The more I see and hear about Italy – the culture, the incredible food, the pretty winding backstreets – the more I want to go. Louise and Steven, our next couple, had a special family connection to the rural Italian village where they married on 27 May this year.
“Steven’s family are Italian and both of his grandparents live in the picturesque farming village of Arpino. There are lots of members of the extended family that live there so we wanted them all to be there on our wedding day. We chose Santa Maria Church because not only is it absolutely beautiful, Steven’s 92-year-old Granddad made his First Holy Communion there when he was a little boy. We are both Catholic so chose a Catholic church and ceremony.”
Photography Copyright (c) 2014, Sally T Photography
Louise, a primary school teacher and Steven, a solicitor, were introduced to each other through family friends and went on a blind date in 2010. They were engaged in Arpino in August 2012.
“We wanted to celebrate our marriage with the people who mean the most to us in one of the most romantic settings in the world. As we are both major foodies, good food and drink were at the top of our list of priorities for our wedding. In Italy we knew we wouldn’t be disappointed!”
Louise’s dress is Justin Alexander design 8664 from Miranda Marie Bridal Boutique in Yarm, North Yorkshire.
“I knew exactly what I didn’t want but couldn’t find what I did want! I looked at dozen of dresses that were beautiful but all strapless. I wanted something with cap sleeves that wasn’t low cut. I went to Miranda Marie and tried on lots of lovely dresses and was about to settle for something less than perfect when I found my dress online. Miranda ordered it in for me and it was perfect. I adore the beading detail, it’s so classy and feminine.”
Sally Thurrell had a starring role as best friend of the bride, chief bridesmaid and photographer extraordinaire. She also designed the menus, table plans and order of service.
“I thought I was going to be really nervous having my photograph taken all day but Sally was so unobtrusive. Most of the time I didn’t even know she was taking the photos! Her photographs tell the story of the day and even those who were unable to come to our wedding have said they feel like they were there having looked at the photographs.
Sally was out-of-this-world amazing! As a surprise she also created a stop motion video for us. I had no idea what she was up to and it’s a fantastic souvenir of our wedding day.”
“Our florist, Donatella Gallo, has a shop in the main piazza in Arpino and was our first choice. I showed her images from my Pinterest page and she recreated the most beautiful bouquets! Originally I wanted really vibrant flowers in my bouquet but she persuaded me that a simple white bouquet would compliment my dress. She was right!”
“I did my own make up with lots of fab Estée Lauder products and did my own hair with the trusty heated rollers. My sister-in-law Lucia fixed my hair comb in place.”
Accessories included a two-tiered Orlando veil by Joyce Jackson, Rachel Simpson’s Mimosa shoes in Ivory and a hair comb from What Katy Did Next (whose lovely things we featured on Love My Dress here). She also wore a pair of white gold and topaz earrings belonging to her mother-in-law as her something blue, and a pearl bracelet loaned to her by her Auntie Liz as her something borrowed.
“I went to the church in a 45-year-old Cinquecento that belongs to one of Steven’s cousin. It was a tight squeeze but the perfect way to arrive at an Italian wedding!”
Louise walked down the aisle with her dad and chose Mendelssohn’s Wedding March to make her big entrance.
“The gardens at Il Cavalier d’Arpino are absolutely beautiful and the hotel needed very little in terms of decoration. To add a more personal touch we hung old photographs of Steven and I all around for our guests to look at and chat about the memories they brought back.”
“Our reception venue, Hotel Il Cavalier d’Arpino, is the only hotel in the village of Arpino. It’s an old cotton mill and is very rustic with beautiful gardens, which suited our theme perfectly.”
“It was important for us to use local vendors at our wedding and we also booked ‘Rit Magic’, a traditional Italian band from Arpino. We gave them a playlist to get everyone dancing in the evening and they also played some Italian music with an accordion – so much fun!”
“Paige Temperley was our wedding singer. She’s an up-and-coming artist from Newcastle and we’ve always enjoyed listening to her covers on YouTube and Sound Cloud. She always gives them her own style and writes her own songs too, always with hidden meanings. We were so inspired we asked her to write us a song and come over to Italy for our wedding. We were blown away – our song was AMAZING!”
(Readers, do have a listen here – Paige is one very talented lady).
“We look back on our wedding day with the happiest memories. We are blessed to have the best family and friends who travelled so far to celebrate with us. It really was the best day of our lives.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“The day flew by and I think that was partly because we didn’t get married until 3pm. If we were to do it again I’d get married earlier, even if it just by an hour or so.
My advice to other couples would be to try not to worry – it does all come together! Try not to get stressed because you’ll spoil it for yourself. And remember to stop and catch your breath – even if it’s just for five minutes.”
Ahhhh, such a beautiful day and so many lovely personal touches. Congratulations bother of you and thanks to Sally T for sharing these images and sweet little film. Readers, if you’re not quite ready to return to the dreary British winter you can soak up more Italian inspiration here.
Love Kate xx
Photographer – Sally T Photography
Videographer – Ross Marshall
Venue – Hotel Il Cavalier d’Arpino
Dress – Justin Alexander bought from Miranda Marie Bridal Boutique
Accessories – veil Joyce Jackson, shoes Rachel Simpson, hair comb What Katy Did Next
Bridesmaids – Maxi dresses Mango, hair accessories What Katy Did Next, earrings Accessorize
Flowergirl – dress Monsoon, shoes Zara
Pageboy – House of Fraser
Groom – suit Next, shoes bought in Italy
Flowers – Donatella Gallo (no website)
Rings – Hatton Garden and Goldsmiths
Caterers –Girasoli
Transport – borrowed vintage Fiat Cinquecento
Entertainment – Paige Temperley, Rit Magic (no website)