WWW readers Dave and Jenny headed to Tuscany in August for their wedding to enjoy the views and local produce. They had a musical day, with Dave singing to Jenny as she walked down the aisle, and fun record details in their reception décor.

Jenny looked amazing in her Candy Anthony dress and polka dot veil while Dave went for a black skinny 3 piece suit which looked very sharp. Gorgeous.

Thanks so much to Steal The Stage Photography for sharing their images with us today.

 

The Proposal… Dave proposed to me on the morning of my 30th. He proposed with my Mother’s engagement ring (which I have always loved-this was because Dave wanted me to design my own ring which we did two months later).

It was a total surprise…very relaxed and very us…I was in my PJ’s and he just sat next to me and said he had forgotten to give me one of my presents. Even though it looked very obvious, as to what it was, I had been hoping for earrings so you can imagine my surprise when it was in fact a ring!!! I cried and CRIED as it was a total surprise. I had to quickly pull myself together as we had a 30th birthday party to organise and now an impromptu engagement party. This was the best bit, my friends turning up for my birthday and then telling them my AWESOME news

The Vision for the Day… We got married in Tuscany so we wanted to celebrate the local produce of Chianti Classico Red wine as well as the amazing views and of course the FOOD. The day was filled with music- From Dave playing/singing as I walked down the aisle- with backup vocals from The Social Club boys. (Dave’s band)

The Planning Process… We did a lot ourselves and were very lucky that Lewis (One of The Social Club boys) and his family drove to Italy in the band’s van with all our creations and supplies, including 3 kegs of beer! However there was a lot we just couldn’t do and we decided quite early on to have a wedding planner.

We chose Chiara who owns the company Weddings in Tuscany. She was always at hand via e mail the year leading up to the wedding and again on the day. She was truly wonderful and we couldn’t have done it without her!

The Venue… We got married at the Town Hall in Siena on the main square, Palazzo Pubblico. We then went back to our private villa set on a wonderful winery; Tenuta Villa Rosa and dined on the terrace which was truly magical!

The Dress + Accessories… My dress ah my dress! I went for a Candy Anthony 1950′s inspired, polka dot dress with a HUGE black underskirt and black belt. I had a short polka dot veil which matched the dress. As my dress was short I knew I needed some killer heels-I opted for Vivienne Westwood + Melissa Shoes-Lady Dragon Bow in black.

I wore my Great Granny Olive’s marcasite bracelet and earrings as my something borrowed. I also wore my Nan Sheila’s engagement ring which is very special to me as my Bampy Eric is no longer with us. For my something blue I wore a sapphire and diamond ring which belonged to my Great Great Grandmother and given to me by my Nanny Pam when I was 16-I tied it to my knickers as I didn’t want to over load myself with jewels he he!

Hair-I have naturally curly hair and it was something I wanted to embrace rather than going for something straight and thus not me. My talented cousin, (who is only 19) Kirstie who is a hairdresser styled my hair, she was amazing and it was lovely to have my family involved!

Make-up. I am lucky that one of my close friends Nohelia is a make-up artist. 6 weeks prior to the wedding Nohelia had a beautiful baby girl, Luna. Nohelia was awesome she turned up a few hours (leaving Luna with Daddy Les) before kick off and literally transformed me! She is incredible and made me feel so relaxed especially as I didn’t have Kate my maid of honour with me.

Finding the Dress… There were times when I didn’t particularly enjoy the hunt for the dress-This was due to my first experience, where I was put into dresses that were a size 8 and I am a size 12….they attached bull dog clips to my bra and then the dress and I felt horrible! So from there on I was always on edge always worrying that they wouldn’t fit. But they did!

I tried lots of long traditional dresses on to begin with, thinking that this is what a wedding dress had to be….they were all lovely but nothing grabbed me! In the back of my mind I knew I wanted a short dress but I avoiding trying any on- I think because then I would then have to make an actual decision!

I took my sister in law Sarah with me to Candy Anthony as she had just recently got married, so she knew the process and she also happens to be a close friend. As soon as I tried THE dress on I just knew! Rachel at Candy Anthony was brilliant-I felt so relaxed with her we chatted about life, well mainly boys and of course dresses!

Groom’s Attire… Dave got his suit was Kenneth Cole. He went for a black skinny 3 piece- and a black skinny tie-very Dave! For the first time in 7 years of dating I got to see Dave in SHOES! Instead of trainers-I was more than happy for him to wear trainers but he opted for a grown-up pair of brogues! He wore guitar volume plug cuff links and I made him and the grooms party their button holes, which had a mini guitar to complete the music theme!

Dave also wore a handkerchief in his jacket pocket which was made from the same polka dot fabric as my dress-made by the lovely ladies at Candy Anthony. This was my wedding gift which I asked his sister Sarah to give him on the morning of the wedding.

The Readings + Music… We had two readings. The first was read by Sarah Mann (Dave’s sister) she read a poem by Bob Marley ‘Once in your life’. The second reading was read by Sue Towler (Jenny’s Step-Mom) who read an extract from Jenny’s favourite book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

MUSIC- My boy is quite awesome…he is the most talented musician and I was lucky enough to walk down the aisle to him singing ‘To Love Somebody’ (originally by the Bee Gees but we went for the slightly ‘cooler’ version by Ray LaMontagne) Walking towards Dave as he sang was probably the most happy/proudest I have ever been! As we signed the register Dave’s Dad Mike sang/played…. For our exit the boys of the Social Club and Dave’s sang sang Eight Days a week by the Beatles.

The first dance I think surprised some of the older guests….it is a beautiful song but it is heavy in parts! The song is called Butterlies on Lucy’s Way by *Shels (Dave used to be in *Shels) Have a listen here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRPKUlPW_Rc

VOWS-We kept them quite light as we thought the entrance may be a bit of a tear jerker A few extracts:

Dave and I both started with the line…Jenny/Dave dude….(that’s Dave’s most over used word and it made everyone laugh)

I promised Dave to rescue spiders that wonder into our home and Dave promised me(well my Dad) that he would occasionally go and watch Birmingham City Football Club.

Beautiful Bridesmaids… My Maid of Honour was Kate who I went to uni with-I have known her for about 10 years and she is my best friend. 12 days before I got married she gave birth to a beautiful boy-Morris!!!! So sadly Kate was unable to join us in Italy (for obvious reasons) I couldn’t think of a better excuse not to come!!! I must say she gave me the BEST hen considering she was 8 months pregnant. It was filled with lots of laughter but a lot of tears! She made me an emergency kit for the wedding day in her absence-which was brilliant and very useful!

I also had my beautiful step sisters Hannah and Jodi as bridesmaids-during the lead up to the day the girls were wonderful. They were at hand to help decorate the villa and most importantly managed to keep me calm. They looked so beautiful in their dresses! The dresses turned into a bit of a nightmare. I had a really clear vision of what I wanted them to wear and the only dress that came near were form China! So they got lost once in the post and when they finally arrived a month before…neither dresses fitted!!!!! Thankfully the girls’ have a very talented Nanny Freda who came to the rescue!!

The Flowers… My Bouquet had old garden roses, freesias, lysianthus and dahlias all in light pink and white. The Bridesmaids bouquets were gypsophilia and roses in light pink & white. I also wrapped the Bouquets with black lace and satin ribbon.

The Cake… Our cake was AMAZING!! A traditional and over the top Italian “Torta Nunziale”  It was in the shape of two hearts and made up of layers of pastry, cream and summer berries and it was delicious!

Your Photographer… JoJo of www.stealthestagephotography.com is an old friend of Dave’s from the UK music scene who has been taking amazing photos for a number of years. We wouldn’t have wanted anyone else there to capture the day, and whilst being close friends with our photographer obviously made for a comfortable and easy relationship, JoJo was the true professional throughout – working tirelessly all the day (even pushing the wedding car when the starter-motor died!). The memories he captured in his amazing photos speak for themselves

The Details + Decor… Although we didn’t have a set theme we did have a few music touches running throughout. Our wedding favours were 2nd hand 7″ records individually picked for each of our guests. Dave designed sleeves for the records so that they doubled as favours/place names/menus. Each table was then named after one of Dave’s bands that he has been in over the years, using 12″ records for the table names and the actual table plan. Colour wise we kept it quite simple with black, white and a dusky pink.

I did a degree in Textile Design so I guess you could say I’m a little creative.  I made bunting for the terrace area and also tissue pom-poms. For the table centres I spent a year buying every cotton doily I could get my hands on and dyed them black and sewed them together. We also had wooden signs dotted around the villa and black guilt frames with pictures of our grandparents. I am a Reception Class teacher and my girls were super excited about Miss Jenny getting married. They drew pictures of me and Dave on our wedding day which we hung on washing lines, pegged with black and pink pegs, alongside photos of us, family and friends -again on the terrace.

Chiara our wedding planner organised over 50 citronella candles in terracotta pots that lined the terrace area and the drive way as well as lots of tea lights. On the actual tables she put clear wine bottles with candles and jam jars filled with flowers-similar to those in my bouquet.

The Honeymoon… We decided to stay in Italy for our honeymoon and spent 2 weeks in Umbria. We spent a week in a private villa to de-stress. We then spent our second week exploring Umbria and stayed in some AMAZING boutique hotels.

Memorable Moments… Jenny: For me it has to be Dave playing to me-he had played it a few times before and I had SOBBED and SOBBED, so we expecting a waterfall from me and guess what!? The opposite happened I smiled, laughed and sang all the way down the aisle

Dave: It’s hard to pick specific moments from such a non-stop eventful and amazing day! Certainly the moment I first saw Jenny, looking absolutely beautiful! Overall, just being in such an amazing environment with so many friends and family there to celebrate with us – felt lucky at every moment to be able to do what we were doing.

Advice for Other Couples… GET MARRIED IN ITALY! And remember you are a team.

Credit Where Credit is Due…

Photographer: Lionel J Taplin

Wedding Planner: Chiara Sernesi

Reception venue: Villa Rosa

Caterer: Catering Roberta

Wine: Winery Farm

Videographer: Studiobonon 

Dress: Candy Anthony

Shoes: Vivienne Westwood

Make-up artist: Nohelia Reyes

The Band: The Social Club

 

So much fun and what a setting. Thanks so much to Dave and Jenny for sharing their beautiful wedding with us today XOXO Lou