A Bohemian Inspired Wedding in Sicily

Sinéad and Rory’s beautiful wedding in Sicily was held in August last year at the glorious hotel Susafa, in Polizzi Generosa.

The couple, both teachers in Dubai, planned a bohemian inspired wedding day in earthy and neutral tones and were assisted by Laura and Enza from Loviu Events in planning their day. The groom wore a pale suit and the bride looked perfect in her pared back boho gown, a design by contemporary bridal fashion brand, & For Love.

Italian wedding photographer, Federica Cavicchi, captured these beautiful images. Enjoy!

The Dress & Accessories

I got my & For Love ‘Georgina’ dress from a boutique in Ireland, sadly now closed.

I needed something that would be light enough for the Sicilian summer heat and would travel well. I loved the back of my dress and how it billowed in the wind.

I wore a flower clip and dried flowers from the florist.My perfume was Hugo Boss Orange. I wore my usual jewellery – an opal ring, my mother’s wedding ring and a pair of hoop earrings from River Island.

My hair stylist was Daniele Tarntino and my makeup artist was Sarah Cummins.

My shoes were by Sam Edelman.

My bridesmaids wore dresses by Chic le Frique, their shoes were from New Look. My flowergirls wore dresses from River Island and my page boy wore an out fit from H&M.

Our floral designer was Frascati Fiori.

Rory wore a suit jacket from Tony’s Menswear. His grousers and shirt were from Selected, in Ireland and his shoes were from ASOS.

The Ceremony

My dad walked me down the aisle, to the song ‘This is How You Fall in Love’, by Jeremy Zucker – Chelsea Cutler, performed by my little sister, Lilly and cousin Jack.

We had a non-religious ceremony. Rory’s school friend Eoin was our celebrant. It was a symbolic ceremony written by Sinéad and Rory and brought alive by Eoin.

Rory and I wrote our own vows. Sharing them was our favourite part of the entire wedding day.

I wrote my own vows first and shared the word count and basic structure with Rory. Then we had a third party read over the vows to ensure they were somewhat aligned.

We adopted the ‘Everything I know About Love’ reading from Dolly Alderton to match our own relationship and experiences.

My ring was from Manish Jewels in Dubai.

We signed the official papers at home in Ireland in civil ceremony.

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Photography

Our photographer was Federica Cavicchi – we loved the natural candid style photos she takes. She was such a fabulous addition to our day.

We are both very awkward in front of the camera but Federica made use feel completely relaxed and commanded the day in an easy fashion.

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How They Met

While we were knew of each other in University and had mutual friends, we first met properly when we both lived in Dublin after graduating.

After a few casual meetings on nights out, we began to message, and a date was planned. This date led to two others in that first week and the rest is history as they say.

We moved abroad and while we lived in Rome, Rory planned a daring proposal in the shadow of the Colosseum. With a little help from friends, Rory managed to surprise me, so much so that I proceeded push him over and send him tumbling in the middle of the most romantic moment of our lives.

We were engaged for almost three years before getting married as Covid struck before we could really make any plans.

There were so many special moments throughout the day. We loved everything about the ceremony. Having it in the beautiful wheat field created a stunning backdrop. It felt like a dream. The wind kept us all cool.

Anyone who was in any way involved in our ceremony was a family member or friend. Having a friend say the ceremony made it all the more special. It made everything feel intimate and personal.

Having a destination wedding meant that the people who were there with us were our nearest and dearest. The effort that our guests went to to get there was immense and made us feel very loved.

Susafa was an amazing venue. The food was out of this world. Our guests were in heaven, particularly with the enormous offerings at the anti-pasti and dessert buffet. We also had a pool party at Susafa the day after the wedding to help the party continue.

Having a 5pm ceremony allowed the day to go at a very relaxed pace. We didn’t have to get up at a crazy hour to get ready, we could eat breakfast and lunch with our guests who were staying at the venue.

Words of Wedded Wisdom

A few important things we learned:

If you are having a destination wedding – get a wedding planner! Choose a wedding planner who you can trust. We sent Laura our Pinterest board and didn’t have to worry about anything after that. She brought it to life perfectly without any of the stress on us! Both her and Enza arranged absolutely everything for us.

There was no ask that was too much for them. And they always did it with a smile. They would send us 4-5 options of various suppliers and we just needed to select one. We loved working with them and were so happy with the dream wedding day that they created for us.

Budget – add an extra 10% (at least) when calculating your wedding budget. Everything will always end up being a little more expensive than expected.

Get a saxophone player! This was one of our favourite things about the wedding. The saxophone player played throughout the anti-pasti buffet, the dinner, and into the early hours of the morning.

Choose your make-up artist, hairdresser, photographer, and videographer carefully. They end up being such an important part of your day and really add to the buildup. Their personalities should match yours and allow you to feel relaxed and excited for the day ahead.

Make sure you choose a photographer that can understand your style. Federica made two very awkward, uncomfortable people feel at ease in front of the camera.

We wouldn’t change anything. It was exactly how we hoped it would be and more.