Laura & Carl

We love hearing our real brides find their photographers on our very pages, especially when the results are as stunning as this outdoor Italian wedding by Paolo Ceritano. It's the perfect mix of countryside, emotion and pretty and I can't wait for you to see it. The outdoor ceremony is simply breathtaking with its floral arch altar and achingly beautiful backdrop, not to mention taking centre stage bride Laura and groom Carl in their fabulous wedding attire. Then there's the intimate reception of dreams adorned with festoon lights and laughter. You ready to take a peek and fall in love? Thought so.

Our Story

Laura The Bride: Carl and I met 4 years ago on Match.com. One of the things we both had on our profile was about how much we wanted to go to Italy, and we’re so lucky that we’ve been all over the country since then. Carl proposed last year while in Sardinia with my parents. It was the last day of our trip, and we were sat on a rock together when Carl asked me to marry him. We chose Italy to celebrate our marriage so we could share our favourite country with our family and friends. We began by looking at the Lakes & Amalfi, but we settled on Umbria because it felt so unspoilt. Like a less touristy version of Tuscany.

Venue

We found Borgo Bastia Creti online, and drove up the winding hills one day back in September to visit it. We loved it instantly. It was a perfect size for our wedding (slept 32) and had amazing panoramic views. Sonia who manages the property was very helpful and supportive throughout the process.

Dress

My dress was from Sass & Grace, near Winchester. A beautiful handmade Lyn Ashworth by Sarah Barrett blush silk dress. This boutique is incredible, and Sam who owns it is so helpful – the experience was wonderful.

Beauty

My colleague at work helped me find Anna & her amazing team who did our hair and make up for the day. They flew up from Rome, and were worth every penny. What I love about Anna’s style is its more natural and relaxed than a lot of the traditional Italian hair & make-up artists. The team arrived the night before the wedding for a trial, and on the wedding day itself they did an even better job. I’m so glad I found Anna & her team.

Planning

We decided we didn’t want a wedding planner, due to the cost – but also because we like to keep things simple. So between Carl and myself we set about organising it.

Photographer

We found Paolo our fabulous photographer on RMW! We loved his natural style of photography – it seemed to suit our rustic natural theme – we were thrilled when he said he could cover our wedding.

Catering

Next was the catering. Carl managed to find Flavio (Osteria Del Donca) who had glowing reviews online. The food he arranged for our wedding was out of this world – our guests were amazed. With Marta (translators) support, Flavio helped us arrange so much – from the tables and lighting to the wonderful music that played through the ceremony (Filippo Dominici).

Florist

The florist was local and had previously worked at the Borgo, Luca did a wonderful job, he followed exactly what we had asked for and the archway was stunning.

Ceremony

For the ceremony itself we wanted something personal – and loved the idea of a Humanist ceremony. Carl found Francesca Resciniti (Efffetti Wedding Planners and Events in Italy) online and she was brilliant. We skyped before the ceremony – so it felt like we had already met. She asked us to write the vows and a passage about each other separately – which made for a lovely surprise on the day – really personal. It was wonderful and we couldn’t have hoped for more.

Entertainment

In the evening we had an amazing band play – Supernova. They were brilliant entertainment and we loved the versions of all of our favourite songs. All in all everyone went way above and beyond what we had hoped for – we were thrilled with how the weekend went, and our guests left loving Italy as much as we do. They’ve asked if we can go back annually to celebrate!