Helena + Blair’s whirlwind rom-com wedding in stunning Montalcino
Photography: Studio Chloe David
Helena & Blair’s Tuscan wedding was not glitch-free, but which romantic comedy ever is? Set in the magnificent Antico Convento I Cappuccini (an ancient Convent with atmospheric cloisters), the haphazard start was quickly replaced by joy and laughter filling the Tuscan night. This is one wedding to keep you on your toes!
Having a sense of humour proved handy for the couple, as many challenges were faced, even on the wedding day itself. Helena and Blair opted to plan their own wedding and really experienced first hand the magnitude of this under-taking. Fortunately being a die-hard rom-com fan, Helena knew oh so well the comical hiccups of a wedding. From the threat of rain with no plan B booked, supplier cancellations, through to the wedding car’s arrival without the pre-booked driver. And cars continued to be problematic, as the glam bridesmaids even had to give theirs a helpful shove up a tricky track! A late bridal party might have had the groom a little sweaty under collar, but like every good Richard Curtis movie - boy did they all know how to party afterwards.
SUPPLIER TEAM
Photography: Studio Chloe David | Venue: Antico Convento I Cappuccini | Catering: Italian Taste Lodovichi
Why did you choose to plan the wedding yourselves?
“It was for budget reasons. I also think at the time having a wedding planner felt a bit extravagant – it all sounds very J-Lo in The Wedding Planner (a classic, but still) – but with an abroad wedding and language barrier, there’s lots you can’t easily do from home so I’m sure a wedding planner would have taken out a huge amount of stress.
We did have an introductory Zoom with Lucy from Wiskow & White initially; I knew I could trust her and I hadn’t seen anyone else who could compete. But at the time we couldn’t justify spending the extra money, although realistically I think good wedding planners often save you their fee in mistakes we were bound to make along the way”. Helena
What was the standout moment of the day for you?
“Despite it being a cathedral wedding, at the end of the ceremony we walked out to ‘Crocodile Rock’ by Elton John, which just made us laugh and was a huge release of some of the nerves of the morning!’ Helena - bride
What was the biggest challenge when planning your wedding?
“I would say different standards in terms of communication and deadlines, and not speaking any Italian! Nothing happened very quickly once we started planning, which is partly why some elements were so last minute.” Helena - bride
How did you approach your wedding planning to make sure the day was what you wanted and felt personal to you?
“Of all the worries we had about the wedding, and there were many…!, the day not being personal was not one of them. Due to a combination of budget, wanting to do some elements ourselves, being too late to secure some suppliers and also some cancellations in the run up, it was quite a ‘DIY’ wedding so it was always going to feel quite personal.
We struggled to get a reasonably priced florist that I liked, so I ended up ordering flowers from a wholesaler to be delivered to our villa, then I cut them all down and arranged them with my mum the day before. I’m not sure I’d recommend this as it was a lot of work when we had other things going on (and unless you were planning on green nails for the big day, it's not ideal from a manicure point of view either…).
I bought white linen napkins and my lovely sister embroidered each napkin with each guest’s name, to act as their place setting as well as something for them to take home. My friend is an artist and she very kindly painted the menu, which my parents then printed. My Maid of Honour hand painted pictures for us to use on our online invitations as well as on our order of service.” Helena - bride
How would you describe the vibe on the day?
I sound like a real calamity Karen (did I mention we missed our flights to our wedding?) but a lot went wrong on the wedding morning. Our hair & make-up artist cancelled on the day due to illness; the bridal car was supposed to come with a driver but he left after he dropped it off, but everyone just pulls together in these situations.
My now sister-in-law helped with hair and everyone had been delegated various jobs from flowers, menus, napkins to clearing up the kitchen, or feeding the bridesmaids; it was a mad rush but it was brilliant.
After the ceremony, the drinks and music were flowing from around 3pm-3am so it descended into some health-and-safety-unapproved crowd-surfing in the cloisters and skinny-dipping.” Helena - bride
Best money spent?
“Catering (& booze) and the villa itself, Antico Convento I Cappuccini. We used Italian Taste Lodovichi for catering, who were definitely at the fancier end, but they had done a wedding before at our villa. The food was brilliant (we had truffle ravioli, wild boar ragu pappardelle & tagliata steak); eating outside and doing speeches on long tables with the view of the sunset at one end and Tuscan hills at the other was even more beautiful than we’d hoped for.
Our photographer (Studio Chloe David) was also brilliant – she’s somehow made us and our wedding look a LOT more polished than it was and was unbelievably kind and calm on the day.” Helena - bride
Planning tips
Organisation & Communication
“It sounds glaringly obvious (and we ignored this, naturally), but I think the best thing you can do is get really organised. The earlier you can book suppliers and ideally speak to them properly (on Zoom if not in person) so you have a personal relationship with them, the better.
Wet weather plan
We loved our villa, however it’s not a hotel with a dining room suitable for seating 100+ guests if it rains. We decided to risk it and not put a deposit down for a marquee and thankfully the forecast improved in the week running up, but my advice would be to budget for a marquee, or have a venue that can seat people indoors if necessary, so that you’re not frantically refreshing and comparing 4 different weather apps, on the verge of a breakdown.
August Italy holidays
In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have still been scrambling around for some suppliers in August, a month before our wedding(!), but we were and we didn’t realise how seriously Italians take their August holiday, so they’re very unlikely to reply to emails or even be able to pass the enquiry on to a team member. So I would assume that no one will respond in August and plan around that!” Helena - bride
Advice for other couples planning an Italian wedding?
“Do research and find a venue that you’re genuinely excited about – it doesn’t need to be a traditional wedding venue. Think about the features you actually really do want and start with that.
To find a more affordable venue than lots we’d seen online, I contacted basically every large holiday rental villa in Tuscany/Umbria with gardens, a pool, 15+ rooms etc I could find, and asked whether it would be an option to hold our wedding there.
Our celebrations were actually spread over three days – casual welcome drinks the night before in town, the wedding day itself and then on Sunday a pizza pool party at the villa for those who could stomach it. I’d really recommend more than one day of celebrations so you have more time with everyone.” Helena - bride
SUPPLIER TEAM
Photography: Studio Chloe David | Venue: Antico Convento I Cappuccini | Catering: Italian Taste Lodovichi
Written by Becky McCall, energetic styling enthusiast; admirer of all small wedding details and loves a good insta-inspo session.
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