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A Lihi Hod Bride for an Enchanted Garden Jewish Wedding at Villa Orlando, Torre del Lago, Tuscany, Italy

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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…

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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.Continue ReadingContinue Reading

Michaela & Zac | Destination Jewish Wedding at the Great Synagogue of Rome and the St Regis, Rome, Italy

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The extraordinary city of Rome was the inspiration behind Michaela and Zac’s regal, yet oh-so-fun, destination wedding with guests flying in from the UK, USA, Israel, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, and France, to share in the love for this gorgeous American couple.

The magical city of Rome appealed to Michaela and Zac, not only because of the far-flung nature of their guest list, but also because they had their first official date in Rome in January 2010 — how wonderfully romantic!

There are some really gorgeous Italian accents punctuating this wedding. Take the epic wedding transport — a teeny tiny mint green Italian Fiat 500 — and the choice of the legendary St. Regis Rome for the reception (originally a grand Roman palace dating back to 1894). Then there’s the jaw-dropping Great Synagogue of Rome where Michaela and Zac chose to have their ceremony (which was officiated by none other than the Chief Rabbi of Rome). Michaela says:

Zac and I both grew up in families that engaged in what we jokingly call “synagogue tourism.” If there was an old or interesting synagogue in whatever town or city our family was visiting, we had to stop by–whether for Shabbat services or a tour. We have continued that habit as a couple (and expanded it to touring places of worship of many other faiths, too), so the idea of getting married in a historic synagogue was something that felt very well-suited.”

And I must just hero worship Michaela’s mum. She not only designed Michaela’s phenomenal gown, she also created the bridesmaids dresses AND an incredible surprise gift for Michaela – a custom made and beaded clutch that depicted the couple’s beagle, Loki. He’s a major part of their lives (he even has his own Facebook page) and they were so disappointed that he wasn’t able to be involved in their wedding, so this really was the perfect gift. What a mama!

Thank you David Bastianoni for submitting this very special Jewish wedding packed full of personality. Every picture looks as though it’s from a fairytale and pitter patter doesn’t even begin to explain what my heart is doing right now… I hope you enjoy this wedding as much as I did.

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