Photo by Arash Moallemi taken at Villa Podernovo in Tuscany, Italy
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Our Wedding In Italy!
This past September my fiancé Adam and I finally tied the knot in Italy. After 11 years together, we exchanged rings in one of the most romantic settings in the world surrounded by friends and family. All the hard work and wedding planning my mom and I put into creating the perfect destination wedding finally paid off and the look of wonderment and delight on everyone’s faces (especially Adam’s) made it totally worth the while.
One of Adam and I’s favourite part of the entire experience was relishing in such a magical setting alongside our friends and family. It not only prolonged the celebrations (which otherwise felt like they flew by) but made the payoff and memories 10x more abundant. To this day, our guests are still sending us photos from their time in Italy and remarking on how amazing their experiences were. We never tire of hearing stories from everyone's perspective and enjoy remembering all the funny and heartfelt moments that made the wedding such a special occasion.
I also feel so lucky to live in a time where everyone has cameras on their phones so we can document each moment and capture memories to reflect on later. Even though the ‘lead up’, ‘day of’ and ‘post wedding’ celebrations lasted nearly a week, it still felt like it went by in a blink of an eye and making these travel vlogs have actually helped me delight in each moment all over again. I feel that as a bride it’s hard to be present on your big day and you become so over stimulated with the activities, tasks, and conversations that it’s hard to remember all the little details. I feel so lucky to have these memories captured on video so I can look back on them for years to come. I really hope you enjoy my wedding travel vlogs (it was too long to make into one video so I had to split it up into two parts) and get inspired to plan a trip (or wedding) to Italy. We really had such a blast, loved our accommodations and ate at some amazing restaurants so feel free to take notes and follow in our footsteps next time you find yourself in Italy!
Drone views of Ponte Vecchio, Uffizi Gallery and Duomo Firenze from our Florence accommodations - Palazzo San Niccolo
Florence Accommodations
Finding reasonably priced accommodations in Florence can be quite challenging and coupled with the fact that we were going to Croatia for our honeymoon right after the wedding, we wanted to save our luxury experiences for then. Enter, Your Place In Florence’s Palazzo San Niccolo, an apartment style hotel located in what once was a 13th century monastery. Today the hotel boasts a contemporary design with a retro spirit and features a beautiful courtyard garden which makes for the perfect refuge from the bustle of a busy, high-tourist city like Florence. Perfectly situated in one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Florence, Oltraro, you are surrounded by artisan workshops, wine bars and charming cafes, while only being 5 minutes from Piazza Michelangelo and 8 minutes from Ponte Vecchio. Our room ended up costing us around $440 CAD a night (in September) which we thought was great value given it had a little kitchenette/dining space and living room area. The hotel also has laundry machines you can use (which could come in handy if you’re in-between destinations) as well as offers laundry service so you get those customized upgrades should you wish. Complimentary sparkling and filtered natural water fountains can be found in the basement as well and rooms come with free wifi, air conditioning, iron and ironing boards, hairdryers etc. If you need anything additional like grocery delivery, a private driver, or a place to park your car, the front desk can arrange it for you as well as cooking classes, private tours and luggage storage. Lastly, in addition to the communal courtyard they also have a lounge where breakfast and coffee is offered in the morning.
Adam and I especially loved how the communal courtyard in our Florence accommodations allowed us to friends and invite family to join us for a drink and nibbles before our planned Sunday dinner. We had asked for permission from the concierge beforehand and given we had another group of friends staying at the same accommodations I think it helped persuade them to allow it. We of course were mindful of our noise level and left just after sunset to ensure we didn’t disturb other guests . We also made sure to clean up after ourselves. Definitely another great reason why it’s one of the best places to stay in Florence Italy.
The flambé tagliatelle truffle pasta we had at Osteria Pastelle in Florence, Italy.
Restaurants in Florence Italy
Knowing we would only be in Florence for two nights, we made sure to make reservations at some of the best restaurants!
Known for having the best pasta in Florence Osteria Pastella was one of those restaurants I had been dying to try for awhile. Their flambé tagliatelle truffle pasta made table side in a large Grana Padano wheel and finished off with freshly saved black truffle first caught my eye while perusing on IG and let me tell you, this experience was even better and more delicious than I could have imagined! I absolutely loved our meal here and the casual atmosphere of the restaurant. It definitely won’t be Adam and I’s last visit!
The Favaloso (Sbriciolona salami, cream of pecorino cheese, cream of artichokes and spicy eggplants) from All’ Antico Vinaio in Florence Italy!
Crowned as ‘the best sandwich shop in Florence’ by my (then) fiancé, All’Antico Vinaio is one spot we always visit every time we are in Florence and it never disappoints. There is always a line but it goes fast and since the first time we came here in 2017 they have now expanded to four storefronts within 50 feet of the original, which just attests to how awesome they are! We like to order the FAVOLOSA (Sbriciolona salami, cream of pecorino cheese, cream of artichokes and spicy eggplants) when we go and always add a spicy chilli spread for a little extra spice.
Our pre-wedding group dinner at La Giostra Firenze! What a turn out!
For our group dinner on the Sunday Adam and I made a reservation two months in advance at our favourite restaurant in Florence, La Giostra. A hot spot for celebrities this restaurant features traditional Tuscan style cooking and has one of the best steak Florentine’s in the city! Our group dinner here was a total success and had everyone feasting on seafood, steak and delicious pasta dishes. As expected, it was a total crowd pleaser.
Florence Photo Dump
Some extra photos from our time in Florence including our visit to the Duomo di Firenze and shopping for wedding shoes at Gucci for Adam.
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Our Visit to the Designer Outlet Mall in Florence
If you love designer clothes and are okay with purchasing last seasons overstock you have to check out ‘The Mall Firenze’, Florence’s luxury outlet mall. Located about 30 minutes outside Florence off the highway, Adam and I stopped in at The Mall on our way to our wedding villa to see if we could score any cool finds. From Prada to Fendi, Gucci, Bottega, Balenciaga and more, The Mall is a large promenade style shopping centre (meaning its outdoors so you may want to go on a nice day) with over 35 designer stores to explore. Even though no purchases were made this time, it was still a lot of fun to peruse the stores and discounts.
After our visit at the designer outlet mall in Florence we headed to Monticiano where we stayed at aunt Linda’s rented farmhouse for one night before we could check into our Tuscan wedding villa. We spent the rest of the day relaxing poolside with Adam’s west coast cousins, drinking and laughing well into the evening.
The following day Adam and I got up early and headed to the the municipality office in Chiusdino to meet with our legal paperwork coordinator. Introduced to us through our wedding planner, our wedding paperwork coordinator Antonella had been such a great help guiding us through the documentation requirements we needed to obtain our marriage license in Italy. Since she is fluent in English and Italian, she became such a great asset to Adam and I as we planned our wedding in Italy and really helped us though the legal process of getting married in Italy. Now, having all the paperwork in order, there were still a few documents we needed to sign and submit to the local municipality before our big day.
The outside of Abbazia Di San Galgano, our wedding ceremony venue in Tuscany, Italy
Our Wedding Venue - Abbazia Di San Galgano
After a quick visit to the municipality office, Adam and I picked up our wedding photographer Arash Moallemi and headed to Abbazia Di San Galgano, our wedding ceremony venue, for a site visit. I had been to the abbey before in April with my mom during our planning trip, but this was Adam’s first time and I think he was pretty blown away by how beautiful it was in person.
Located in the Tuscan countryside of Italy, San Galgano Abbey is one of the most unique and breathtaking destinations in Tuscany. Built in the 13th century, the abbey is a stunning example of Gothic architecture and is regarded as one of the most important church ruins in Italy. The abbey's remote location adds to its otherworldly beauty, making it a popular destination for both national and international visitors. While the San Galgano Abbey is not currently used for religious services it is one of the most beautiful wedding venues in Italy and features an open air cathedral!
Inside Abbazia Di San Galgano, our wedding ceremony venue in Tuscany, Italy
Fun facts about Abbazia San Galgano & the legend of the Sword in the Stone:
The abbey's most iconic feature is the sword in the stone. Legend has it that the man who was later to become San Galgano was a knight who thrusted his sword into a rock and declared that he would give up his life as a soldier to serve God. The sword still stands in the chapel, serving as a potent symbol of San Galgano's legendary story and the power of faith.
Once we wrapped up at the abbey it was time for us to check into our wedding villa.
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Villa Podernovo an 18th century Tuscany holiday villa we rented for the wedding
Our Tuscany Wedding Villa
Villa Podernovo is an 18th century Tuscany holiday villa located just outside the town of Monticiano, 45 minutes from Siena. It is here where we would be hosting our welcome dinner, wedding reception and post wedding brunch, and where we and our immediate family would be staying for the next three days.
Only 8km from Abbazia Di San Galgano, Villa Podernovo features sprawling lawns, courtyards, and even a pool. The villa itself features 5 apartments with a total of 9 spacious bedrooms (many with en suite bathrooms) that can sleep about 18 adults. Each apartment has a fully equipped kitchen, a stunning living room with a fireplace, and comes with access to a beautiful outdoor terrace where you can soak up the Tuscan sun and enjoy an al fresco meal with friends and family.
By the time we arrived our wedding planner Diana (who also owns Villa Podernovo) was setting up and getting things ready for our first event, the Welcome Pizza Party!
Our Italian wedding planner Diana Grandii setting up for the Pizza Welcome Party at Villa Podernovo
Our Italian Wedding Planner!
Diana Grandi, has been organizing weddings at the villa for several years and offers her wedding planner and coordination services to guests who rent the entire villa for their wedding. Over the past few months leading up to the wedding she had become such a great asset, providing me with a list of vendors she recommended and helping us organize all our wedding events, decorations, transportation to the Abbey, layouts for the reception, and coordinating our wholesale liquor deliveries. Hiring a wedding planner in Italy was one of the best decisions my mom and I made during the planning process and I can’t imagine what it would be like to do it all without her now.
Villa Podernovo staff preparing the wood burning pizza oven for our welcome dinner.
Our welcome pizza party was incredible. Diana organized all the decorations and brought in a master pizza chef and additional staff to make sure everything went off without a hitch. The only thing we were in charge of (by choice as we could have paid to bring in a bar service) was putting out the wine and beer and mixing cocktails. In the end it was a great way to kick off the celebrations and get everyone mingling.
The red wine served at our wedding events was from our family friend’s winery in Montalcino, a beautiful Tuscan Bevilo from Casa Raia winery!
Our Wedding In Tuscany - The Day Of
Too excited to sleep, I got up early and went down to breakfast. Diana and her staff had already began to set up a large buffet table full or cold cuts, cheese, juices, cereals & muesli and homemade cakes, and soon everyone in the villa trickled in for coffee and breakfast before wedding preparations began.
Getting ready for my wedding at San Galgano Abbey and Villa Podernovo
The girls and I got ready in a private room in the day time villa while Adam and his groomsman got ready in the night time villa. Each group had a few bottles of cold Prosecco waiting for us to enjoy as we got ready. I had chosen to do my own makeup and my lovely little sister (who had been practising with me over the last two months) did my Hollywood waves! She did such a great job!
BTS of Us Getting Ready For The Wedding
The beautiful bouquets my Italian wedding florist made for my bridesmaids!
Tuscany Wedding Florist
Mid wedding prep we got the most wonderful delivery from our Italian wedding florists Marta and Patrizia.
Highly recommended by Diana, the Italian wedding florists did a wonderful job encapsulating my vision and bringing it to life. I love the pastel colours of a sunset and the flower arrangements, bouquets, boutonnières and the flower crowns they made for the flower girls mimicked just that. Even after the ceremony they brought the flowers back from the abbey and rearranged them to use during the cocktail reception and sit down dinner which was amazing and totally added additional beauty to the ambience of both events.
Photos of the Florals and Tablescape Setup
Our Italian Wedding Caterers
During this time our catering company Roland Social and Business Catering was also setting up. Although their lack of communication leading up to the big day was very nerve wracking, I have to say their execution on the day of was outstanding. They came early and started setting up all the tables for both the cocktail reception and the sit down dinner. They brought lots of wait staff with them and their event manager ran his team with military precision. The tablescapes complimented the florals perfectly and the mise en place presentation was impeccable.
Adam and I got married at a 13th Century Gothic, roofless abbey in Tuscany, Italy called Abbazia Di San Galgano
Once ready the girls and I headed to the abbey for the ceremony. Adams cousin Nashlyn and her husband Louise are both musicians so they played the most beautiful acoustic rendition of ‘Is This Love’ for my entrance. My mom who had been by my side for this entire planning process honoured me by walking me down the aisle to Adam’s side. The mayor of the municipality was the officiant of the ceremony while Diana, our Italy wedding planner, translated.
Following the ceremony everyone headed back to the villa for the cocktail reception. Rolands had set up multiple tables around the oak tree and upper courtyard where guests could help themselves to cheese bouvettes, fresh cold cuts, and finger food like bruschetta, beef tartare with quail egg and truffle; wafer cone with burrata cheese and candied tomato. The waiters handed out warm finger foods of mini eggplants Parmigiana millefeuille; medallion of cornmeal with burrata cheese and caramelized onion; while the bartenders mixed our signature drink, a Cocktail Hugo made of elderflower syrup, Prosecco, mint and lime.
Photos from our Cocktail Reception
After about an hour and a half, our guests were encouraged to make their way up to the dinner reception and find their seat. Adam’s brother and best man Patrick was our MC and welcomed guests before dinner began and the first course, a risotto with zucchini and saffron was served. Following the risotto came a pappardelle with wild boar ragout which was definitely my favourite dish and tasted even better then it did at our April tasting. For the mains, guests had a choice between a seabass fillet with thyme and lemon, millefeuille of parmesan eggplants, and beef tagliata with rosemary olive oil.
Guests finding their seat at our wedding reception at Villa podernovo
The food was plentiful with waiters coming by to offer additional servings to guests after each course. To finish off the dinner Rolands began the preparation of the wedding cake in front of guests, lopping in Adam and I to assist in its construction part way through. Once Adam and I cut the cake they served it with a shot of Limoncello and mini olive oil cakes to end off an already amazing meal.
Photos of Our Dinner Reception
We were blessed with the most amazing sunset the evening of our wedding!
Following the dinner it was time to dance! To get things started we kicked off the next part of the celebrations with some traditional Macedonia Oros which included a bread dance before transitioning into a ‘father-of-the-bride and bride' dance and ‘mother-of-the-groom and groom’ dance. After that it was a free for all on the dance floor and things got pretty wild the further into the night we partied.
Photos of Our Dance Party
The pool at Villa Podernovo all ready to welcome our guests for the pool party brunch!
Following the wedding day Adam and I had planned to host everyone for a ‘Hangover Pool Party Brunch’ at the Villa. Starting at eleven the majority of our guests returned to the villa for a few hours of relaxing drinks and nibbles poolside before we dispersed once again to get ready for the final wedding event - dinner at a Michelin star restaurant in Siena.
Photos of Our Post-Wedding Pool Party
A photo of Basilica Cateriniana San Domenico in Siena Tuscany, Italy I snapped on the walk to dinner.
Our final wedding event was dinner at a historic restaurant in Siena with deep roots in Tuscan cuisine. Situated just a stone’s throw from Piazza del Campo, Ristorante Mugolone serves elevated Tuscan cuisine using locally sourced ingredients and modern approaches. Professional yet friendly service, we booked both dining rooms for our 56 person private dinner and feasted on a delicious prix fix menu of beef tartare with black truffle and pecorino cheese, brioches bread with chicken liver patè and vinsanto sauce, tagliatelle lamb ragù with coffee, risotto saffron with crunchy bacon and gorgonzola, veal check with chocolate sauce, potatoes and leeks; and cheesecake with wild strawberries for dessert. Overall the dinner was exquisite and presentation was immaculate. It was also really nice to spend an evening in Siena with everyone as it is such a beautiful city to explore (even more beautiful than Florence in my opinion) and a place with rich history that I had yet to enjoy.
Photos From Our Dinner at Ristorante Mugolone Siena
Overall our wedding in Tuscany was a dream come true. Everything was perfect and we loved every minute. I feel so blessed to have so many great people in my life willing to travel halfway around the world to see us tie the know and for all the help we received from our amazing Italian wedding planner Diana Grandi, Antonella for helping us with the paperwork, and Patricia and Martha for the amazing job with the floral decoration. We would also like to thank Casa Raia for offering to supply the red wine for our wedding, a beautiful Bevilo from their Montalcino winery. Adam and I managed to bring a few bottles of it back to Toronto which we have set aside for our future anniversaries as a memento of this wonderful journey.
Thank you so much for listening to Adam and I’s story about our experience getting married in Tuscany, Italy. If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comment section below, otherwise don’t forget to subscribe as I’ll be back with more honeymoon and travel content soon! CIAO!
- Soheila
