Carolina & Navneet

Be still our beating hearts...this destination wedding has been captured so beautifully by Marshal Gray. I just can't stop looking at the images, the light is incredible, the colours are so soft and ethereal and Borgo Stomennano is such a dreamy venue. Carolina & Navneet look so in love too and are an outrageously photogenic couple, their portraits are just so romantic. Destination weddings always make me crave being able to eat al-fresco too, and the rustic styled trestle tables underneath the trees and festoon lights just look so inviting...

Our Story

Carolina The Bride: We met at work. We’d been working in the same school for about 4 years. We became friends before we started dating.

The Decor

We wanted to have a rustic wedding mixed with classic elegance. We also wanted an outdoor wedding, eating our dinner under trees with hanging tea lights and candles and dancing under the stars. Italy quickly became the obvious destination for our wedding. We searched around for different locations and came up with Tuscany as the perfect place.

The Ceremony

The ceremony was outdoors in the Italian gardens of Borgo Stomennano. We had a harp and viola duet playing classical pieces. Nav walked down the aisle to Una Mattina by Ludovico Einaudi. My grandfather walked me down the aisle to Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy. We had a civil ceremony with some religious aspects. Our backdrop was Tuscan countryside and Italian Cypress trees.

Fun Moments

- Having the cake made in front of all the guests. - Teaching all the guests how to dance a traditional Moldovan wedding dance called “Pelinita” and dancing all together. - Jumping into the swimming pool at the end of the evening and staying up to see the sunrise

The Dinner

The tables were absolutely beautiful. Rustic tables and chairs; jam jars covered in burlap filled with flowers and candles. Sitting under tea lights hanging between trees. The food was delicious and we got to catch up with all of our guests.

The Venue

It was absolutely perfect. We spent three nights there and our guests loved it. The owner was so helpful - she made our stay unforgettable.

Advice

Start planning early. Other people might have ideas and opinions and want to have their say, but it’s your day so do it how you want to! Don’t let the little things get to you – things will go wrong. There were times when we were so fed up with planning that we regretted not eloping, but trust that everything will work out on the day, because it was the most perfect day for us! Your guests can be the most helpful but also the most frustrating element of the wedding planning. But the people who matter the most will be there on the day and so happy to celebrate with you. The day can get away from you very quickly, so make sure to spend some time with each other and savour the little moments. Take your time choosing a good photographer – someone who can see your day through yours and your guests eyes, can capture all the beautiful moments and doesn’t intrude on your day. Gary at Marshal Gray Photography was perfect and worth every penny! Planning a wedding in Italy from Hong Kong is tough when you don’t speak the language and you don’t have any direct contacts. We wish we could have trusted that things would work out (because they did!) Destination weddings can be hard work, but are so wroth it! We had 3 days with our guests and managed to relax.