A Juliet Cap Veil & A DIY Wedding Dress for an Italian Love Affair…

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"I will tell you now, it’s won’t all go as planned – that is part of the beauty of weddings
and of marriages.  The most beautiful thing about the whole day is the love you will feel…
…we danced all day long!

Don't allow stress to take over…"


Hi lovelies 🙂 I hope you've not missed out on viewing this morning's latest promotion for my readers.  I've also introduced you to one of my lovely new sponsors and shared a super-8mm wedding film with you already today, so let's get down to some real wedding loveliness.

I never receive any greater pleasure through blogging then when a Bride contacts me to let me know she's now a married woman, and that she had an amazing wedding day, and that she loved seeking inspiration from Love My Dress when she was planning her big day. Just like Amilea here…

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2011, Alessandro Roncaglione

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"I loved your blog when planning, it was my biggest daily read….", she said, in a late night email I received around 2 weeks ago now.  Amilea and Graham, who live in Los Angeles, tied the knot in Italy in September.  Soon as I saw these photographs, and especially once I discovered that Amelia had made her own wedding dress, my heart skipped a beat… 

"The 1920s and 30s are my daily muse.  A sunny Italian picnic in a simpler time.  If I could have arranged a big band to play—WOW!  I wanted ladies in tea dresses and gentlemen in hats.  We wanted to step back in time…"

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"I am in love with the elegance of the '20s and '30s, and knew right away that I wanted to design and make my own dress.  I love to sew. The fabric is a champagne coloured Italian washed silk.  The silk is treated with a sand wash.  It makes it incredibly soft and gives it a lustrous matte finish.  I was lucky to have the help of a friend who also sews.  She works as a costumer and was able to help me edit along the way.

I knew I wanted a Juliet cap veil.  The veil is also my creation.  It is 6 yard of embroidered silk tulle.  I tied the knots to create the cap on the wedding day itself…"

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Graham wore a suit by Indochino

"I made his bowtie modelled on a 1920s pointed end bowtie.  The kerchief was a piece of silk from my dress.  His tuxedo stud set and cuff-links were found on Etsy…"

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"The flowers are one of my favourite things.  On Wednesdays, Sienna has a large open-air market where you can get everything from fabric, to clothes, to meats and cheeses.  They have a large floral section as well. 

Two of my girlfriends and I went to the market bought white potted heather for the tables, lisanthus and roses for the bouquets.  The olives, rosemary, currant berries, bay leaves and assorted wild flowers were gathered at the villa we all stayed at…"

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"I made the Bridesmaids dresses myself using vintage patterns and using silk georgette and silk shantung. I made the flower girl outfit a simple tutu and pull over knit top.  The butter cream dress is from a vintage mail order pattern from the  1930s.  I altered the pattern by leaving the top of the back open.  The pattern calls for button closure the whole way up the back.  The long green dress is a vintage vogue pattern.  A re-issue from the 1930s.

The clip on the top of my dress is another borrowed item—a vintage Art Deco dress clip.  Earrings—borrowed—from my friend Ilana, the bridesmaid in green, she wore them at her wedding.  The bracelet a borrowed item from Ilana.  It’s a family heirloom…"

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I just love this sequence of getting ready shots…

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The couple's chosen venue was  the Comune di Sovicille in Italy…

"I am in love with bella Italia!  It seemed the perfect choice for our wedding.  Our ceremony was in the Comune di Sovicille and we were married by the Mayor of the Comune, Alessandro Masi, truly an honour as the Mayor does not typically perform marriages.

We choose Sovicille for it’s deep Etruscan history and it’s beauty.  Both Graham and I are in love with the countryside.  A small country town seemed perfect.  On the day it seemed Sovicille appeared especially for us.  We then went back to the villa we’d rented for the week, Villa del Cielo and had a 1930s afternoon picnic–full of music and dancing and laughter.  We then walked at sunset to a local restaurant for the wedding dinner.  After dinner we all enjoyed dessert under the stars lit only by candlelight.

We did everything ourselves, including figuring out how to legally get married in Italy—which takes work let me tell you!"

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"There was no set-up for music at the Comune.  As I walked in all of the guests were humming ‘Here Comes the Bride’.  The tears started flowing…"

 

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"Graham and I have known each other for 10 years.  We live in Los Angeles and dream of owning a farm in Tuscany.  Graham first proposed to me 3 years before the wedding took place.  Right after he proposed he lost his job, and we became statistics in the global economic downturn. 

It ended up being a blessing.  We originally planned to get married in Los Angeles at a historic building.  While that is a lovely choice (friends of ours are getting married at the very building next year) the delay allowed us to dream a little more.  Once back on our feet, after two hard years, we knew that there is nothing in life you cannot do unless you get in your own way. 

We always talked of getting married in Italy so rather than talk we decided to get on and do it…"

"We found our rings at an open-air market in Rome…" 

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"The wedding party walked to a restaurant near the Villa, Ristorante Montalbuccio. They accommodated our party with very little notice.  The food so fantastic the guests are still talking about it weeks later.  The seafood is fantastic.  The wild boar stew, a local favourite–phenomenal…"

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"We asked all of our friends to create playlists for the day.  During the afternoon, my husband, Graham and his band mates played – their band is called CHARLES. 

We had several musicians in the wedding group.  There was a lot of impromptu music in the afternoon.  Graham wrote me a song he played for me as a surprise.  All of the guests sang along to the chorus.  He’d been planning the surprise with everyone and I was none the wiser…"

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Words of Wedded Wisdom…

"Plan as big as you can dream.  Anything is possible!

The small surprises and unexpected twists make life worth living.  I almost fainted during the ceremony.  The love in the room filled me so I was dizzy with it.  Learning to roll with the punches was one of the unexpected bonuses of the whole process…"    

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Such beautiful, intimate photography, that captures a wonderfully loving and romantic day – I adore it.

So much love and congratulations to you Amilea and Graham and huge thanks to Photographer Alessandro Roncaglione too…

"Our photographer was Alessandro Roncaglione and his beautiful wife Veronica.

Alessandro and Veronica were a gift.  They captured the day in such a way I can still smell the olive grove and feel the Tuscan sunshine on my shoulders…"

Ahh, *closes eyes & tryes to imagine warmer climes*

I'd love to know if any of my readers are planning an Italian wedding, or if you have done already, what were your experiences?  Are there any of you planning on making your own wedding and Bridesmaids dresses?

Lots and lots of love,

Annabel xXx

Photographer – Alessandro Roncaglione
Venue – Comune di Sovicille, Italy
Brides dress + Veil – Made by the Bride
Groom – Indochino
Bridesmaids – Made by the Bride
Flowers – Prepared by the Bride

Annabel

Annabel View all Annabel's articles

Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.

20 thoughts on “A Juliet Cap Veil & A DIY Wedding Dress for an Italian Love Affair…

  1. I’ve been reading for ages, never commented before ‘cos blogs make me shy, but with these photos, I simply had to. Genuinely, the loveliest wedding photos I’ve ever seen – so natural, soft, unforced and romantic. And that’s what real happiness looks like, apparently! Amazing. Kind of wish I was getting married in a Tuscan villa rather than east London now!! Thanks for sharing.

  2. Wow what an absolutely gorgeous set of photos – they really capture the day so beautifully, and what an incredibly talented Bride! One of the loveliest weddings you’ve had on here yet x x

  3. Oh wow! So so pleased you all love this wedding as much as I do, it’s just so incredibly beautiful isn’t it?
    You have great taste people & are all very sweet for leaving such lovely words 🙂
    xXx

  4. I’m so pleased to see a DIY dress – I’m planning the same and have had a lot of people try and put me off.
    Such a pretty wedding and amazing place!
    x

  5. Oh Laura! How could people put you of from making your own wedding dress, what a wonderful thing to do! Please keep in touch and let me know how you get on, I’d love to hear bsck form you and see images of your dress in the end! 😉
    Thanks Flutterfly xXx

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