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The idea behind going to Italy was to do something a bit different, both Greg's brother & my sister got married within a year of us & we did not want to compete with their weddings so we decided to go for something small & intimate abroad. (We only had 40 guests) - However as we were going to ask people to travel then we knew we had to make it special for them: We had guests travelling from Brazil, Australia, Luxemburg, Mongolia as well the UK. Booking 2 villas for a week in Tuscany we felt was like giving everyone a summer holiday & would be enough to tempt them into coming as creating a week's experience meant we'd have more time to chat to people as it wasnt all over in one day. I think allot of our friends & family were sceptical at first but once they got out there & saw the views & countryside together with the high standard of the villas (each room had its own bathroom & each villa had a pool & maid service & decorated very tastefully), then people were very glad they made the effort.
The 2 villas were on the Spineto Estate - the estate had 9 farmhouses that had recently been converted into villas so we booked 2 of the largest ones near to each other (but you still needed a car to get to over to the other one). We got married in the little chapel off the side of Spineto Abbey. It was very simple with high ceilings, the pews were decorated with linen covers & they laid a white walkway down to the alter. We had champagne & photos outside the Abbey afterwards & then went back up the track (in a little Fiat 500) to one of the villas for drinks & dinner.
Carolina was fantastic, she took all of the hassle out of the organisation by shortlising various companies. Although we would still recomend going out there to inspect the venue & meet the people who will be involved. Although I wasn't sure how, Carolina pulled the day together & everone turned up on time - She managed to find us an English priest, she sorted the flowers & decorations, electricians & she also put us in touch with a music company. In the end we chose some Tuscan folk singers to play around the table while we ate - we ate outside so the atmosphere was great. The caterers were from Florence, a firm called Galletao & they were extremely good too. They brought the food up to the villas in refrigerated vans & took over the kitchen. They supplied the tables, chairs cutlery, glasses, waiters & set up an area for canapés by the pool. The standard of food was unbelievable, considering what they had to do - it was as good as eating a meal for 2 in a good Italian restaurant in London.
The other thing that I'm really glad we did was we chose a very unusual photograph format - a big black & white book; I think its called a reportage. It was our biggest extravagance but I don't regret it one bit. To start with we didn't even think we needed a photographer but when we saw Carlo's work we were totally bowled over. -You should ask Carolina to see some of his photos or get her to send you his CD. Having this book now is great as basically the memories of the day fade & the photos just help to bring it back to life again so if someone can capture the emotions & day better than anyone else then we reckoned it was something worth paying for!
One thing I would say is that if you get married in Italy - wherever you decide to do it, get a full breakdown of the costs up front & fully understand what is included for the price. We paid deposits & most were non refundable. For instance we booked 5 rooms for 3 nights in a B&B & then only 4 were used but we still had to pay for the 5th room. (Even though the lady managed to let the room out to someone else). Carolina is really good though - if you set a budget - she fights your corner & tries to get the best service within the price. We do not speak Italian & Carolina's loyalty was invaluable as without her (before & after our time at Spineto) we were conned several times by the Italians whenever they got a chance! (We had our second week on our own & honeymooned on the Amalffi Coast & I wish we had Carolina with us then to negotiate with the locals!)
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OUR WEDDING VILLAS & CASTLES: WEDDINGS IN FLORENCE WEDDINGS IN CHIANTI WEDDINGS IN SIENA WEDDINGS IN LUCCA WEDDINGS BY THE TUSCAN SEASHORE |
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