An Original 1940s Vintage Dress for Emily & Ned’s Intimate Elopement in Tuscany

Emily and Ned eloped in Tuscany in July, in the middle of summer. Emily was born British and the couple live in Australia. They chose to marry in Italy, bringing wit them their two best friends, for a beautifully intimate and romantic celebration focused on the experience.

Emily discovered her 1940s vintage wedding dress by accident in a charity shop in England, without any plan to buy it. Once she tried it on for fun, everything fell into place.

Photographed on film by Love My Dress recommended photographer Stefano Santucci, Stefano worked closely with Emily and Ned producing these absolutely beautiful and timeless images.

I walked down the aisle to ‘My Love Mine All Mine’, by Mitski. Our friend Justine walked behind me – she was my ‘unofficial’ bridesmaid! She even taught me how to hold my flowers properly.

I walked myself down the aisle, however. It was really sweet. There was a German family staying at the villa, the children were standing on their balcony, watching and one of the little girls said, in German, ‘That’s the girl who is getting married today!’

I actually wrote my vows on the morning of the elopement. Somehow, that made them feel more earnest to me, as they were there and then, and everything just came spilling out.

I mentioned a lot in my vows about how we were tested early in our relationship – by grief, by distance (we were long distance for one year and four months then I went back to England to finish my degree) and how despite all the difficulties we faced early on, I knew that Ned was the one constant, and we could make it through anything. And we really did.

My wedding ring was by Meg Maskell Fine Jewellery. I have always loved pieces that feel elegant, understated, simple and classic, and it felt completely right for me.

Ned’s wedding band is something very close to his heart. It was reforged from the gold of his late mother Pam’s wedding ring, so when he looks at it, he thinks of the two most important women in his life.

I already loved my engagement ring so much and wanted to keep things simple, so rather than using Pam’s wedding diamonds to create an additional ring for me, I chose to have them made into a necklace instead. We knew we wanted Pam’s diamonds to be part of the day, and I didn’t want something so precious to be set into a piece I didn’t truly want or wouldn’t wear. The custom-made necklace felt perfect, and it made it feel like Pam was with us there on the day.

Our jeweller, Bridget Kennedy, created an elegant white gold necklace with diamond details, with the diamonds arranged to spell Pam’s name in Morse code. As well as carrying so much meaning, it was incredibly beautiful and matched the dress perfectly on the day.

Our photographer was Stefano Santucci. As soon as I saw Stefano’s portfolio, I knew he was the photographer for us. I love film photography, and his style is timeless, understated yet dramatic, dreamy, and nostalgic. He also captures the location so beautifully − nothing feels staged or unnatural.

He made us feel so at ease; the entire day was a joy. I would recommend him to anyone and everyone.

We met while we were both in Melbourne for work; Emily flew across from the UK as an Au Pair, and Ned was down from Sydney to work on a TV Show.

We knew the relationship was more than just a passing fling because of how much we made each other laugh − it really was love at first laugh.

Before our wedding, we had been engaged for three years (and our proposal video in Paris even went viral!)

Ned had already bought his tux for his cousin’s wedding. It was from Peter Jackson.

We actually ordered takeaway pizza from the village down the road! We ate pizza and cake in our villa and then we all went outside and dipped our toes in the pool. We laughed, drank champagne under the moonlight, and enjoyed every second. We never wanted the day to end.

We drove into Florence the day prior with flimsy hopes of finding a vegan wedding cake. Being a Sunday, not much was open. Luckily, VaLù Bakery & Cakes had a delicious vegan carrot cake which we redecorated with some fresh berries (Emily did not want mini fondant carrots on our wedding cake!).

We bought some pink roses in Florence the day before! Unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of where we got them from. It was very ‘us’ to buy them the day before. Everything sort of just fell into place, from the moment I tried the dress, to the photographer, the location… it was all just so easy. Surprisingly!

I made the elopement invitations for our friends who were with us, Justine and Kohl and the Vow books were from a small business on Etsy.

Prioritise what matters to you, and be present.

We prioritised what mattered mos tto us and made the rest up as we went! We were more than happy to spend the money on a trip of a lifetime, a photographer who is a beautiful artist, and jewellery we’ll cherish forever.

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