The “Meet Cute”
Let me start from the beginning for those of you that don’t know our story because our “meet cute” is one of my favorite stories to tell 🙂 An Instagram follower of mine played matchmaker when she slid into my DM’s and asked to set me up with her coworker, Mr. Chic. From the moment he showed up to our first date in scrubs, I knew he was the one. Yes, that was partly because I thought he was a doctor. I’m kiddinggg ok, he truly swept me off of my feet from day one and not because he’s 6′ 6″ (although that helped). Picture from our second date at a UofH game because I was too nervous to snap a pic on our first!
Our Engagement Story
Now fast forward 3 years and a move to Chicago later, I’ll quickly share our engagement story. I’ve always loved surprises (even though I’m notoriously hard to surprise), so it’s only fitting that I accidentally planned my own engagement. It was Mr. Chic’s 35th birthday and our first St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago, so I organized a big celebration with family and friends who flew in to join us in the city that knows how to do it best. Little did I know, he had an even bigger surprise planned—and in the middle of all the birthday excitement, he proposed in our favorite Chicago spot on the river. It was everything I never saw coming.
A Fairytale Wedding
Fast forward 6 months to our Tuscany wedding. When I tell people that our wedding came together in just seven weeks, people usually do a double take—but it’s true. After months of going back and forth on what kind of celebration we wanted, big or small, we finally decided what felt right for us. A decision we knew from the beginning yet detoured for a minute. A small destination wedding in Italy had always been my dream, and once we found Villa Marchese in Tuscany, everything started falling into place.
*If you are looking to plan a wedding in Tuscany or just looking for tips on how to manage the logistics of a destination wedding, I’ve shared a ton of info in the FAQ at the bottom of this post!
We knew we wanted the weekend to feel intentional and intimate—less about perfection, more about time spent with our biggest support system. With just a total of 19 of our closest family and friends by our side, we celebrated two becoming one. The venue was breathtaking, with sweeping views of the Tuscany countryside, warm September light, and the kind of old-world charm that feels like stepping into a film.
One of my favorite and most emotional moments of the day was our private vow reading the morning of. I didn’t have very many non-negotiables for our wedding but not seeing each other on our wedding day until the altar was one of them.
(Shop my pajamas here!)
Just the two of us, we shared words we’ll never forget. It was quiet, raw, and peaceful—a moment that set the tone for the celebration to come.
I wore the Jones gown by Grace Loves Lace and fell in love with its simplicity, elegance, and movement. I wanted something that felt like me—nothing too structured or overdone. I had to go back to the dress drawing board if you will when we decided to elope in just 7 weeks, I had to find a different dress. I originally had purchased this dress from Anthropologie (transparently completely out of my comfort zone) but when we made the decision to do Italy, there was no way I could get it tailored with enough time. I knew that Grace Loves Lace had “ready to wear” gowns that could be available in as quick as 2-3 weeks. My younger sister, Kacey, and I went in to try their dresses on and I knew from the moment that I put this one on that she was the ONE. She combined so many elements of other dresses that I loved and made me feel so beautiful even as understated as she was.
The low back, the soft lace, the simplicity…it captured everything I envisioned for the day.
The wedding day itself was filled with love, laughter, Aperol spritzes, and the kind of joy you can’t quite put into words. From our ceremony on the lawn to dancing under the Tuscan night sky with our people, every detail felt like a reflection of us.
Was it a little wild to plan a wedding in Italy in less than two months? Yes. Would I do it all over again? In a heartbeat. It was the most heart-full, unforgettable weekend of our lives.
Vendors
WEDDING DRESS: JONES GOWN
ACCESSORIES: PIERLOT VEIL
VENUE: VILLA MARCHESE 1975
PHOTOGRAPHER: EMILY FIGURELLI PHOTOGRAPHY
VIDEOGRAPHER: THIRTY FIVE STUDIOS
MAKEUP ARTIST: TUSCANY WEDDING HAIR MAKEUP
HAIR STYLIST: KATY WEDDING HAIR
MUSICIAN: ANDREA PINSUTI
OFFICIANT: DANIEL EBY (our brother in law)
Frequently Asked Questions
Which airport did you fly into?
Half of our guests flew into Florence and the other half flew into Rome. Florence was about an hour from the venue and Rome was about 2. Depending on airlines and flight prices, our guests chose what made the most sense for them!
Did you provide transportation for your guests?
We did! We had shuttles arranged to and from both cities. We used a private shuttle company that our wedding planner set up for us.
Did everybody stay onsite?
Yes! We had 17 guests, including our photographer that we brought. Including us we had a total of 19 people and the villa slept 20 so we maxed out every room.
Did you have a dress code for the wedding/events?
Yes, I sent out a PDF with a dress code for each event. HERE is a link to the PDF that I made and shared. I would say it was more of a guide to help people know the “vibe” more than anything!
What was the weather like that time of year?
It was a tad rainy and starting to cool down in the early mornings/late evenings but otherwise perfect! I believe it was a low of 55-60 and high of 75-80 while we were there. We got married September 24th and I feel like one to two weeks earlier would have been the sweet spot.
Did you have a wedding planner and would you recommend them?
Villa Marchese came with a wedding planner (and an entire staff including maids and chefs too)! Our planner, Ellen, was absolutely fabulous, so patient and truly brought my vision to life even from 5,000 miles away. With such a quick turnaround, not seeing the venue nor meeting potential vendors, I leaned heavily on Ellen.
How did you find your vendors?
Ellen did it all! They have a go to list of vendors that they typically use but also allowed you to bring your own vendors in. I used all of their recommendations other than hair and make up who I found on Instagram by searching hashtags like #tuscanywedding #tuscanyweddinghair & #tuscanyweddingmakeup
Did you use local or international photographer/videographers? How did you find them?
My photographer was my good friend, Emily Figurelli, who I met when we lived in Houston. I told my husband early on (like way before we were even engaged) that Emily would our wedding photographer. With such short notice, we thought Emily would already be booked but she was able to move some things around and come with! Our videographer, Thirty Five Studios, was local to Italy and I found him through Instagram. I didn’t meet him in person until day of but he made me feel so comfortable and I loved the aesthetic of his videos. I could not recommend either one enough- they were FABULOUS to work with!! I will say I do think it’s extremely important to hire a photographer/videographer that you feel comfortable with and can make you feel comfortable in front of the camera!! It will definitely show in photos. I knew Emily would be able to make people laugh and be themselves in front of the camera but also be able to capture the most beautiful, candid moments as well when nobody knew the camera was on. Those are my favorite 🙂
Did you ship anything ahead of time?
Yes, we shipped some things for the table scape and welcome bags.
Did you plan activities for your guests?
We went back and forth about leaving the villa but ultimately decided to stay and enjoy the property. We had a full itinerary for the 3 days that we were at the Villa. Some of the activities included a pizza party, gelato cart, pool day, martini bar, massages, wine tasting and backyard BBQ.
How did you handle budgeting for the wedding? Did you cover any costs for your guests?
My in laws covered the welcome party and my parents covered the rest of the wedding costs. Since everyone stayed at the Villa my parents took care of everyone’s lodging and transportation to and from. I felt very strongly about covering these costs for our guests even if it came out of my own money. Everyone was spending a lot of time and money to come to our dream wedding and I felt like this was something we could do to ease the costs. I feel beyond fortunate to have parents that financially supported our dream wedding!! I will say that all in (including our honeymoon) we spent almost 1/3 of what we would have spent had we done a full blown wedding in Napa like we originally planned.
Anything you wish you’d done differently?
Yes and no. I loved how stress free and intimate it was and I wouldn’t change a thing about the location, vendors or overall experience! I do wish I had had a little more time to plan just so that everything didn’t feel so rushed but at the same time I loved how quickly everything came together so there’s a wish washy answer for you lol! I think 4-6 months would have been the perfect planning amount of time.
What was the biggest challenge of planning an international wedding?
The time difference and short timeframe! We had weekly calls with our wedding planner but with only 7 weeks till the wedding day and only talking once a week, it felt like everything took forever when we didn’t have a lot of time. Also the Italians are a lot more relaxed so everything takes awhile to get a response, which when you need a response ASAP due to time constraints, it can be a tad bit stressful!
Any advice for someone planning an international wedding?
Hire a local wedding planner!! They will know the area/vendors best and be a good advocate for you as they can go see people and things in person that you can’t. They are your eyes and hears from afar so find someone that you 100% trust to bring your vision to life. Try to visit the venue/location at least once before the wedding so that you have your bearings and can envision how you want to bring your wedding to life. Over inform your guests as they are spending a lot of time and money to come and need to plan/budget for things! Since it was a small group, we had an excel spreadsheet with everyone’s flight info, shuttle information, wedding itinerary, etc as well as a group text that we shared all pertinent information.
Stay tuned for more wedding blog posts to come – I will be breaking down all of the details of each day/event!
