We didn’t have a huge budget for styling - I had chosen Masseria Angiulli Piccolo because I fell in love with its minimalist charm and I wanted it to shine on its own. To compliment the Masseria at night we had chosen a hanging sky of lights from Gio Lighting, however at the last minute we had to change this to festival lighting inside the stretch tent. It looked absolutely stunning and hard to believe we didn’t initially plan for it to be this way.”
“Mostly everything went smoothly - apart from the unavoidable panic about the weather from about 2 weeks out!”
Did anything go wrong?
“I really wanted to go with this particular supplier so I was devastated when I found out they had booked 2 weddings on the same day and couldn’t fulfil our booking. The other wedding had priority, so our only option was to choose a different supplier or move dates. By this point, we had already sent our invites out so it didn’t feel like an option to change the actual day of our wedding. After a bit of back and forth, we realised we could move the wedding to the day of the welcome drinks which most people had RSVP’d to. I am so happy we did, this particular supplier was outstanding and I can’t imagine my wedding without them. Not to mention, the weather on the Friday was absolutely stunning, whilst the weather on Saturday was diabolical - I like to think we had some good karma that day!”
SUPPLIER TEAM
Venue: Masseria Angiulli Piccolo | Wedding planner: Sona Weddings | Photographer: Angela Trabocci Photography | Caterers: Rotondo | Bar: JoBar | Lighting: Gio Lighting | Tent: Vision Stretch Tents | Transport: Antico Viaggi
Choosing which venue will host your dream Italian wedding is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. You need to know the place inside and out to be help decide if it’s right for you. To help with this, we have compiled the top questions to ask your venue….you need to read this!
Categories
PLANNING | REAL WEDDING | BUSINESS | SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT | INSPIRATION | WANDERLUST
