What a wedding! If you’ve ever fantasized about jetting off to Tuscany to get married, the exquisite Jewish wedding of Stephanie and Dan, who did just that, is going to knock your socks off. In fact, it’ll probably do that even the thought of a Tuscan wedding has never even crossed your mind!
The couple’s wonderful planner, Michelle Jacobs of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elegante By Michelle J, took all the pressure out of planning while making sure the big day was as elegant, romantic, joyful, and memorable as it could possible be. And she connected the couple with their amazing roster of vendors!
Truly, these two used so many of the very best out there, from the amazing Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Totem – who Stephanie and Dan flew over from London because they wanted to make sure their big day featured some EPIC Israeli dancing, and if you know Totem you know they get the party going like no one else – to mega-talented stationer Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Bigday Designs (love the stationery suite they came up with!) to a gift list with Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Prezola.
Photographer David Bastianoni and videographer Federico of Waterfall Visuals both captured the day so beautifully, and we love that they were committed as to capturing the love between the couple – including lots of sweet casual moments – as to featuring the beautiful setting and décor (looking at you, floral chuppah!).
If you’re wondering how you can make your wedding as awesome as Stephanie and Dan’s, don’t miss our Facebook Live with none other than Michelle Jacobs herself, all about creating an ultra-memorable experience for your guests. It’s happening this Thursday, March 5, at 7:30 PM GMT / 2:30 PM EST / 11:30 PST, right on the Smashing The Glass Facebook Page.
But for now, we’re going to turn you over to the lovely Stephanie, who looked simply ravishing in Hayley Paige…
Venue
Stephanie, the bride: We got married in Villa Oliva, near Lucca in Tuscany. I’ve always dreamed of having a romantic wedding abroad and, luckily, Dan saw the appeal. We picked Tuscany because we both love Italy – from the food and wine to the art, landscape and scenery.
Dan and I are both nature lovers, so the idea of getting married in a Tuscan garden really appealed to us. The venue we chose had several gorgeous gardens surrounding the villa and we fell in love.
We also wanted each area of the party to be a surprise for the guests, so we got married at the front of the villa; had the drinks reception behind the villa; and dinner and dancing was held in a large garden slightly further away from the property. The front of the villa had a beautiful grotto, which was the perfect backdrop for the chuppah.
We were very grateful for the support of our family and friends flying out to celebrate our special day with us. The guests were able to get to know each other at the welcome party and by the pool, so everyone was friendly at the main event. It felt like a big holiday!
A Fab Planner
Our wedding planner was the wonderful Michelle Jacobs of Elegante By Michelle J who we cannot praise enough. Every supplier Michelle (who we affectionately call Mich) recommended to us was brilliant. They really understood our vision and they were great people to work with.
We wanted to keep things simple, elegant and romantic – the beautiful venue didn’t need a lot of dressing. We picked a white and gold colour scheme and had lots of romantic touches, such as fairy lights overhead and little candles on the tables. It was magical.
Throughout, Mich was always calm and incredibly organised. She intuited every detail, such as stiletto covers so women could walk on the grass. We were able to sunbathe and relax on the days leading up to the wedding because we completely trusted that everything was in hand. For the big day, Mich and her fantastic team took care of everything so we could just enjoy it and take it all in. I can’t thank her enough for that. It’s such a worthwhile decision having a planner if you’re getting married abroad.
Hair + Makeup
Mich found an incredible make-up artist who I absolutely loved – Giulia Cresci. She’s so talented and has lots of experience with brides and editorial fashion shoots, so I knew I was in safe hands. Most importantly, Giulia was a really sweet person. She was very relaxed and kept me calm, but she was also painstakingly precise and gave me several touch-ups until she was certain my makeup was perfect. It really felt like she cared about making me look beautiful on the most important day of my life, which I was so grateful for.
A Hayley Paige Dress
My dress was designed by Hayley Paige. It was one of a limited selection of Hayley Paige dresses in the shop from New York, so it was very unlikely that another bride I knew would have my dress. As well as being unique, I loved that it was classic and elegant but still quintessentially bridal with a large skirt. For a unique and slightly more daring touch, the low back added just the right amount of allure. As soon as I saw the dress, I just knew it was ‘the one.’ Seeing the look on my mother, sister and aunt’s faces in the dressing room sealed the deal for me.
Harriet Wilde Shoes
I’m not usually a heels person and I hated the idea of having sore feet and not being able to dance, but Dan is 6”3 and I’m only 5”4, so heels were a must! I did a lot of research and found Harriet Wilde, a designer in London who specialises in wedding shoes. All her designs have padded soles, so they were very comfortable and kept me on the dance floor all night. I was also able to personalise them with a cherry blossom embellishment – a nod to Japan, where we got engaged.
The handsome groom
Dan wanted a look that was equal parts classic and unique, so he wore a midnight blue tuxedo from an Italian brand, Boggi Milano. His party also wore midnight blue suits (as did my bridesman). Dan paired his suit with a cream waistcoat, black patent shoes and a white rose in his button-hole. It was surreal to see him waiting for me at the end of the aisle, looking so handsome and dapper. It was an incredible moment.
Ceremony
We opted for a public badeken halfway down the aisle as we didn’t want to see each other for the first time before the chuppah. It was incredibly beautiful and moving – especially when my dad choked up whilst blessing me. I’ll never forget that.
Chuppah
Mich recommended Il Giardino Delle Fate, who were a pleasure to work with. We had a great meeting and showed them our vision board; I was concerned that we were being too vague by saying we wanted the chuppah to be ‘somewhere in between’ a couple of the pictures we’d found, but they completely understood what we wanted. On the day, the chuppah was perfect. They also had some lovely ideas of their own, such as lanterns at the base of the chuppah and little flowers on the chairs. It all came together and looked perfect.
Photographer and videographer
Our photographer and videographer were David Bastianoni and Waterfall Visuals, respectively. They were both fantastic and worked perfectly together. David was hilarious and put us all at ease. We have so many pictures of us laughing and joking, which I love. He orchestrated sweet little moments and caught all the emotional moments that happened naturally, too.
Federico at Waterfall Visuals was wonderful, as well. He used a drone to capture the entire venue and to give us birds eye views of things we’d never have seen, like Israeli dancing from above! He caught everything, but we never felt like we had a camera in our faces.
Both captured the atmosphere, the emotion and the fun. The photos and videos look so professional and beautiful, I know we’ll treasure them forever.
Food
Delizia Ricevimenti did our catering and the food was incredible. We’re both keen pasta lovers so we were very into having a pasta course between the starter and main! Instead of a cake, we had a traditional Italian millefoglie which was assembled in front of us. It was such a fun and unique part of the wedding and tasted delicious.
Entertainment
We brought Totem over from London and I couldn’t be happier that we made that decision. Like everyone, we love the Israeli dancing (and so do our friends) so we wanted a band that would get it right. Totem actually did a second round of Israeli dancing before we all went home, which ensured everyone left on a high! The band got the party going and the atmosphere was amazing. It wouldn’t have been the same without them.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
TRUST YOUR PLANNER. The best thing we did was taking Mich’s advice on the suppliers. Mich recommended everyone, from the caterer to the band, and they were all wonderful. We couldn’t have asked for anything more.
Getting ready with your family and friends is an underrated but really special part of the day! One of my favourite memories is having a dance party to some pop classics in the morning; it put us all in the best mood. Make sure you have people around you who care about you, understand how important the day is to you and want you to look and feel your best. This includes both the wedding party and your makeup artists and hair stylists.
My rebbetzin told me that the gates of heaven are open on your wedding day and that your prayers have extra power. I’m not really religious, but I took 20 minutes to myself and wished for everything I wanted for my marriage, my husband to be, my family and my friends. It was the only time I had to myself all day and, most importantly, it made me feel grateful for all of the people I love. I’d really recommend it.
Finally, it’s kind of a cliché, but easy to forget: take a minute to look around and try to soak it all up. It passes you by so fast and you’ll want to remember it.
Stephanie & Dan’s little white book
Photography – David Bastianoni
Videography – Waterfall Visuals
Wedding planner – Elegante By Michelle J {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Band – Totem {book a min of 10 piece TOTEM band to receive 10 percent off your final price to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Stationery – Bigday Designs {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Gift list – Prezola {offers a planning notebook + upgrade to Prezola Platinum (worth £250) for free to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Kippot – Hebrewear {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Venue – Villa Oliva
Bride’s dress – Hayley Paige
Bride’s shoes – Harriet Wilde
Groom’s attire – Boggi Milano
Hair + Makeup – Giulia Cresci
Flowers – Il Giardino Delle Fate
Production – Alma Project 24/7
Catering – Delizia Ricevimenti
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