Buckle your seatbelts, we’re taking off for beautiful Florence, Italy, where Atlanta couple Ilyssa, a strategy pricing analyst for a hospitality company, and Nick, who works as a sales engineer for a HVAC distributor, held the intimate destination Jewish wedding of their dreams!
Taking their cues from their majestic venue, Villa Cora, Ilyssa and Nick kept things romantic and elegant with plenty of flowers, greenery, candles, and romantic lighting. And their outdoor chuppah was truly the stuff of fairy tales – sitting amidst a stunning backdrop of the autumnal Florentine countryside, covered in greenery and flowers, and set at the end of an aisle strewn with rose petals and lined with candles. Don’t miss it in the wonderful photos by Leigh Wolfe!
We’re also obsessed with the couple’s exquisite ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Danny Azoulay Ketubahs. In Ilyssa’s words, “The verbiage on our ketubah really resonated with us and the life we want to build together through Judaism. The verbiage ended with ‘Set me as a seal on your heart.’ I had this engraved on the inside of Nick’s wedding band, so we can always remember what our ketubah represents even on the hard days.” Awwww!
There’s so much more to say about this very special Jewish wedding – like, how great is it that instead of a wedding came Ilyssa and Nick opted for a midnight pizza bar?! – but we’ll let Ilyssa herself fill you in on the rest…
How we Met
Ilyssa, the bride: It was your typical modern day romance… We met on Bumble in 2016. At the time, Nick was living in Atlanta while I finished my undergraduate degree in Athens at The University of Georgia. As we are both big beer fans, it was only natural that our first date was at an Atlanta brewery. After dating for 5 years Nick finally asked me to be his wife at the Cator Woolford Gardens in Atlanta, Georgia.
A Wedding in Florence
We got married at Villa Cora in Florence, Italy. In October 2021, shortly after our engagement, we visited Italy for vacation but also to look at wedding venues. We always knew we wanted an intimate destination wedding with our closest friends and family.
We chose Florence for a lot of reasons. Nick had studied abroad in Europe in college and fell in love with the city during that time. He knew if we did a European destination wedding, Florence was at the top of the list. I quickly fell in love with the city when we visited together and knew it would hold a special place in our hearts.
When we toured Villa Cora, we immediately fell in love with the venue and knew it was the perfect place for our special day. The Villa’s beautiful architecture and intricate details make for the most romantic venue. Every room has its own character and story that leaves you breathless. Not only was the venue hard not to love, but for us, and planning a wedding abroad, it was also practical.
Location-wise, it is right outside of the city centre and is easily accessible from the Florence airport and train station. Since we were already asking our friends and family to travel, we hoped this aspect would make logistics once they arrived easier. Additionally, because of the intricacies and beauty of the Villa, we also knew any decorations we added were just a cherry on top. But alone, you could have the most stunning event without adding many details.
Theme & Wedding Planner
The theme of our wedding was romantic and elegant. We wanted a classy event. Aesthetically, we went for an ornate Villa filled with flowers, greenery, candles, and romantic lighting to portray love and joy. The colour scheme was dark emerald green accompanied with warm neutrals – pinks, browns, beiges and yellows.
Our wedding planner was Daniela from The Tuscan Wedding. She did a wonderful job of taking time to understand us as a couple and what we were looking for in our special day. We could not have planned or executed an abroad wedding without her! She has exquisite taste and settles for nothing but the best. On the day of the event, she and her whole team came to make sure our event went smoothly. They wore headpieces to communicate, and we joked that we had the Italian secret service at our wedding.
Invitations / stationery
Paper Daisies designed the invitations and La Precisina designed our stationery. We chose an elegant invitation as we wanted it to set the mood for the event. The envelope was gold foil with a water color liner of Florence. The liner added an individualized element to the invitation. We wanted guests to get excited – we were going to Italy, after all!
Hair + Make-up
Valeriya did my makeup and hair for both my wedding day and rehearsal dinner. I could not have loved her more! For my wedding day, I did an updo because I wanted the open back of my dress to be visible. She nailed it. And for my makeup, we did a smokey eye. I loved the look because I felt done up while not feeling over the top. It was the perfect look for our special day.
A Pronovias Dress
My dress was a romantic A line gown by Pronovias. I bought it at a bridal boutique in Atlanta called The White Magnolia. It was the first dress I tried on! When I first put it on, I knew it was the one, but that didn’t stop me from trying on 100 more. It was the perfect dress to match my Italian dream wedding. It had an intricate lace v-neck top with sheer lace sleeves and a tulle skirt. To incorporate a touch of sentimentality, I wore my sister’s veil from her 2019 wedding (also purchased from White Magnolia).
For my rehearsal dinner, I had my mom’s wedding dress shortened into a mini dress and matching purse. And, for my ‘something blue’ my seamstress sewed a cut out heart from a shirt of my dad’s into my dress, that way I always have him close to my heart. I’m so glad I added these special touches. My family are the most important people to me and it was an honor to wear something sentimental from each of them on my special day.
Bridesmaids
I had nine bridesmaids. They wore Jenny Yoo emerald green dresses. There were three styles. One was a velvet dress with sleeves, another was a satin spaghetti strap dress with a middle slit, and the third was a burnout (velvet pattern over satin) spaghetti strap dress. The different styles complimented each other so well. My girls looked incredible and they matched the theme perfectly.
Ceremony and Chuppah
Our ceremony was one of our favourite parts of our day because of the special touches throughout it. My sister, Katie, officiated the ceremony. This was so special for many reasons but mostly because of both mine and Nick’s incredibly close relationship with her. Katie was able to make the ceremony personal on a level that only our closest family would be able to. We used my dad’s tallit to wrap us in during the ceremony. And, fabric from my mom’s wedding dress train and my grandmother’s veil was draped over the chuppah.
The chuppah was the focal point of the ceremonial garden, covered in greenery and flowers that sat in front of the fall coloured backdrop of the Florentine countryside. Leading you to the stunning chuppah was a rose petal aisle lined with candles and flower arrangements. It truly added an elegant, fairy-tale touch.
The string duo was another beautiful addition to the ceremony but our favourite part was the little things that happened throughout it that made it feel like us. My veil got caught on the concrete as I walked down the stairs, we messed up our dip and kiss as we receded down the aisle… we could go on. But, nonetheless, we enjoyed the authentic moments that weren’t staged. Those are the moments that we will forever look back on and laugh. Because, did our wedding day have flaws? Sure. But was it perfect? Absolutely.
Ketubah
We got our ketubah from Danny Azoulay Ketubahs. The verbiage on our ketubah really resonated with us and the life we want to build together through Judaism. The verbiage ended with “Set me as a seal on your heart.” I had this engraved on the inside of Nick’s wedding band, so we can always remember what our ketubah represents even on the hard days.
Our Music Choice
The music at our wedding was one of our favourite parts. For the ceremony and cocktail hour, we had a beautiful string duo. They provided a classical and whimsical vibe for the duration of the ceremony and cocktail hour. For our reception, we had a DJ with a live trumpet, saxophone, and drummer. This combination was so much fun! The live instruments added such a vibrant touch and they played on the dance floor as we danced which really heightened the reception.
At first we really wanted a band, and we did have some reservations about a DJ. But, when I say DJ Matthew exceeded all expectations, I mean it. We could not have imagined a better combination for our reception. Today, people still talk about the live instruments and how it was the best part!
Processional for wedding party- ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ by Haley Reinhart. Processional for bride – ‘Canon in D’. Recessional- ‘Dance the Night Away’ by Van Halen. First Dance- ‘Can’t Get Enough of You Love, Babe’ by Barry White. Father/Bride Dance- ‘Make Your Own Kind of Music’ by Cass Elliot. Mother/Groom Dance- ‘My Wish’ by Rascal Flatts
Flowers
All of the flower credit goes to our wedding planner, Daniela, and Flowers Living. Daniela did a wonderful job designing the bouquets and letting us know where it was most important to add flowers in the Villa. Our table arrangements for the dinner were stunning. The estate table had tall antique gold candelabras with 25 candles each.
The candelabras were surrounded with greenery, flowers, and votive candles at the base. The other tables had flowers in low gold urns with a composition of greenery, flowers, and candle holders of different heights. No amount of pictures do the flowers justice. We were so pleased with how they turned out – Flowers Living is genius!
Photographer
Our photographer was the one vendor we brought with us to Italy from the United States and it was the best decision we made. Leigh Wolfe is an incredibly talented photographer. She photographed my sister’s wedding in 2019, and since I met her then, I knew she was the one I wanted to capture our special day. Leigh is a joyful light that brought an important amount of comfort to our wedding day. She works with you as a couple to make you feel at ease while she takes pictures. She is funny, bright and full of energy and we could not be more thankful that she was our photographer.
Photographers are present during your most intimate moments during your wedding day and we think it is really crucial to have a photographer that you are comfortable with. Leigh does just that, she makes you feel like she is part of your family and for that we are so grateful she was our photographer.
Food
Villa Cora did all of the food for the day of the wedding. We had passed hors d’oeuvres during cocktail hour and a wonderful four course meal for dinner. The first course was chickpea cream with mushrooms. The second course was basil cream lasagne, and let’s just say the Italians do lasagne way better (and fancier). The main course was a beef fillet. Lastly, for dessert, we had chocolate biscuits with cream and raspberries.
We did not have a wedding cake. To us, it was not something that was a priority on our special day. Instead, we opted for a midnight pizza bar. This was a huge crowd pleaser. Why feed each other cake when you can feed each other pizza?
Honeymoon
Seeing as we were already in Europe, it just made sense to attach a European honeymoon to the end of our whole trip. We flew to Paris two days after our wedding, and immediately trained to Reims where we stayed at a magical hotel called Domaine Les Crayeres for a few days. With a Michelin star restaurant in the hotel, and all of the champagne houses a short private car ride away, Reims was the perfect place to relax after the wedding. We were back to the City of Love for the second half of the week. We stayed at the Intercontinental Le Grand and ate and drank our way through the city.
Advice to other couples planning their wedding
Take it all in. Not everything will go perfect but roll with the punches. Don’t worry about every detail. Have a glass of champagne (or two). Stop and look around. And, HAVE FUN, you are marrying your best friend!
ILYSSA & NICK’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Leigh Wolfe
Ketubah – Danny Azoulay Ketubahs
Wedding planner – The Tuscan Wedding
Venue – Villa Cora
Bride’s dress – Pronovias found at The White Magnolia
Bridesmaids – Jenny Yoo
Hair + Makeup – Valeriya
Flowers – Flowers Living
DJ – DJ Matthew
Catering – Villa Cora
Invitation – Paper Daisies
Stationery – La Precisina
Honeymoon – Domaine Les Crayeres, Intercontinental Le Grand
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.
