Baglio Passofondo Baglio Passofondo in Alcamo was the setting for Federica and Stefano’s September 2025 wedding in Sicily, following a civil ceremony at Torre di Ligny in Trapani, the city where Federica was born.
Federica, a wedding planner based in Rome, returned to Sicily with Stefano to celebrate in a place that has long been woven into her family story, choosing locations that connected the day to both her childhood memories and the island’s rich culture and history.
Guests gathered at Torre di Ligny, overlooking the sea, before making their way to Baglio Passofondo, a restored historic baglio in Alcamo, where traditional Sicilian architecture sits alongside contemporary interiors and gardens designed for entertaining.
Federica discovered the venue after another had already been booked and invitations had already started going out. It was a bold change of plan, but one that proved well worth making.
There are so many lovely details woven through this wedding, from the coral earrings that inspired the colour palette to Stefano’s suit, created by a 93-year-old tailor with close ties to his family. Add in wonderful food, music, fashion and the unmistakable backdrop of western Sicily, and you have a celebration that is as much about place as it is about the two people at the centre of it all.
These beautiful images were captured by Italian wedding photographer, Clara Pintaudi – enjoy!
Looking for suppliers?
You’ll find only the best, most talented suppliers and exclusive hire venues in our directory.
Explore Our Shop
We add beautiful, stylish and coveted new items our Shop every week! Bookmark and explore today.
The Venue, Location & Inspiration
Three things strongly inspired this event’s design; It all started with a pair of pink coral earrings. In October 2024, my Sicilian grandfather passed away and I was in Trapani for his funeral. On that sad day when we said goodbye to him, I was walking down the street with my mother and Carlo, her husband, who is like a father to me, when a pair of pink coral earrings caught my eye in a jewellery shop window.
I told them I thought they were lovely and very romantic. So they invited me to try them on, and Carlo decided to give them to me as a gift for when I got married. It was a very moving moment, and my mother cried. No one imagined that less than a year later I would actually get married.
So, when it came time to plan our wedding, I chose the pale pink colour of these earrings as the theme for the event and a metaphor for a rosy future together. The colour was also used in its deepest meaning to introduce our entrance into the dinner hall; in fact, we chose the song “La Vie en Rose”.
My husband wore a suit tailor-made by a family friend tailor. This is a very touching story; the tailor who sewed Stefano’s suit is called Neno and is 93 years old. He was a pupil of Stefano’s great-grandfather who, in the early 1900s, was one of the three most famous and influential tailors in Rome. Neno is a very sweet man, obviously a lover of old ways, and he put all his care and attention into sewing Stefano’s suit. We’d like to think that this suit, sewn and created splendidly by hand as it was once done, is the last gift from his family to young Stefano, a new suit that has a taste of past and memories, ready to be refreshed in this new family that Stefano has decided to build with me. Neno doesn’t have a website or an Instagram page
We chose the groom’s shoes together, and they are Moma Shoes. Stefano also wore a silk bow tie that my mother had given him and a pair of braces.
In the early months of wedding preparations, Stefano and I watched the then newly released Netflix series inspired by Il Gattopardo and set in Sicily. We really appreciated the photography, characterised by dusty, desaturated, earthy colours that made us fantasise about our wedding in Sicily. We took inspiration from this for our choice of flowers and invited our guests, for those who wanted to, to take inspiration from it for their choice of outfits in order to create the right atmosphere.
Another element that we took into serious consideration was Trapani’s extremely minimalist, Arabic-inspired architecture, so we avoided ostentation and maintained a minimalist approach throughout the event’s design.
Several venues hosted important moments on our wedding day. The civil ceremony took place in Trapani, Sicily, at the Torre di Ligny, a public space in the city where I was born. From here you can see Mount Erice and the Egadi Islands. This is where Italy ends and you really feel like you are at the edge of the world. The vehemence of the sea crashing against the rocks exudes a strong energy, and here the wind sometimes blows so hard that you can’t even keep your eyes open.
This place has always held a great fascination for me. My family left the island when I was four years old, and every time we returned to Trapani to visit my grandparents, the first thing I wanted to do once I arrived in the city was take a walk to Torre di Ligny.
It also had a strong symbolic meaning for our ceremony, because this is where the Tyrrhenian Sea, which bathes the region where my husband was born, meets the Strait of Sicily. For me, marriage means just that: integration between two worlds that come together, between families, between different cultures.
The Dress
Unika Sposa
My first dress was created by a studio in Rome specialising in bespoke garments called Unika Sposa. The second dress I wore at the end of the party was already in my wardrobe and is a second-hand vintage dress.
I tried on several wedding dresses in various shops, but none of them made me feel like myself. I also ordered a dress from Zalando that fit me very well and was the only one that felt like mine, but I was very unsure because it was a polyester tulle dress. I wanted something simple but at the same time precious for my wedding dress.
So after all these attempts, I searched Rome to find a place that could make a dress based on my imagination and that worked with fine fabrics. I called Unika Sposa and the first question I asked them on the phone was, “Do you make silk taffeta dresses?”.
The answer was yes, so I made an appointment. From that moment on, the process of creating the dress began. It wasn’t easy, and at times I felt very frustrated because I wanted to be able to create what I had in my head with my own hands. My mother and I put a lot of effort into thinking about the details of the dress, and in the end, I am satisfied with the result. My advice to future brides is to approach the creation of a dress from scratch with courage and a great deal of patience. It may be better to spend more time finding the right ready-made dress for you by exploring designers who are not very well known.
I really liked the fact that my wedding dress was two-piece, with a silk taffeta dress as the base, complemented by a silk chiffon kimono. I loved the ties on the sleeves and waist of the kimono, which made the dress playful and flowy. The same ties were also applied to the bouquet, and the same fluttering movement was echoed in the floral decorations hanging from above in the venue’s garden, making everything playful and joyful.
The fact that the dress was made up of two parts allowed me to take off the kimono for the second part of the reception and play around with another accessory, a shawl that I bought two days before the wedding in Trapani in a bridal shop.
I liked the idea of wearing a second dress that I already had in my wardrobe for the last part of the reception. It was minimalist like the rest of the wedding but pink. After giving away the bouquet, I knew I would feel less like a bride and wanted something more informal for the last part of the party. So this dress, which was already in my wardrobe and which I had bought second-hand at a vintage market, seemed absolutely perfect. It matched the earrings perfectly.
I would like to specify the contact details of the shawl supplier Scuderi Spose.
My shoes were Madden Girl shoes ordered from Zalando. To be honest, I didn’t choose the shoes for their design, but because I wanted to wear high heels that were comfortable and made me feel stable. I am very happy with my choice. They were comfortable all day long. I danced a lot and it was as if I had nothing on my feet. When I wore the pink dress, I wore heeled sandals by Kazar, which I had also worn during the preparations. I also bought these on Zalando. The best moment, however, was when I took them off to sing barefoot on the lawn while Stefano played the guitar.
I decided not to wear a veil. Mine was a civil wedding celebrated in a public space in the city of Trapani, and I wouldn’t have felt comfortable with a veil, even though I was afraid I wouldn’t feel much like a bride. The hairdresser surprised me with a hairstyle full of flowers that enriched my very simple dress and made the hairstyle very bridal. Just like when wearing a veil, I don’t think I’ll ever have the opportunity to have so many flowers in my hair again. It was a unique moment.
The jewellery I wore all had deep meaning. First of all, the pink coral earrings from Gioielleria Fiorenza that strongly inspired the style of this wedding (as already mentioned here). Then I wore my engagement ring and a thin gold bracelet with two hearts, which was Stefano’s first precious gift to me for our two years together, and I have never taken it off since.
I also wore a bracelet that was very meaningful to me. While I was getting ready, I realised that I didn’t have everything a bride should have; in fact, “something borrowed” was missing from the list. My cousin, who was one of my witnesses, lent me the bracelet she was wearing, which belonged to our grandmother. Our grandmother wore it every day. Even though this simple but striking bracelet was not part of my look, I wore it with a heart full of joy. It was as if my grandmother was taking me by the hand and accompanying me on this special day.
My favourite perfume since I was in my twenties has been Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, and I didn’t even change it on my wedding day. I love it and I think it suits me. I like it so much that my husband also gave me the version to use before going to bed, “Pour la Nuit”, which I couldn’t wear on my wedding night.
I would like to mention in particular my handbag, which was made by my aunt and given to me unexpectedly the day before the wedding. She even embroidered two hearts on the handle of the bag. It was lovely and very useful for keeping my personal belongings safe during the wedding day.
The dresses worn by my bridesmaids, who were also my witnesses, were tailor-made in Rome by Le Tre Sarte. Their dresses were minimalist and elegant, just like mine, and we felt perfectly in harmony. I gave them bags that matched their outfits as a gift for being my bridesmaids at my wedding. The bags were also made by Le Tre Sarte. They chose what shoes to wear based on what they felt comfortable in.
The Ceremony
We come from two Catholic families and we were also baptised. After thinking long and hard about the type of ceremony we wanted for our wedding, we chose a civil ceremony.
I arrived at the ceremony venue, Torre di Ligny, in a white Rolls Royce accompanied by my mother and my two witnesses and together we made our way to the centre of the ceremony.
We carefully chose every song for our ceremony. The Blue Dolls sang live during the ceremony (not just during the reception), accompanied by guitar and simple percussion instruments.
To welcome the guests arriving for the ceremony, we asked the Blue Dolls to sing a few bossa nova songs. I particularly love Aguas de Março. They sang more songs than I could have imagined, and from the videos I’ve seen that the guests took, I know they were magnificent.
The ceremony opened with a short, entertaining theatrical reading. A couple of our friends, Giulia and Maria, whom we thank for their good humour, played me and Stefano, simulating a conversation between us about the use of the rock crystal bell during the ceremony, emphasising my great enthusiasm and his scepticism. It was a light-hearted and entertaining way to open the ceremony and introduce the ritual with the rock crystal bell.
Then our celebrant took the floor and guided us through the ceremony with a speech describing our couple with affection. It was an entertaining speech, but at the same time profound and affectionate, which moved us deeply.
He began his speech by mentioning the date of the wedding: 20 September.
Here is an excerpt:
“We welcome you, or rather, rediscover you, today, September 20, 2025, for the celebration of this bond. Rediscovered because some of us left days before, some after, some arrived in Palermo, some in Trapani, coming not only from Rome or the surrounding areas, but also from much further afield, to meet Federica and Stefano here today in their new roles.
Because I like to connect the same dates in different historical periods, borrowing the dates that are most relevant to us, I share my discoveries. September 20 was the day Magellan officially set sail and embarked on the first complete voyage around the world, the day the Breach of Porta Pia was opened, and the day of the first film screening in Rome.
Journey, breach, cinema.
Journey, a journey that began in July 2018 and today arrives in Trapani for a few days, before setting off again on a much longer journey towards new adventures.
Breakthrough, someone has broken through into the heart of another and vice versa. Yes, I know it’s a bit corny, but in the end it’s a wedding and we’re talking about love.
Cinema, a medium that tells a story, and stories are what fascinate Federica and Stefano: that’s how the proposal was made, that’s how this day was structured.
So welcome to relatives, friends, witnesses, and the Torre di Ligny”.
During the ceremony, my witness Sofia, who was like a fairy godmother to us, also spoke. Sofia was present at our first meeting in Naples and recounted it in a poetic way. But before beginning her story of our first meeting, she started with a poem and began with the colour that I had “forbidden” the wedding guests to wear.
I must say that I really enjoyed the beginning of your speech (and the rest moved me deeply).
Here is the opening excerpt:
“To Federica and Stefano, people often stand by the sea, gazing out at the blue. They expect nothing from the open sea, yet they remain motionless, scanning the horizon with their eyes, without knowing what keeps them there. Perhaps at that moment they are contemplating the enigma of their own lives.
Jean-Michel Maulpoix, from the poetry collection: A Blue Story.
Federica will have to forgive me, but I would like to begin my speech with this sea and its blue colour. Perhaps not everyone knows that blue was the colour banned by Federica for the wedding, and now I understand why. Because blue had to remain to frame this moment. To be its protective colour, its border. Don’t worry if you’re wearing something blue, don’t worry, you’ll still be able to attend the reception.
Today, surrounded by this sea that captures blue in its various natural poses within every fragment, today this sea shapes me and transports me to a space of infinity that is still possible, and I wonder, isn’t this what love is? Clinging to the grass on the beaches, to the dark skin of the bathers, to the bows of the boats, it stammers words that quickly take off, because in the end they are just words of love.
And it was this same sea that broke on the shore in the Gulf of Naples, in that hot summer of 2018 when Federica and Stefano met”.
We wrote our vows ourselves, and the funny thing is that our speeches have some things in common even though we didn’t agree on them beforehand. For example, we both mentioned how much we enjoy sharing a plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce. After our speeches, spaghetti with tomato sauce became iconic for our couple among our group of friends and family.
We used a rock crystal bell linked to the heart chakra to initiate our vows, followed by the civil ceremony. The crystal bell is the symbol of our ceremony. It was Lorenzo’s idea, our celebrant. He has a Tibetan bell that he has rung for us several times. These types of bells are linked to the chakras based on the note they predominantly emit. The note linked to the heart chakra is F. So, with the tuner, we looked for the right bell for us. During the ceremony, Lorenzo invited everyone to close their eyes and let themselves be carried away by the sound of the bell so as to open their hearts to welcome our vows and our union. It was a very emotional moment.
The bell was Lorenzo’s wedding gift to us, and we keep it on display in our home as a design object with strong symbolic meaning for us. When we want to relax, we ring it.
I like to think that one day the bell will be inherited by our children and grandchildren and those who come after us, and it will forever be the symbol of our union, the origin of our family.Our rings were also created from scratch, just like our dresses. After trying on many wedding rings and not being satisfied, we turned to Elisa Ruggieri of 19.03 Jewels to create our rings from scratch.
We gave Elisa our idea of a thin but rounded ring, and she created a couple of designs for us, one of which was absolutely perfect. The meeting with Elisa was fantastic. We studied together the small details that make our rings so special to us, and we couldn’t be more satisfied.
We chose to decorate some items with handmade embroidery by Francesca Romana Falà, so we turned to a specialist.
The wedding ring cushion, made from leftover fabric from my dress, was embroidered with the title we gave to the ceremony, “cuore sposa cuore” (“heart marry heart” in English). On the officiant’s table, two cloth handkerchiefs were ready for us with the words ‘siamo un po’ emotivi’ (‘we’re a little emotional’ in English) embroidered on them. During the aperitif, we organised an interactive cooking corner, for which aprons were embroidered with the title we had given to our wedding day, ‘due cuori, un matrimonio’ (‘two hearts, one wedding’ in English).
I didn’t have a flower girl but I decided to have a little girl open the wedding ceremony by bringing the rings, breaking with the tradition of etiquette that entrusts this task to a boy. She carried a basket with a cushion made from scraps of fabric from my dress, on which was embroidered “cuore sposa cuore” in English “heart marries heart” a joke about how my husband and I usually refer to each other.
Photography
I wanted the photographer for our wedding to be a woman. As a wedding planner, I work very well with other women, so I wanted it to be a woman in this case too. We chose Clara Pintaudi because she is a young professional who knows how to put you at ease, and that was very important to us.
Our video was created by Martina Sorrentino.
How They Met
Stefano and I met in 2018 in Naples, even though we both lived in Rome. We met at the Teatro Sannazzaro to take part in a psychodrama workshop held by Slovenian director Tomi Janezic (we had both worked as theatre actors when we were younger). I didn’t realise that I might like Stefano, but I felt very comfortable with him and enjoyed spending time together during the breaks.
I thought I had found a new friend. A friend of mine, an actress named Sofia, who was in Naples for the same workshop, told me on the last day that he was the right person for me, that she had had visions about us and that we were perfect for each other. I was confused, but she told me that I absolutely had to see him again in Rome, so I did. She was one of my witnesses at the wedding, but both Stefano and I considered her the fairy godmother of our marriage.
Stefano and I have been together since we met in Rome, and since then we have lived through several chapters of our story, which, thanks to the graphic designer who took care of our wedding, we recounted in our tableau de marriage entitled “episodes of a story”.
We first talked about marriage in 2020 when, during the pandemic, we found ourselves quarantined alone, living together in a small flat.
There, partly for fun, partly joking but with a deep desire, we said we would get married in 2025. At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve 2025, during a romantic dinner for two, we confirmed what we had promised each other and booked a flight to Trapani to reserve the day we felt was ours, 20 September, at the Town Hall. When we found ourselves having to submit our documents together for the first time to set the date, we were thrilled: it felt like we had already taken our first small step towards the wedding we so wanted to have together.
Then one day, when I least expected it, Stefano gave me a wonderful surprise: he projected a short film he had written onto the wall of our bedroom to give me the ring that committed him to the engagement. I was so moved.
The Reception
The reception was hosted at Baglio Passofondo in Alcamo, a beautiful place that stole our hearts. The ‘Baglio’ is a typical local historical agro-pastoral structure. In particular, Baglio Passofondo carefully preserves the historicity of traditional architecture, blending these elements with contemporary design details.
I had initially booked another venue for the reception and had included its address on the invitations, some of which I had already sent out. But when I saw Baglio Passofondo, I fell completely in love with it and convinced my husband to change all our wedding plans. At the time, it seemed crazy, but it turned out to be a very happy choice.
Other symbolic locations for our wedding were the places where we got ready. I got ready at my grandparents’ house, who are no longer with us. This allowed me to feel even closer to them and to feel an even stronger connection to my roots. For Stefano to get ready, we rented an apartment in a popular historic neighbourhood in the centre of Trapani, so that he could breathe in all the energy of the city.
Our wedding invitations included not only the practical details of the day but also two short scenes written by Stefano himself. We chose to include a photograph of the salt pans of Trapani dating back to the early 20th century, which was deeply meaningful to us and became a poetic invitation for our guests arriving from Rome and elsewhere. The day before the wedding, we also organised a guided tour of the Salt Museum in Trapani.
The aperitif beautifully reflected both of us. The interactive cooking stations were a tribute to Stefano’s passion for food, whilst the lively, nuanced atmosphere reflected my personality. Alongside the DJ set and live cooking, we created interactive posters that guests could personalise with stamps and dedications.
Every part of the day had its own title, so that the celebration could unfold almost like a story. After a joyful start, the reception gradually transformed into a more intimate moment, culminating in Stefano playing the guitar and our guests singing along with us.
We called the dinner “A Candlelit Dinner” because we wanted the atmosphere to be warm, romantic and true to ourselves. The cutting of the cake and the live music in the courtyard of the baglio then brought an energy reminiscent of an Italian village festival.
Our floral designer was Nina Grillo – the flowers matched the colours we had chosen for our wedding, from earth tones to different shades of pink. I particularly liked the use of rice flowers in our decorations, as small pink accents, and I also wore these rice flowers in my hair.
We entrusted the creation of our wedding favours to Francesca Romana Perazzelli, a textile artist and designer. Francesca created paintings for our guests inspired by pink and its shades. The paintings are abstract and each one is different from the other. Stefano and I had seen the pattern, which has been reproduced in her other creations, and we liked it because it reminded us of the sea and waves, and therefore of Trapani (the salt pans are one of the symbols of the city). The nice thing is that everyone can imagine whatever they want. We chose this gift for our guests because, being a painting, it is linked to the home. For us, marriage means family and therefore home, which is why we felt it was particularly appropriate. We also greatly appreciate Francesca’s work and are happy to have given our guests valuable paintings.
Stefano also insisted on having confetti, a must at an Italian wedding, and for the packaging we were guided by this concept of the home as a symbol of family, so the confetti packaging was shaped like a house.
The cake was chosen by my husband, who loves desserts, so I let him have the final say on the flavour. As for the aesthetics, we decided it should be minimalist, like the rest of the wedding, and covered in cream, just as my husband likes it. The cake was made by our caterer, Pitò catering, the company that also prepared the dinner, the aperitif and the dessert buffet.
Evening & Dancing
We were inspired by the repertoire of the Blue Dolls, who performed after dinner, for our first dance. Among their social media content, we found a video of them singing the song “Love” from the Disney cartoon Robin Hood. They moved us, and we thought it was the perfect song for our first dance. Just as the song says, we have grown since our story began, but our love has grown even more, and above all, life will fade away, but love will remain.
We dedicated the song to love and to all the lovers present at our party, inviting them to join us for a couple’s dance during our first dance.
Favourite Moments
It’s really hard for me to pick a favourite moment from the wedding. We put our whole hearts into every single moment, so it’s a really tough choice.
If I had to name a few favourite moments, I’d say there were three. In chronological order, the first was when I got into the car with my mum and my witnesses to go to the ceremony.
I realised that everything was finally ready and that it was really about to happen; I felt like I was bursting with joy. The second was listening to Stefano’s vows. Hearing his speech made me very proud of him and of my choice to have him as my husband.
The third was dancing with my mother during the Blue Dolls’ performance to the tune of a song by Battiato, a Sicilian artist, ‘Voglio vederti danzare’, which we dedicated to her and to all the Sicilians present at our celebration. It was both joyful and touching at the same time.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
My advice is above all not to let relatives or friends influence your wedding choices. Many loved ones around you will want to offer suggestions or comment on your choices, but just follow your heart – it’s your wedding.
My second piece of advice may seem biased given my job, but it isn’t. It comes from my experience as both a bride and a wedding planner. I advise you not to arrive tired on your wedding day, but full of energy, so choose someone you can rely on to support you and take care of you from the very beginning of the wedding planning process. This comes at a cost, but it’s worth it.
I really appreciate the work you do at Love My Dress because I love reading stories told by brides. It’s really interesting to discover the feelings behind wedding choices. When I work, I feel very connected to my bridal clients, and since I got married myself, I feel even more empathetic towards them. I really enjoy reading articles that describe weddings from the bride’s point of view.
If I could go back, I would buy or hire some parasols for the ceremony. Stefano and I had discussed this, but he insisted they weren’t necessary as it was 20 September and Torre di Ligny is a very windy place. So I followed his advice. Incredibly, there wasn’t a breath of wind in Torre di Ligny that day and it was very hot. We all suffered terribly from the heat, and I am pleasantly surprised that the guests managed to stay in their seats and follow the ceremony attentively.
Save this wedding to your favourites
Create a user account save all your favourite content to your own personal dashboard
Register here, it will only take a few moments – you’ll then be able to save all your favourite Love My Dress content, including real weddings, shop items, ceremony readings, inspirational editorials and recommended supplier / vendor and venue listings. Enjoy!
