Italy Archives - Page 12 of 13 - Smashing the Glass

An Ines Di Santo bride for a destination Jewish wedding in the Italian countryside at Relais Sant’Uffizio, Monferrato, Piedmont, Italy

02/06/2015 by Karen

Today we are heading to the region of Piedmont in Italy for a sunshine-soaked destination Jewish wedding. Piedmont is not only breathtakingly beautiful, it’s also a gastronomic gem and famous for its wine production. It was therefore the perfect location for the wedding of self-proclaimed foodie couple, Jacqueline and Florian, who live in New York City.

Theirs is a wedding of pure elegance, creativity and authentic Italian touches. Those touches range from a team of local Piedmont Flag Throwers greeting them at their recessional, to having an actual Nutella bar at the party! Yes, Piedmont is the birthplace of Nutella — the region is full of hazelnut fields and as a tribute to this, there was an actual Nutella bar (I die), and additionally a local bakery made the region’s famous Torta alle nocciole e brindisi con — essentially a hazelnut-filled wedding cake.

I adore the “Recipe for Love” screen printed tea towel save-the-date too — such a great idea for a foodie couple. And I haven’t even begun to tell you about the florals (you need to see the bouquets!), or the fact that these two were actually married by Italy’s first female rabbi, Barbara Aiello.

I think what Jacqueline and Florian teach us is that even if you get married abroad, it can still be a really personal affair, filled with the most important things to you — in their case, that’s family, friends, fantastic food and wine, great music, and an appreciation and respect for a variety of bridged cultures and traditions.

The whole affair was planned lovingly and meticulously by our much loved Smashing Suppliers, Valentina and Ernesto Troncarelli from the Italian Wedding Company. Jacqueline has so much love for them, and rightly so.

Without further ado, I’ll let the beautiful bride transport you to Italy with her detailed report, alongside Gianluca and Mary Adovasio‘s beautiful photography and Riccardo Lavezzo‘s film.

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Lea & Douglas | ‘Costiera chic’ super luxe Jewish wedding at Belmond Hotel Caruso , Ravello, Amalfi Coast, Italy

12/05/2015 by Karen

Romance, art, al fresco disco — and a party that ends up in the infinity pool – today we’re off to one of our eternal favourite Jewish wedding destinations, the Amalfi Coast.

I have a lot of a soft spot for this dreamy coastline (yes, I honeymooned there!) and quite frankly it just keeps on giving and giving.

Lea and Douglas chose the refined, polished, ancient town of Ravello for their day, sitting high in the hills above the dizzying landscape of Amalfi. Stunning, stunning, stunning!

It was so beautiful they rustled up a famous contemporary artist and relative — Jonas Wood — to capture this magical setting and help them create the most impressive and frame worthy invite (and order of service) ever!

An artistic vein ran throughout this Ravello wedding, with a nod to France — where they met — and a rousing chorus of Empire State of Mind for Big Apple born Douglas.

Even though they planned the wedding from afar, amazingly, Lea and Douglas didn’t use a wedding planner, they simply brought their own exquisite taste and personal touches to make the day unique.

I love that they struck such a fine balance between the natural — check out the gorgeous chuppah of green and white flowers — and the ultra glam – those Valentino powder pink heels and that silhouette enhancing, hand stitched, sequinned, wedding gown for a start. Pure Costiera Chic!

Gianni di Natale sums up the day beautifully in these glorious, awe inspiring shots, together with his exquisite wedding film at the end of the post.

A luxury hotel venue that was once an 11th century palace, overlooking the Amalfi Coast

Lea, the Bride: We got married at the Belmond Hotel Caruso in Ravello on the Amalfi Coast for the wonderful scenery (the deep blue sea, the mountains) and the beauty of the village. Ravello is a romantic and very special poetic place. It is also still very authentic by its people (even with the numerous weddings celebrated there all year round) and the food is delicious.

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Karen & David | Elegant white Jewish wedding at Villa Giusso, Sorrento, Amalfi Coast, Italy

14/04/2015 by Karen

This morning we’re off to Italy to indulge in Karen and David’s sumptuous Jewish wedding in Sorrento courtesy of Gianni di Natale Photography. Although I’ve blogged Jewish weddings from the Amalfi Coast before, this is the first one I’ve featured that takes place in Sorrento. It’s rather momentous for me to be blogging a wedding that took place in this magical part of the world, as it’s where Mr STG and I spent our honeymoon in 2013.

We loved the sunny climate and the jaw-dropping views of the Bay of Naples, not to mention the incredible Italian food. This wedding has all three in buckets as well as one of my favourite ever Hora (Jewish dancing) images of all time, featuring the bride doing a 180 ° — literally upside down!

And the guests…well if the photos at the end of the night are anything to go by, then it’s clear that they had a darned good time!

If you’re a fan of the classically elegant wedding then this one is for you…the same applies if you’re a bit of a fan of Italy as there’s some fairly stunning shots of the coast too.

a spectacular villa venue in Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast

Karen, the Bride: David and I got married in Italy, on the Amalfi coast in a town called Sorrento. We instantly fell in love with the house we chose for our religious ceremony and reception called Villa Giusso. The venue was located on the top of a hill overlooking Sorrento bay, and the entire wedding took place in the beautiful garden which surrounded the house. The chuppah was set up outside overlooking the sea and the dinner under lemon trees. We could not have dreamt of a better setting for our wedding.

Jane & David | Elegant bohemian Jewish wedding at Villa Scorz, Pisa, Italy

05/08/2014 by Karen

How beautiful is today’s bride, Jane? I think she has something of the Cheryl Cole about her but she’s actually a far more elegant and ethereal version! I absolutely adore Jane’s entire look — from her delightfully floaty Pronovias wedding dress to her custom-made high heels and her exquisite long veil.

But of course there’s lots more to love about Jane and David’s wedding captured so wonderfully by the talented STG favourite, David Bastianoni.

There’s a dance group performing to a medley from Grease(!); there’s a pomegranate theme running through everything from the invitations to the monogram to the ring pillow, to the wedding cake, to the favours and menus; there’s a wonderfully personalised table plan incorporating different images of the couple; and there’s a cigar, whiskey and chocolate corner at the after party (that idea I’m particularly coveting).

But most of all there is so much love…

Natalie & Oren | Spectacular Jewish wedding at The Great Synagogue + Villa Cora, Florence, Italy

03/01/2014 by Karen

I kid you not. The moment I laid my eyes on this magnificent wedding captured by David Bastianoni, I was speechless. As in, my mouth was unable to form words and my brain was unable to make sentences. And as a wedding blogger, that can be kind of a problem. But stare for even one minute at the array of images in this post, by the amazing David Bastianoni, and you’ll be doing the exact same thing.

So let’s hand over to our gorgeous bride, Natalie, to provide you with all the delicious detail of the day.

VENUE
Natalie, the Bride: We had our ceremony at The Great Synagogue of Florence. I lived in Florence for 9 months in 2002 and I always remembered the synagogue being remarkable. Upon re-visiting the synagogue I knew I wanted to get married there. We even decided to keep the ceremony at the synagogue despite it being an open house day where the synagogue was open to visitors throughout the day. Needless to say we had a lot of bystanders and ”extra” guests at our ceremony but we didn’t mind.

The reception was held at Villa Cora. The hotel was redone a few years ago and the main salon is breathtaking. As soon as I saw the main salon at Villa Cora my mind was made up. As you can see in the photos, the room speaks for itself. We ended up having more people than we expected and we used an adjoining room which was equally as gorgeous but with a totally different style (Moroccan).

AN ELEGANT WEDDING DRESS
I chose a dress by Marisa, New York. I knew I wanted something lace and I wasn’t looking for white. The material underneath the lace was a champagne color. When I saw my dress I knew it was the one as it had the perfect bustle (which we added to a bit) and an elegant lace overlay.