Planning a destination wedding from abroad is no easy feat. Just ask Jessica, who runs her family’s restaurant, and Jared, a lawyer. Luckily they had an awesome planner on site, Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Luccaorganizza, to help them work out the details of their dreamy Jewish wedding in Tuscany.
Planners Benedetta and Simona directed them toward their incredible venue, Villa Grabau, and it’s easy to see from Foto Cortopassi‘s pics why the couple fell hard for it. It’s exactly the sort of dreamy spot you probably imagine when you think of Tuscany. Jessica and Jared wanted to keep things light and fresh, and the team at Luccaorganizza did the perfect job bringing their vision to life.
We love that the pair crafted a Jewish ceremony that was personal and meaningful to them, zooming in on elements that were meaningful to them – like a ketubah decorated by the bride’s best friend – and skipped ones that didn’t – they opted out of having a chuppah.
Now over to the bride…
How we met
Jessica, the bride: We met at my best friend’s birthday party, when I was 25.
Villa Grabau
Benedetta, our wedding planner, showed us some potential venues and once we visited Villa Grabau we fell in love for this wonderful place.
Planners to the Rescue
To be honest we didn’t have idea about the style we wanted for our wedding. We wrote to Luccaorganizza that our idea was to create something not too fancy that fit with the style of the venue. Something bright and fresh. Benedetta and Simona did a great job of understanding our tastes.
Simple Invitations
We chose something minimal, not too decorated, just a ribbon.
Hair + Makeup
Benedetta suggested some reliable suppliers to do my hair styling and make up on site at the venue. I wanted waves and natural makeup – simple and elegant at the same time. To be honest I was a little bit nervous because I’ve rarely had my makeup done by another person, and I was a little bit scared about the result. But in the end I was very satisfied!
Dress
I loved the idea of having a dress that was made in Italy. But unfortunately I couldn’t find anything that suited my taste. So I decided to go to a local dressmaker in my country. I wore a veil, not too long.
Silver Sandals
I was scared about wearing heels on the gravel, and also about the hot Italian temperature in July. I wore a pair of sandals in silver color – not too comfortable for the party but I couldn’t imagine a bride without heels.
The handsome groom
Jared agreed with my idea of a “bright” wedding and went with a white suit. Considering the Italian temperature… it was a great idea!
Bridesmaids
Of course I had bridesmaids – each one wore a different dress, all in ecru colour.
Ceremony
My closest friend decorated the ketubah personally. We wanted the ceremony to be very simple. We didn’t have a chuppah, we preferred a different kind of arrangement to create an informal Jewish ceremony.
Flowers
During the months before the wedding, we scheduled some trials with the florist. We had lot of greenery together with white lisianthus (that I love).
Photographer
During our visit to Tuscany before the wedding we met the photographer Benedetta suggested. We loved the reportage style of his work.
Millefoglie
We asked the caterer to have the traditional italian millefoglie served directly at the tables. We were not interested in the ceremonial cutting of the cake.
Welcome Bags
No favours… not on the wedding day. I preferred to give my guests a sort of “welcome wedding kit” where I included some maps of the city and some useful info about the area.
Honeymoon in Tuscany
Tuscany is so beautiful and full of lovely places, after the wedding we went to Isola D’Elba for our romantic honeymoon. I suggest this isle to all our couple that are going to organise a destination wedding in Tuscany: beaches are amazing.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Honestly, the most important thing is to keep your wedding stress-free and this is possible only if you trust your planner to perfectly understand your vision.
It is important also to try to visit the venue some months before the wedding to be sure about choices and be less stressed during the wedding day.
Jessica & Jared’s little white book
Photography – Foto Cortopassi
Catering, flowers, and wedding planner – Luccaorganizza
Venue – Villa Grabau
