Today we’re thrilled to be sharing our first Jewish wedding of 2024, and is it ever a stunner! UK couple Natasha and Marc had the most exquisite lakeside Tuscan Jewish wedding, and we are OBSESSED.
To plan the day of their dreams abroad, the couple opted to work with Michelle Jacobs of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Elegante by Michelle J, and she brought their vision of an enchanted candlelit garden wedding to life – including introducing them to their fabulous venue, Villa Orlando, and sorting everything from generators to furniture and beyond to transform the outdoor spaces.
We love the couple’s on-the-day stationery from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Bigday Designs, and we can’t get enough of the elegant white and green color scheme – and that floral chuppah! Don’t miss it in the wonderful photos by James Mason and video by Whites Film.
There’s so much more to say about this very special day, but we’ll leave it to the bride – who looked ever so chic in her gown by Israeli designer Lihi Hod – to fill you in on the rest…
A Wedding in Tuscany
Natasha, the bride: Our venue was Villa Orlando which is in Torre del Lago in Tuscany, Italy. I always wanted to get married overlooking a lake/water and our wedding planner took us on our venue search trip to Italy.
I knew it was the one immediately. It’s a privately owned villa on the edge of the lake. Our guests all stayed about 20 minutes away in Viareggio which is one of Tuscany’s coastal resorts and we held our welcome party in a beach club .
We kept the venue a secret and arranged coaches to bring all our guests to the wedding.
Our wedding venue was the Orlando family’s private home and we had access to all of the outdoor spaces; we could not have done it without a wedding planner as everything had to be brought in, including generators, toilets, kitchen equipment, furniture and all of the sound and lighting.
We also had a marquee on hold in case of rain, though thankfully we did not need it.
We used different areas of the property for each part of our wedding – so the chuppah was in front of the villa, by the lake, the aperito was by the boat house and the wedding dinner was at the side of the villa. It was an unusual space and it took a lot of discussion to agree how it was going to work including where to place the stage, dance floor and the bar. It ended up being quite an unusal layout with our top table at the side of the dance floor, but it worked really well.
Enchanted Garden
Our wedding planner was Michelle Jacobs of Elegante by Michelle J who specializes in Jewish destination weddings, in Italy in particular. The vision – besides being by a lake – was for an enchanted garden with an abundance of candles and tea lights, and starry lighting canopy. Michelle enabled us to bring this vision to life.
Invitation
We sent our save the dates and invitations digitally via Paperless Post and then used Bigday Designs for our on-the-day wedding stationery.
They worked with Anna Jayne Designs who created illustrations for us of our venue which featured on our welcome booklets, menus and escort cards
Hair + Makeup
Our wedding planner recommended Consuelo Cardella of Your Wedding Beauty Team. Consuelo brought a team with her on the day to look after not just me, but also my mum, my sisters, Marc’s mum and all of my bridesmaids.
A Lihi Hod Dress
My dress was Audrey by Lihi Hod. I had saved it on my phone for years – before I was even engaged
Ceremony & Chuppah
I always knew I wanted to get married under a chuppah that was like a tree, which was why the 4 legs were “tree trunks” with white roses wrapped around, and the top of the chuppah was green and white flowers (to look like a tree).
Our music choice
We brought Muzika from the UK – the best band! Their Israeli singer, Gilan, sang at our chuppah with their keys player and sax. The sax player and their trumpet player then led their guests to the drinks reception area where they played on the roof of the boat house. The full live band was on stage all night and the dance floor was never empty.
Flowers
Our wedding planner, Michelle, works with a fabulous florist called Il Giardino delle Fate Flower Design. Our colour palette was whites and greens. On the tables, instead of one single arrangements we had loads of vases and candles all grouped together and placed on mirrors to reflect the candlelight.
Our top table was a more elaborate version of this with cascades at each end and glass lanterns in front. My bouquet was mainly white with just a little greenery
Photographer and videographer
Our photographer was James Mason, who my family has worked with previously and we brought him and his assistant over to Italy from the UK. We worked with an Italian videographer, Whites Film, who was recommended by our wedding planner
Food and cake
We had kosher catering at our wedding provided by Le Bon Ton who are based in Rome. Our catering was typically Italian and included a very lavish aperitivo with food corners and live cooking; this was followed by a pasta course and fish course and a huge dessert buffet.
We also had the traditional Italian Millefoglie wedding cake show which took place under our chuppah. It was really special to be able to repurpose our chuppah this way; the production team provided the lighting to make this possible.
NATASHA AND MARC’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – James Mason
Planner – Elegante by Michelle J {offers 10% discount 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}
Videography – Whites Film
Venue – Villa Orlando
Bride’s dress – Lihi Hod
Hair + Makeup – Your Wedding Beauty Team
Flowers – Il Giardino delle Fate Flower Design
Band – Muzika
Catering – Le Bon Ton
Stationery Illustrations – Anna Jayne Designs
Production – Alma Project
If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, you’ll want to join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club. Guided by the world’s number 1 Jewish wedding expert, Karen Cinnamon, Brides Club is the private community for Jewish and Jew-ish brides that removes wedstress and indecision and gives you what you need to plan with confidence during these uncertain times. Join our Brides Club here.
