Jamie + Mark’s lively Tuscan wedding
Photo: Harry Michael
When there is a bride and groom in the pool at the end of the night, you know it was a banging wedding! Jamie and Mark celebrated their Tuscan wedding with 95 guests at the classic Italian venue, Villa di Ulignano. From the lively impromptu dancing at dinner, intertwined with emotional speeches, to the groom’s duet with Italian tenor; the couple sure knew how to blend the energy with meaningful moments.
“From our extremely personal symbolic ceremony held by our brother-in-law, to the most emotional and hilarious speeches and finally to a riotous dance floor and jumping in the pool. WHAT A DAY.” Jamie, bride.
And what a team; with collaborations from some of La Lista’s finest suppliers this wedding was always going to be big, but the energy and exceptional delivery deserves a moment’s applause! Now let’s get into the good stuff…
SUPPLIER TEAM
Venue: Villa di Ulignano | Planners: Parade Wedding | Caterers: Lodovichi | Photographer: Harry Michael | Videographer: The Geldenhuyses | Florist: Winston & Winston | Lighting: Central House | HMU: Ariana Rose |Groomsmen Fashion: Reiss | Car: Slow Hills | Stationery: Peonies & Paperclips | Musicians: Omero & Friends | String Quartet: Florence String Quartet | Sax: Lorenzo Sax | Bar: Brindapino | Bridal Fashion: Essense of Australia from Eleganza; 2nd bespoke dress from Nutmeg Couture | Bridal shoes: Badgley Mishka | Bridesmaid Fashion: Pretty Lavish
About the engagement
“After 2 years of lockdown, we decided to host a Christmas / New Year / 30th birthday celebration with all of our friends and family at Blencowe Hall (a 14th century castle in Cumbria). Mark suggested that we go for a dog walk through the countryside and on the walk we came across a beautiful lake with swans. Before I knew it, Mark was down on one knee! We then returned to the castle where we had the biggest and best celebration with everyone! The only downside was that after too much partying, 22/24 of our guests caught covid and it became known as the "COVID castle". However, it also meant that due to isolation rules at the time, my best friend and bridesmaid Iona came to live with us for 10 days as a newly engaged couple.”
“For any couples considering getting married abroad - DO IT! It was honestly the best decision we ever made.”
What was your budget?
“Our initial budget did not get stuck to very strictly…but we had the best time of our lives and don’t regret a thing! Best money we ever spent. Once we got into the planning, we soon discovered that certain elements were much more expensive than we had ever thought and so we ended up over our budget by about 30%. Also with inflation, we found that certain suppliers increased their prices significantly despite the fact we had signed contracts with them about a year prior to the wedding. This meant that we had to re-think some of our styling, for example, we had to choose a lot more greenery and reduce our flower arrangements but if anything, it only complimented our surrounding.”
About the venue
“The starting point was to find the most incredible venue which suited our needs, numbers and wildest dreams down to the ground. The idea was to find an old Italian villa which would not only be the setting for the wedding day but that could accommodate as many of our guests as possible and that had that WOW effect. Villa di Ulignano ticked so many boxes for us and gave us the flexibility to really put our own stamp on our wedding from choosing our ceremony location, to lighting to external catering and so much more. What appealed most was the fact it had no neighbours or curfews, so the party could continue well into the night.”
How did you approach the styling to make it personal to you?
“In terms of the day itself, we wanted the styling to complement the beautiful villa and so we chose green and gold tones throughout. Our florist nailed the brief and created a beautiful asymmetrical arch for our ceremony which created a focal point without taking away from the stunning views. We also put so much thought into the small details such as the welcome packs for our guests, the menus, the music and the stationery (including personalised newspapers on the morning of the wedding) all of which were personal to us and which went down incredibly well with our guests.”
What was your biggest challenge?
“We had booked Parade as an on the day co-ordinator which meant that we were responsible for organising all of the suppliers and every small detail ourselves, which wasn't easy given the fact neither of us had ever experienced an abroad wedding! At times, we felt completely overwhelmed by the planning process and all the decisions to be made. We were also worried that we had overlooked something important, however Lucy at Wiskow & White managed to alleviate any concerns we had through the Clarity Call service. This gave us an opportunity to chat through all of our plans and to take on her suggestions which was an invaluable part of the planning process and gave us the support and comfort we needed.”
Favourite styling detail?
“The table! Oh my goodness the table setting was perfection! We discussed styling a lot with our florist Winston & Winston but when we saw the table for the first time we were absolutely stunned. Everything from the greenery interspersed with white roses, the gold glass candles, the plates, cutlery and stationery were gorgeous and all tied together so well. We also decided to name our tables after each of our grandparents and Peonies & Paperclips created the most beautiful table frames with pictures of each of them – it was such a special touch for us and made it feel like they were really part of the day.”
“Every single moment was a pinch me moment but our standout moment, aside from the ceremony itself, was definitely our entrance to dinner – coming down the villa stairs to "Praise You" by FatBoy Slim with all of our guests swinging their napkins above their heads was unforgettable. “
Biggest wedding win?
“Seeing our vision come to life was honestly a dream come true – it was more incredible than either of us could have ever imagined! Being surrounded by all of our closest friends and family in the most incredible location with the most delicious Italian food, gorgeous views, free-flowing cocktails and incredible musicians was honestly magical.
Our wedding wouldn’t have been possible without our incredible suppliers whom we found the majority of via La Lista. We had to put our complete trust in them to deliver for us on our wedding day and we can honestly say each and every one of them went above and beyond to make our wedding special.”
“Connecting with other brides who could provide real advice was essential to the planning process and gave us the comfort we needed that it was all going to work out!”
Best money spent?
“We organised a tenor to appear during the dinner as a surprise for our guests. WOW WOW WOW! Tommasso tenor was absolutely incredible and blew us and all of our guests away! Listening to him sing under the twinkling lights and seeing our guest reactions was priceless - everyone still raves about him now!”
Stand out supplier
“Harry Michael, our photographer. The most friendly, personal and hardworking guy! We honestly couldn't imagine our day (or all 3 days) without Harry there. He truly captured every raw emotion – from the embraces, kisses, expressions, belly laughs and head in hands moments! He also got on SO well with all of our friends and family and at times, he felt like a guest himself. He has made our perfect weekend memorable for a lifetime.”
SUPPLIER TEAM
Venue: Villa di Ulignano | Planners: Parade Wedding | Caterers: Lodovichi | Photographer: Harry Michael | Videographer: The Geldenhuyses | Florist: Winston & Winston | Lighting: Central House | HMU: Ariana Rose | Groomsmen Fashion: Reiss | Car: Slow Hills | Stationery: Peonies & Paperclips | Musicians: Omero & Friends | String Quartet: Florence String Quartet | Sax: Lorenzo Sax | Bar: Brindapino | Bridal Fashion: Essense of Australia from Eleganza; 2nd bespoke dress from Nutmeg Couture | Bridal shoes: Badgley Mishka | Bridesmaid Fashion: Pretty Lavish
Recognising the need for a ‘planning intervention’, Jamie joined The Club, our planning membership and turned feelings of overwhelm into calm and controlled actions. “Throughout the planning we had reassurance the weekend would run smoothly and no element had been overlooked. All of this wouldn’t have been possible without the help of La Lista’s directory, The Club tutorials, connecting with other brides and our Clarity call with Lucy.”
It really is so simple to have a calm, enjoyable planning journey - join The Club today.
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