Good morning beautiful blog readers, how lovely to have you here today – and thank you for visiting. I just want to check that you’re following Love My Dress on Instagram? (don’t want you to miss out on any competition or upcoming news announcements). This morning’s wedding takes us over to a beautiful part of the world that I’ll be visiting for the first time myself in April. I can’t wait to explore all that beautiful, bucolic landscape and sample the flavoursome Tuscan way of life.
Dan and Hannah, who both work for a travel company based in Manchester City Centre, tied the knot on 26th August last year with a ceremony at San Gimignano Town Hall, followed by a reception at Casale Celli – a villa the couple had hired for a week.
“My family live in the USA, so we thought we would do it abroad and make a week out of it – in the sun. Wedding Planner Ben Singleton from Italy Weddings helped me make sure we picked the best venue for everything we wanted. We had 60+ guests so finding a villa that could accommodate most of the family (23) was essential.”
Photography Copyright (c) 2015, Ed Peers
The setting was partly chosen as Tuscany was the first place the couple visited on holiday together…
“We met at the travel company we both work for in 2010 and got engaged in August 2013 in Provence, France. Dan proposed on a vineyard and it was the happiest day of my life. We were engaged for exactly a year before getting married in Italy.
I knew I wanted a lot of white flowers with a bit of greenery and candles everywhere. A very natural palette so in keeping with the rural Tuscan setting and feel of the event. I also labelled each table with a destination that we have travelled to as a couple.”
“My Eliza Jane Howell dress purchased from Melanie James of Manchester (sadly now closed). I loved the beading on this dress and the lovely sheer sleeves. I fell in love with the dress as soon as I saw it.”
Readers, you can see other brides wearing Eliza Jane Howell and learn more about designer herself via this interview piece on Love My Dress.
The couple hired a sweet and beautiful baby blue retro Fiat 500, through Bruno Bellini who is located in San Gimignano town centre.
“Our photographer was Ed Peers. We fell in love with his photography a few years ago. We knew we wanted him to be our wedding photographer but also knew he lived in the UK. Ed is the nicest guy I have ever met – my family and friends loved him too! He managed to get a shot of every bit of the day without even being noticed.
I also loved the fact that Ed was so excited and up for getting different photographs out of the day. For example we scrambled through a sunflower field after the ceremony and on the way back to the villa.”
“We bought little rustic glass jars from Paperchase for the tables – we filled these with fresh white flowers from the villa and this added as a nice accessory for the tables. Guests took these home with them too as wedding favours.”
Dan wore a Ted Baker suit with navy blue braces and a Tuk Tuk pocket square – he teamed this with a pair of Russell & Bromley brogues and a polka dot tie.
“My Dad walked me down the aisle to the sound of Saralfur by Sigur Ros.”
“My favourite part of the day was the ceremony and how emotional it was. We both burst into tears as I walked down the aisle and seeing all my family, friends, and Dan standing there when I entered was such a special moment.
I would do nothing differently apart from possibly relax a little more in the morning when I was getting ready. I seemed to be very quiet and stressed but I guess this is normal for most brides.”
“We tailored our vows to make them shorter. I’ve always loved this ‘I promise to love, honour and cherish you for all the days of my life.’ so we made sure to incorporate this into our vows. It was a very emotional part of the ceremony and we both couldn’t stop crying!”
“Marisa, the wife of our wedding planner, was our florist. We loved her portfolio of work and knew that she wanted us to pin on pinterest our favourite wedding flower photos to make sure she understood the style we wanted.”
The couple chose the poem ‘Touched By An Angel’ by Maya Angelou, a truly beautiful and moving perspective on love…
Touched By An Angel, by Maya Angelou
We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.
Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.
We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love’s light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.
“Our good friend Beth created our sparkler tags and created table plans on rustic chalkboards.
We had a lot of lighting which was essential to make the outdoor area look perfect. We had a string of Edison bulbs and candles everywhere. The area was absolutely perfect for this kind of styling.”
“Our catering company was booked through Italy Weddings. All the guests raved about how good the food was. Ben also organised a rustic pizza evening the night before the wedding, which I would highly recommend. This is a great way for all our friends and family to meet each other and drink/eat all night before the day itself. It made for a lovely start to the wedding.
We had a ‘millefoglie’ cake – a traditional Italian wedding cake. Fresh fruit and cream was ideal for such a hot day.”
“Again, our entertainment was booked through Italy Weddings – they were the best musicians I have heard for a long time, and we had such a laugh with them. They were a jazz band who played classics and upbeat songs- the ladies voice was absolutely stunning. Highly recommend but must be booked through Ben.
Our first dance was to Sade’s ‘By Your Side’. This has always been our song since we’ve been together.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom…
“I would say to definitely try and stay calm and relaxed in the morning and live and breathe in every single moment as the day goes so fast. Also, If you are thinking of having a destination wedding (especially in Italy) then definitely get in touch with Ben Singleton as he was everything you need in a wedding planner.
My wedding day was everything I ever dreamed of and without even meeting Ben (before we flew to Tuscany a few days before the wedding) he made me feel so at ease and understood all my plans for the day. He is very organised and made sure we had everything we wanted. The flowers, lighting, food and tables were stunning.”
I always knew this wedding was going to be a very elegant affair – anything photographed by Ed Peers always is (he truly is one of my very, very favourite photographers in the world – I’ve also had the pleasure of being in his company a couple of times and he is, as Hannah says, one of the nicest guys in the world – a super and highly skilled wedding photographer.
Well lovelies, I hope you have a good start to the week this morning and that you have enjoyed this feature – check back later today for a little more inspiration and content designed to uplift you on a Monday.
Love Annabel x
Photographer – Ed Peers
Planner/Stylist – Ben Singleton from Italy Weddings
Venue – San Gimignano Town Hall + villa Casale Celli
Wedding Dress – Eliza Jane Howell
Bride’s Hair Accessories – the Isabelle headpiece by Ophelia May
Bride’s Shoes – Dune
Accessories – Links of London bracelet (wedding gift from the groom)
Perfume – Elie Saab
Grooms Suit – Ted Baker
Bridesmaid’s Dresses – Ted Baker navy blue dresses
Florist – Italy Weddings
Transport – Fiat 500 via Bruno Bellini
Rings – Philip Stoner
Catering, Cake + Entertainment – booked via Italy Weddings
Stationery – via a friend
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.
I had the best time with Dan & Hannah – such an incredible couple… Thanks for having me guys and thanks for the feature LMD 🙂
I love her dress, this wedding looked so fun!
Just love these, what a dream location. And that Fiat, something else !
Lovely photos! I’m also getting married in Tuscany. If the bride sees this, how did you pack the little glass jars to transport abroad? I was thinking of doing something similar but thought it would be too risky to buy them here!