Holly and Richard had a gorgeous wedding in the Italian hills in late summer, captured by the talented and very lovely Claire Penn Photography.  Holly wore a stunning backless Pronovias dress and pretty floral crown with her bridesmaids in a beautiful silvery hued dress, the colours of which seemed to match the changing light of the landscape perfectly. The setting is absolutely incredible, but the reason I love this wedding so much is because at the heart of it is family and friends.  Holly and Richard have the most adorable daughter together and they wanted a wedding where they could make the place home for three days, so that everyone could relax and enjoy with their own kids too. Where they could party, swim, chill out and not be rushed or stand on ceremony. It feels so very authentic and natural to me and because of it pretty perfect.

Let me hand you over to Holly to tell you more;

We knew of each other as far back as primary school. Richard was in my older sister’s year and our mothers were friends via the local village flower club. I must admit I didn’t really think about Richard much at school as he was older but he alleges to have had a crush on me throughout primary and secondary school.

We met again years later randomly online but I didn’t know it was him, he has amazing recognition for faces so knew me instantly and from our first date we were inseparable moving in together just a month later and our daughter arrived nearly a year after we first met! Richard decided to propose after a family week away nearing the end of my maternity leave. We had planned a last night out at the Ham Yard Hotel before the chaos of work took over and he took that opportunity to surprise me.

We are quite low key and the idea of a big flashy wedding filled us both with dread. I’d always dreamt of a relaxed day and getting married outdoors and we tried to combine that with our love of good food and drink. Italy seemed a no brainer in terms of location.

Holly and Richard were married at the stunning Casa Bruciata in Umbria, just over the Tuscan border.

We took a massive gamble on the venue, booking it before we had even viewed it! Most locations we saw in Italy were stunning and extremely grand/formal which didn’t give us the vibe we wanted for the day. Apart from the ability to have the place to ourselves and the beautiful view it was the villas relaxed hosts that really made the decision for us. They loved good food and good wine which really resonated with us. We felt we could make this place ours and our families would love it.

We wanted a wedding weekend rather than a rushed day and the venue help us bring this to life with a 3 day event with parties, children’s entertainment and pool competitions to keep everyone happy.

I looked everywhere for a dress and every one I tried just made me feel like I was in a kind of fancy dress! I finally looked in Pronovias at the very last minute and found a dress which suited the venue and didn’t make me feel uncomfortable! Being a mum my shape had changed and I’ve got scars on my back from historic operations I was keen to hide. The lovely ladies in Pronovias really listened and helped guide me towards a dress which fitted all criteria. On the day in my hair I just had a plain veil I’d sourced from a facebook shop and fresh flowers.

I also wore some earrings I found in a small jewelers in Covent Garden, an antique ring my mum gave to me before my wedding and a thin silver bangle Richard gifted to me for the day inscribed ‘it was always you’

Holly and Richard chose the lovely and talented Claire Penn as their photographer;

Having a relaxed wedding which reflected our personalities and didn’t feel like ‘just’ a wedding was something we were extremely passionate about. The choice of photographer to me was key in achieving this. I’d been to many weddings when post ceremony you’re dragged off for staged pictures which doesn’t show any atmosphere or capture any joy at all. Looking at Claire’s work I fell in love with it straight away and knew she would fit right in. It took some convincing of my hubby to be to fly someone over for the wedding but looking back it was the best decision we made. She made the day feel easy, just slotted into the party atmosphere accommodating my teething 1yr old and really bringing out the atmosphere we had on the day. Everything I wanted and more!

We did our make up ourselves based on a trial I’d had at MAC. Myself and my bridesmaids were following our written instructions to the word!

The bridesmaids all wore multi-way dresses from Debenhams with shoes from Asos and wore a bracelet we gave to them with the initials of their children. The pretty flower girl dresses were from a collection at Monsoon and the flower crowns for the flower girls were made by my mother to withstand being pulled about!

Holly walked down the aisle with her dad who ‘gave her away’;

Richard introduced me to classical music and we played relaxing music when our daughter was a newborn. One of our favourites was The Balcony Scene from Romeo and Juliet which we played as I walked down the aisle.

Our rings were from a local independent jeweler Lance James. Richard wasn’t 100% convinced on a ring but they had a great range of alternative designs which he loved.

Richard’s suit was from Cad and the Dandy which had their wedding date embroidered inside. His tie and shirt from TM Lewin with shoes from John Lewis. The groomsmen wore suits from Next.

We did this all the planning and styling ourselves with lots of great help and ideas from the guys at the venue. We used a local florist who was absolutely amazing, Roberta Turco. For us, decoration was all about flowers to really bring the place to life. Organizing the wedding from the UK and not speaking any Italian wasn’t any barrier at all. Roberta visited the venue a few times, came up with ideas, sent many sketches and we used pinterest to help set a colour scheme and vibe we wanted with the flowers.

We had in the ceremony area: a flower arch, pots of flowers at the end of each hay bale aisle, larger flowers at the end as well as rose petal confetti.

We re-used the flower pots and larger flowers around the chill out and dinner areas and in addition in the chill out area we had a extra-large heart made from flowers hung from the balcony, tea cups with flowers and candles in hanging from trees and balls of flowers hanging from lights

My favourite from the day was my bouquet with a picture of my Grandma who passed away the year before hanging from it. It was just so stunning.

The venue sourced the caterers and I must admit its was one of the best meals we’d ever eaten! We weren’t that fussed about a formal cake so had a traditional Italian cake. The design was a total surprise!

For favours we gave olive oil made in the venue grounds in a bottle designed with the venue’s picture. They are a small farm so only produce a small amount every year.

We also had welcome packs in every room with pool toys for the kids, food, sweets, personalized children’s entertainment packs and day plans so everyone knew what would be happening throughout the three days.

Entertainment was managed by us and my brother. We had an instagram wall projected onto the side of the house and a playlist that all our friends and family added to before the wedding. Also we had a great childrens entertainer for the brunch the day after the wedding, so all the parents could relax and the children weren’t bored throughout.

For our stationery we used a lovely designer, Aniet Illustration on Etsy to bring a country chalkboard theme to our posters, table plans, menus etc. We were also most impressed with the inexpensive ebay fans and pompoms which we hung throughout the gazebo. For such a small cost they made it feel so romantic!

We had two mini-moons instead of a longer honeymoon. Post the wedding we stayed at the epitome of romance and relaxation and saying this place is stunning does it no justice at all. They were so good with us and our toddler and couldn’t do more to ensure we had all we needed during our stay.

We also decided a few baby free days were needed so later in the year we went to New York for a weekend of adult activities and sleep!

Richard’s favourite moment of the day was when our daughter who was with him ran over to me when I was walking down the aisle yelling ‘mummy’

My best moment was when the dinner started, it was the first time I sat back, relaxed and realised how amazing the day was going, how we had all our friends and family who we loved around us enjoying themselves. I’d been so concerned about the logistics I hadn’t sat back and just enjoyed it. From that point on I just had so much fun!

If I could do anything differently, on reflection I probably would have organized baby sitting for whilst I was getting ready! I loved having my daughter there but juggling getting ready into a white dress and a very active toddler was demanding on us all!  

My advice to others planning their day would be spreadsheets are your friend! Ours helped us understand where we were overspending and helped us keep a degree of control.

Also remember at all times what you want your wedding to feel and be like. You can get caught up obsessing in small elements which no one including yourself will really remember. What is most important? Write that down and try to focus on that when everyone inputs into your day. At the end of the day the wedding should reflect what you both love and not be about favours and pom poms.

Such a beautiful day and in such a stunning Italian setting. Congratulations to Holly and Richard and huge thanks to Claire Penn Photography for sharing the images with us.

Here’s to warmer summer days,