Supplier spotlight on Angela Mugnai
We recently caught up with inspiring multiple business owner and iconic wedding planner/designer Angela Mugnai. Often outspoken in her opinions, Angela’s mix of Tuscan heritage and long term residency in London has given her an interesting perspective of the Italian wedding industry. Angela’s journey to date has been the perfect cocktail that has resulted in her clear stamp when it comes to weddings. You just have to look at the styling of a wedding and you know it’s one of hers through the unique way she pairs classic thonet chairs, bows and roses!
Angela puts the success of her weddings down to the authenticity she brings. She whole-heartedly puts her personality into each event. ‘People are afraid to put themselves out there creatively’, she says, ‘in doing so they are holding themselves and their emotions back, and a wedding is all about the emotion’. She describes creating her weddings to be like, ‘a little movie set’ and as the viewer watching her self-taken videos on Instagram, you really do feel transported into the movie itself.
Angela has 3 pieces of advice if you’re planning an Italian wedding:
Whether it’s Florence or Turin, as long as guests have somewhere affordable and nice to stay that’s close to the venue, the location itself isn’t important. Guests don’t often have time to explore the area – getting somewhere easily and having maximum time to celebrate with you is key. The best weddings are those that have multiple events and the guests feel looked after.
Only go ahead with a wedding in Italy if you realistically have the budget. Angela proudly works with a range of budget types and uses her connections and creativity to make every event exceptional. However, she says, ‘people need to be realistic. A wedding costs what it costs, it’s not possible to have 100 people for a wedding in Tuscany for £20,000 anymore’. It’s better to use your budget for an epic wedding rather than push for an Italian wedding that also pushes your stress levels and financial worries every step of the way. It’s worth reading our advice on how much Italian weddings cost here.
Angela warns that, ‘many people can call themselves a wedding planner. But few have planned complex, exceptional events for clients and know how to balance the project, the connection with couples and the creative side. It’s a special recipe.’
When searching for a planner, the worst thing you can do is shop on price. Shop around and find a connection with someone, get testimonials from their clients, get some examples of how they communicate and do their work and Angela’s pet peeve, ‘check that the images they share on their website and instagram are of their own work, not others!’
Angela Mugnai take a small number of weddings per year, worldwide. POA. Check out Angela Mugnai Emporium for some stunningly authentic Italian decorations for your wedding.
Written by Lucy White, Founder of La Lista & Wiskow & White, with over 5 years and 150 weddings worth of experience.
