There’s something about a Tuscan wedding – and we’re head over heels for the beautiful Jewish destination wedding of American couple A and S.
Both professional musicians with busy schedules, these two knew they could use some help making the wedding of their dreams a reality, and they turned to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Primavera Dreams. In the couple’s words, founder Luba
was instrumental in implementing our wedding vibe/atmosphere. We wanted it to feel luxurious but not too stuffy, casual and comfortable but also elegant, colorful but also classic. Luba and Yael helped execute amazing events leading up to the wedding for our guests that allowed them to get to know each other and bond.
We also love that bride A opted for an off-the-rack dress from Marcella NYC rather than a traditional wedding gown – a great reminder that there are lots of fabulous out-of-the-box (and budget-friendly) options when it comes to bridal fashion.
We’re obsessed with the exquisite photos by Michael Zennaro – scroll on to take in ALL the gorgeousness for yourself!
How We Met
The bride: We actually first met (as friends) in high school at a summer music program, but reconnected about 10 years later living in New York City.
A Wedding in Italy
We got married at Villa Corsini. Our incredible wedding planner Luba helped us choose this space. While scrolling through Instagram and daydreaming of an Italian destination wedding during the COVID lockdown, I had seen Luba’s work on her pages and on the STG blog highlighting Villa Corsini. I would never have believed it if you told me that it would be OUR wedding venue!
We knew we wanted a destination wedding in Italy – my family is Italian-American and we spent a lot of time in Italy growing up. My husband also studied abroad in Florence and we both happen to love Florence in particular. It’s our favorite city. It was a great place for family and friends to gather during the week of the wedding, and then we all took the short drive to Villa Corsini. The entire team at Villa Corsini made us feel like family, and as if it was our home.
Planned to Perfection
Luba of Primavera Dreams was instrumental in implementing our wedding vibe/atmosphere. We wanted it to feel luxurious but not too stuffy, casual and comfortable but also elegant, colorful but also classic. Luba and Yael helped execute amazing events leading up to the wedding for our guests that allowed them to get to know each other and bond.
The biggest compliment from guests was that, by the time the wedding came around, everyone knew each other and felt like family, which made the celebration that much more real and genuine! We had several dinners leading up to the wedding welcoming everyone. One was all together, and then my husband and I each spent one evening at a pizza party dinner for just our sides of the family (so, I hosted a pizza party for my family/friends, and he did the same for his).
It felt like we really got meaningful quality time with each person/group at our wedding. We also each had bachelor/bachelorette events the weekend before the wedding. We couldn’t have done this without Luba, Yael, and Primavera Dreams. They pulled it together with us on a limited timeline (while I was on tour most of the time!), and navigated many different family needs that we had. We are forever grateful! PS if you’re looking to hire Luba, please see my review for her on Google as well!
Invitation
We used Paperless Post for our Save the Date and invites. Stiatti Fiori did the rest!
Hair + Makeup
Gino Mauro Vitali of Armilla Beauty was incredible!
A Marcella NYC Dress
My dress was from Marcella NYC, which I am completely OBSESSED with! I think I have purchased almost every piece that they make! My mom somehow discovered them on Pinterest and found their Valeria dress. I didn’t really feel the need for a traditional wedding dress experience where you go to the store with your friends and try several dresses and spend a ton of money on the dress. I preferred to spend on other areas of the wedding.
I also wanted a more unique but still classic style. I wasn’t into the traditional princess or ballgown or mermaid styles, etc. I instantly knew the Valeria dress was the one because it was a simple, classic, straight-down/form-fitting ivory dress with two unique elements that were still very elegant: a one shoulder neckline that gave the look of a Greek Goddess, and a mesh overlay that added an element of sophistication and elegance. It was fun and low-maintenance but still classic and memorable. I ordered it online, tried it at home, and instantly new it was perfect.
Special shoutout to Honeylove for the excellent shapewear! For dancing I changed into a shorter strapless dress from Lulu’s. For the events leading up to the wedding I also wore Marcella’s Caterina dress and Ashley dress. In addition, in my everyday life and performance life I cannot live without several other pieces! I’m also very passionate about education and helping the next generation of young women and girls. Marcella’s mission hits this point straight on.
Ceremony & Chuppah
Our chuppah was beautifully designed by Stiatti Fiori! All I did was choose the wooden beams versus the iron beams and they whipped up a magical chuppah with my preferred color scheme. We had a Jewish ceremony with my husband’s family rabbi from his hometown. My family is not Jewish, and it was very important to me that the ceremony be approachable, fun, meaningful, and engaging for all.
For the traditional “Seven Blessings” in a Jewish wedding ceremony, we paired up one guest from my husband’s side and one from my side to give the blessing in Hebrew and then in English, which was either a direct English translation or their own blessing that they wrote in the spirit of the theme. My favorite part was walking through the English lawn with my parents, and after a while, seeing the chuppah and flowers and my husband and all the guests in the distance – it was amazing to see how our vision came to life that day!
Ketubah
Our ketubah is unforgettable! It was designed by Noam of KetubaHome. Noam was so amazing to work with! I really wanted to find something interesting, unique, and funky…something that would be a true and timeless art piece for years to come. When I saw Noam’s 3D laser cut ketubah on Etsy I immediately fell in love and knew it was the perfect one – almost like finding your wedding dress! 🙂 I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to really make it happen though, due to the distance (her in Israel, me in US, wedding in Italy) and timeline.
Plus, we had several customizations we wanted to make to our text. Noam was very quick to reply and initiate our project when I inquired, she was so patient and thoughtful with us the entire way as we were working on customizing our text. We sent her several drafts as we were finalizing our text, and she was always very thoughtful and thorough to show us the final mockup. The added gold leaf really makes the detail pop, and I was also so happy to support a women-owned business. If you are looking for a ketubah, I highly recommend Noam of KetubaHome!
All of our wedding guests were blown away and even now, anyone who sees it insists that it is the most beautiful ketubah they have seen. Even our framer, who has framed thousands of them in his lifetime, said it was the most gorgeous one he had seen! Thank you Noam for a truly meaningful and memorable piece of art that we will cherish forever! PS the item was packaged so carefully and traveled across the world with no issue – thank you Noam!
Our music choice
You might be surprised to hear that as professional musicians we actually opted to go with a DJ and not a band! We started with a string quartet for the ceremony and the aperitivo. Then we created a playlist of our favorite jazz recordings for dinner. Then we created a playlist of our favorite dancing songs for the party.
Kaleydo Entertainment was excellent to work with. The string quartet was lovely, the DJ (Remo Giugni) was friendly and approachable, and adjusted to any requests we had. Kaleydo also provided the lighting throughout the villa which was gorgeous. I had also purchased glow-in-the-dark tambourines and maracas which was a blast for dancing!
Flowers
I love Tuscan/olive green and so we used several greens in the florals and stationary to compliment the venue’s Tuscan hills and vineyards. I also wanted pops of mostly poppy/orange, some pinks, and white to bring in bold and also classic colors that represent a joyful summertime Italian wedding. Stiatti Fiori turned my ideas into the most amazing pieces I could have imagined! They also designed all the paper goods such as menus, place cards, and signs. They were lovely to work with and I love to support a family business!
Photographer and videographer
Our photographer is Michael Zennaro. Our videographer is Sara Canducci.
This was absolutely a DREAM TEAM for photo and video! They worked OUTSTANDINGLY well together and were so fun, easy, and supportive every step of the way. They fit in beautifully with our guests and had a great demeanor working with them. I told them they should be a package deal! Highly highly recommend! I recently wrote a review on Michael Zennaro’s Google page as well in more detail.
Food and cake
Guido Guidi Ricevimenti was outstanding! The day we spent in Florence for our food tasting and place setting selection was one of the best days of our lives!
Extra Details
We also want to thank the following folks who helped us greatly in Florence! Bridal Nails by Maniboo. Grand Hotel Cavour – I first visited this hotel as a baby! It was amazing to go back with our entire wedding group. La Menagere for our Post-Wedding Brunch: An amazing whimsical place to visit for coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner, private party! Recommended by Luba. Pizza Party: Ristorante Lorenzo de Medici recommended by Luba, and Pizzeria Giotto.
Honeymoon
Luba suggested we visit Lago Maggiore which was gorgeous. We stayed at Grand Hotel Des Iles Borromees, which was a total dream.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Try not to get caught up in other people’s or family members’ opinions or requests. It’s your and your partner’s wedding and special day. Do your best to accommodate any major needs but there is such a thing as OVERcatering to people – you don’t need to do that or worry if people will be happy/have fun. They are there to celebrate you and your happiness.
Things like meal preferences, liquor preferences, photography requests, hair and makeup schedule preferences, etc can take up a lot of your time and energy if you let them. Be clear and set boundaries from the beginning when speaking with family/friends and try not to commit to any ideas/requests until you’ve had a chance to sit with it and chat about it with your planner and partner.
Also, don’t be afraid to do things differently or non-traditionally either. Different is exciting! Sometimes we assume something has to be done a certain way, but if you sit with it a bit longer you may brainstorm a different or more creative path that you like better.
S&A’s LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Michael Zennaro
Planner – Primavera Dreams {offers $350 discount on any package + a bottle of Champagne on Primavera to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Videography – Sara Canducci
Venue – Villa Corsini
Bride’s dress – Marcella NYC
Bride’s Nails – Maniboo
Hair + Makeup – Gino Mauro Vitali
Flowers and Day of Stationery – Stiatti Fiori
Entertainment – Kaleydo Entertainment
Catering – Guido Guidi Ricevimenti
Invitation – Paperless Post
Ketubah – KetubaHome
Honeymoon – Grand Hotel Des Iles Borromees
Smash The Glass Pouch – Smashing The Glass Etsy Shop {or join Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club and get one for free!}
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.
