Nina + Johan’s Puglia wedding at Masseria Amastuola
Photo: Jack Stocker for The Curries
Together with 75 guests, Nina and Johan celebrated their Italian wedding at Puglia venue, Amastuola in August. Being an English/Swedish couple living in Switzerland, Italy struck them as a perfect location to host their wedding - with the bonus excuse of having to visit the beloved country over 10 times in the lead up! As for so many Italian wedding couples the food, wine and landscape of their chosen region exceeded their expectations, as did their venue. “We are very passionate about food and wine - and Amastuola has an amazing restaurant and produces its own excellent wine, so as soon as I toured the venue, I knew it was the one.”
Guest experience was paramount to the couple, as was the importance of having many of their guests staying on-site. “We don’t have any big cliques of friends, as both of us have moved around a bit - so there’s more a spectrum of friends from across our lives and from all over the world - and everyone got on so well. We spent a long time on the seating plan, putting together people who we thought would get on and have a great time, and that really paid off - so many new friendships, and very good energy.” This wedding encapsulated a chilled, intimate vibe which only clever planning can help achieve.
SUPPLIER TEAM
Photographer: Jack Stocker for The Curries | Venue and Food: Amastuola | Wedding planner: Thelma & Alessandro at Sona Weddings |HMUA: Katya Abramovich | Florist: Angelo Fanizzi | Stationery: SansSerifCo | Bridal dress: The OWN |Bridal jewellery: Maison Sabben | Groom Fashion: Suit Supply |Bridesmaid dress: Nola London | DJ & Sax: Rocco Locolo / The Elegance of Sax | Band: Zagor Street Band | Bar: Joe Bar
The Dating
“We were introduced by a mutual friend. She invited us both for Sunday lunch to introduce us, 7 years ago. And in fact that mutual friend, Eve, actually ended up officiating our wedding ceremony!”
“The weather was obviously not to plan - so I’d encourage couples to make a Plan B sooner rather than later, so it’s not a scramble at the end (we had to drive to a nearby town to get a Plan B table plan printed the day before the wedding - which was a stress I could have done without!).”
The Engagement
“It was during the pandemic, when we were living in San Francisco but there were no surprises; it was very much a mutual decision. We shopped for the ring together - in the end buying a solitaire from Boston while we were based in California, after many awkward calls on Zoom where the jeweller modelled the ring for us! Then we went to our favourite winery in Sonoma, and that’s when Johan actually asked!”
Biggest worry when planning the wedding
“I did worry about the cost to guests - they had to get to Puglia (flights and hotels), and I was worrying about the weather. But in reality, I found that people were happy to have any excuse to go to Italy for a weekend - and we hosted welcome drinks, the wedding, and BBQ lunch by the pool, so it was worth their while.”
Best money spent
“We spent the most money on the photographer, and I’m so glad we did. Jack captured it perfectly,and now we can relive it all through the photos. The brass band (Zagor Street Band) were also money very well spent - people still keep talking about them - as well as the man making fresh mozzarella live!”
The vibe on the day
“It was very emotional! We’d written our own vows, since this was a symbolic ceremony, and we were both in tears, as were most of our guests! It felt very raw and real, and the speeches also brought a few tears, especially my dad’s (apparently he’d written the speech several years ago, before we were even engaged!).”
“We made sure we had some well-timed surprises for people - so as they left the ceremony, the brass band started playing which really got the party started; and as we finished our speeches, the saxophonist kicked in with a real dancefloor-filling tune.”
“Because everyone had met at the welcome drinks, and in the taxi sharing, it was so great to see all our friends mingling and getting on.”
Biggest wedding win
“I was very focused on guest experience - I wanted to make sure it all flowed naturally, and that we kept guests’ energy up all day. In the end, the biggest stress was actually the weather: All through July, there was that crazy heatwave, so we were planning for heat mitigation - but then 1 week before the wedding, the forecast changed to thunderstorms, so we had to quickly pull together Plan B - much of which we did end up using. Thankfully it wasn’t so hot - but it was unfortunate that we couldn’t have the ceremony outside in the olive grove as planned.”
Standout moment
“Sitting at the top of that amazing long table in the beautiful vaulted dining room, and looking down the table at all our friends and family.”
Anything you feel you didn't need to have?
“We’d had such high hopes for the Prosecco tower, but in reality we just ended up with a lot of Prosecco on the floor, and some not-great photos (because it was night and we had to use the flash). So we could have skipped that.”
“We actually kept decorations quite simple, because the place was so beautiful. Then we added elements for the experience - the band, the DJ and saxophone, the bar, etc.”
SUPPLIER TEAM
Photographer: Jack Stocker for The Curries | Venue and Food: Amastuola | Wedding planner: Thelma & Alessandro at Sona Weddings |HMUA: Katya Abramovich | Florist: Angelo Fanizzi | Stationery: SansSerifCo | Bridal dress: The OWN | Bridal jewellery: Maison Sabben | Groom Fashion: Suit Supply | Bridesmaid dress: Nola London | DJ & Sax: Rocco Locolo / The Elegance of Sax | Band: Zagor Street Band | Bar: Joe Bar
Choosing which region to celebrate your wedding in is a tough decision - Italy just gives us too many incredible options! We are here to help you narrow down what is right for your vibe, style and budget with our breakdown of the Italian regions.
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