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Florence, Italy Destination Wedding – Reception – Brandon and Angela

amy — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:27:27 +0000

Our final post from Angela and Brandon’s Florence, Italy destination wedding ….

The hotel where they got married has a beautiful big terrace overlooking the city of Florence. Unfortunately it was a bit cold, so the reception was set up under a tent, but the walls were clear so we were still able to experience the wonderful Italian sunset over the city … .

Because there was only about 15 people, including the bride and groom, this felt more like a fancy dinner party than a wedding reception. It was personal and intimate and a lot more relaxing than the 3 hours of dancing that might be part of someone else’s wedding.

The food and drinks were catered by the hotel, and we were waited on by some of the nicest staff.

My favorite was the risotto ….

There was a lot of love and a lot of laughing.
Definitely one of my favorite weddings ….. thanks so much to Brandon and Angela for bringing me along!

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Florence, Italy Destination Wedding – Ceremony – Brandon and Angela

amy — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:26:57 +0000

Continuing with Brandon and Angela’s Florence, Italy destination wedding ….

After taking wedding portraits throughout Florence, catching a cab to the hotel for the wedding, and taking more portrait on the hotel grounds, all we had to do was wait.

The ceremony took place in the front garden of the Hotel Villa la Vedetta. And, by ‘front garden‘ I mean huge yard+trees+fountain+loveliness.

Villa la Vedetta is a 5 star hotel on one of the hills overlooking Florence.

From their website:

In the charming atmosphere of Florence, surrounded by the green hills looking upon the banks of the River Arno, Villa La Vedetta is the ideal location to organize your wedding in Tuscany. Formerly an aristocratic villa, this Neo-Renaissance romantic property is today a refined 5 star luxury hotel, located on a hill a few steps away from Piazzale Michelangelo. The large panoramic patio, enjoying a stunning view over the city of Florence, is the perfect scenery to set up wedding parties as well as private banquets and receptions.

The hotel staff really took great care of us. I would 100% recommend this location to any other couple planning a Florence wedding (as long as I can come along).

Angela was given use of a bride’s room to touch up her makeup, tie the rings on the pillow and make other final preparations before going on to marry her love (or ‘Husbear’ as I have heard her call him).

See images below and please leave comments telling Angela and Brandon how gorgeous their wedding was!

Ang and Brandon pointedly made their family part of their ceremony. They had spent the last couple months hunting up claddagh pins on ebay, etsy and other sources. I won’t share all the details here, but Angela and Brandon formerly thanked their respective new in-laws for welcoming them into the families.

It was very sweet.

(Angela told me she tried so hard to hold back her big cheesy grin all throughout the portraits, but walking back up the aisle after getting married she just couldn’t hold it back!)

Stay tuned for the final chapter – reception!

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Florence, Italy Destination Wedding – Pre-Wedding Activities – Brandon and Angela

amy — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:22:52 +0000

It’s time!

I’ve finally finished editing and choosing the Italy destination wedding photos to blog!

I’m excited – are you?

The short version is Angela and Brandon had a very very small destination wedding in Florence, Italy and planned activities for us all the day before.

The long version is ….

There is a tour company in the Florence area called the Accidental Tourist. Since this year (2009) was the 3rd October in a row that the bride and groom had visited Italy together, they had a chance to use this company previously – for a Tuscany cooking class (can you imagine how delightful that would be?). The day before the wedding (Tuesday) Brandon and Angela treated all 15 of us to a whole day of wine, olive oil, food and fun in Tuscany.

{if you check out the website, I think we did the ‘wine and snooze’ tour}

It was a magical, ridiculously special day in the Tuscan countryside. Really, an irreplaceable experience….

Check out the images below:

We met the company at one of the Florence piazzas and were picked up in 2 big vans to bus us out to the countryside. On the way … on a beautiful Italian morning … we crossed over the Arno. That bridge (image below) is the Ponte Vecchio. It is pretty much the only Florence bridge that wasn’t destroyed in WW2. The bridge dates back to Medieval Europe.

Our first stop was a huge (huge) estate in the Tuscan hills. Here the (fabulously wealthy) family still makes olive oil and wine as the owners always have for centuries, in spite of their other modern businesses and interests.

{If I had a ‘front yard’ like this you can bet I’d host weddings here}

Our guide – Steve, pictured right – is an American ex-patriot. He and his 20-something year old son (Alessandro) took us through the estate. At this time of the year, the estate was really only used for the olive oil and wine. Steve showed us step-by-step how both products are made, what makes them special, and the traditions surrounding them ….

The bride and groom below. Behind them, growing almost all the way to the buildings’ walls, are acres of olive trees.

{yes, he’s wearing a Flogging Molly jacket}

Around 11a or so, after learning ALL about how the wine and olive oil are made, we went to a different Tuscan farmhouse for some tasting. … mmm ….

Freshly baked Italian bread (without salt as per tradition), drizzled with olive oil, and 5 different kinds of Chianti wine.

I don’t know a single thing about wine, so it was really interesting to learn all about it – as well as taste the different kinds as we go to really be able to see the differences.

{of course, we bought some to bring home!}

One final stop on our day in Tuscany – really the day went by so quickly …. I could have spent the whole week on this tour …

As part of the day, we all went to this private Tuscan home for a fresh, home-cooked (ridiculously amazing) meal.

If I had to guess, I would say this place was 400-ish years old. Stone walls. Great vintage windows. Odd corners and levels. And beautiful views wherever you look.

We all ate IN Christiana’s kitchen. Right where she cooks for her own family.

Grilled bell peppers, mushroom lasagna, homemade pasta, frittata, tiramisu and probably 3 or 4 other things …

Just one more day in a whole week of memorable travel, but so special to be part of this bride and groom’s wedding.

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Florence, Italy Desination Wedding – Devo and Angela’s sneak peek

amy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:45:00 +0000

Ok. That’s it. I officially am in love with destination weddings.

It is so amazing to be pulled out of a comfort zone of your home town and be invited to photograph a BEAUTIFUL couple in an equally BEAUTIFUL location.

In this case, Florence.

Seriously, please consider having your wedding anywhere from Puerto Rico to Paris. I promise I’m a ton of fun and your wedding will be truly unforgettable.

P.S. More wedding pics posted on Facebook. More coming on this site in the coming weeks.

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