And the wedding posts continue!

Well finally, we’ve made it to our ceremony. I’m really excited to share the details of our ceremony with you. I think it’s important to take my time going piece by piece, kind of like watching a new episode of Game Of Thrones each week, right?

LOL. Okay, maybe not quite that dramatic but behind the scenes we definitely had our own family GOT drama going on hahaha. But then again, what wedding doesn’t?!

Each “episode” of our wedding felt like a new chapter in our fairytale day and I’m wishing the very same for all of my bride and groom to be’s out there. So let’s get started, shall we?

First, if you’re looking to marry in Italy, GO TO VILLA SAN GIACOMO. I can honestly say it’s one of the most amazing places on earth. The staff were so warm, welcoming and accomodating. Guys I just cannot recommend this villa enough. Oh take me back there Anton… and fast!

Second of all, I have a confession. (I’m Catholic so I suppose I always have some sort of confession 🙂 to make). I admit, I’m a total pain in the ass when it comes to party planning and getting exactly WHAT I want, HOW I want it, the crazy WAY I want it. I don’t trust anyone but me to do the job. I’m a perfectionist. Oh and I’m a total OCD control freak.

LOL.

Did I miss anything?

Phew, now that the cat’s out of the bag (as if you never knew this before haha), let’s talk specifics about the planning and actual wedding ceremony Anton and I had in Italy.

Incase you’re wondering, it’s not so easy to get married in Italy. There’s A TON of paperwork. You actually need to show up 3-4 days ahead of time to go through all of the paperwork and meetings. If you’re considering an official wedding in Italy, I will refer you to the U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Italy for more information. Give yourselves plenty of advance notice to plan for this!

As an alternative, you can also have your (unofficial) ceremony in Italy with a minister while completing your paperwork in the United States and doing everything at your City Courthouse. It’s definitely a bit more relaxing and less time consuming if you don’t mind having an actual ceremony before or after your wedding. Basically, it’s just the completion of fine legal print and paperwork you need to make your marriage official in the United States. And not to sound too pessimistic, but just incase you divorce years later, it’s a lot easier to have completed your paperwork in the country where you both live. Please note that I did not even think about this until a close friend who is always thinking ahead 🙂 brought it to my attention.

What did we do? Well, we aren’t saying haha. Not that it’s a big secret or anything, but we just prefer to keep this portion of our matrimony private. I mean hey, why not? Family has a way of knowing everything about everyone and everything so we just thought this could be our one big family secret hahaha.

All joking aside, YES, we are legally married!

Now let’s get to the fun part, DETAILS and DESIGN!

You all know from my previous wedding post how I helped my wedding coordinator, Mirna, place name cards on ceremony chairs as I basically followed her around checking on flowers, lights, tables and everything else haha. I tried to micromanage although trust me, she definitely didn’t need it.

(BTW book Mirna for all your Italian party and wedding needs. She’s the BEST EVER and you all know how much of a pain I can clearly be!)

Mirna and I had previously chatted and decided we wanted each part of the wedding to look “unique and different.” Kind of like those episodes I was telling you about. Episode 1 was our morning preparation. Episode 2, our ceremony, which including the music, chairs, view, decorations and extremely LONG HAUL up several flights of stairs and then down several with my father, to reach our final destination: the aisle!

The pictures totally capture the long haul we made to avoid guests and enter the garden from its back entrance. I can say with great confidence that Dad and I worked off most of our wedding dinner or at the very least, our dessert!

Classic me. If there is a wedding venue halfway across the world with an overly excessive amount of stairs, I would be the one to find it. Fitness even at my own wedding, HAH!

So what wedding look was I going for? Well, I like SIMPLE. I wanted to use our gorgeous venue as much as possible. I wanted Anton and I to shine and everything else to accent us, not distract from us. I wanted to incorporate hues of blue with bright white everywhere. Which, by the way, had apparently never been done at the villa before. I am officially the first person to make my wedding colors there blue and white rather than the more common pinks, reds and oranges.

What can I say? I always knew I was different, LOL.

Choosing my flowers was rather easy. I waited for Mirna to tell me what blue flowers would be in season in Positano in May and which ones the florists could get their hands on. In the end we went with blue and white hydrangeas, baby’s breath and lemons to add a touch of Positano “lemon” to our theme.

My vision was quite simple. We naturally moved our ceremony to a part of the garden that had never been used for a ceremony. Very ME, right?

Since we were a small group of 23, this area with the magnificent view was totally possible. And honestly, I loved saying our vows in a unique place that no one else had previously said theirs in. Under that gorgeous tree and with the amazing view of the sea, everything was just perfect.

As for my bouquet, there was nothing fancy about it. Because I’m tall with big shoulders, we decided I needed a bigger bouquet- and with our hydrangeas, it was totally possible. And oh-so-easy. Next, my Dad and Anton’s ring bearer. Well, we made their boutonnieres out of a small bunch of baby’s breath. Anton’s boutonniere was the same but we added a white rose because his needed to be different. All of these flowers were wrapped in a navy blue ribbon to tie in more blue.

Just the way I like it!

I chose not to have any bridesmaids because really, I could have made each and every one of my friends and family attending the wedding a bridesmaid. My sister, as the only sibling of the bride, got the offical “duty” 🙂 of holding my bouquet and fixing my hair. She had my nephew with her so really expecting her to take on all of the duties of a maid of honor would have been a bit overwhelming while chasing a one year old! So we put a crown of baby’s breath on her beautiful hair, keeping any and all flowers away from baby Levi’s hands and mouth lol.

Everyone tried to talk me into an arch and extra sprays of flowers but I said NO WAY! Even before I knew we would marry under that gorgeous tree, next to a beautiful arch of pink roses, I just did NOT want an arch. Why? Well, I again felt it would detract from us and most importantly, from the natural beauty of our villa. The sea view and beautiful garden really didn’t need anything but a few blue and white pedals scattered on the ground.

As you can see, my colors really did turn out well in our pictures! I got my blue, white and Positano lemons everywhere. I feel the simplicity of what I did and what I DID  NOT do made everything look more elegant and more beautiful.

As for the comfort of our guests? Well, we made sure their chairs were in the shade as much as possible. We served champagne and mint water before the ceremony. And most importantly, we made the ceremony as SHORT as possible.

Trust me when I say I think we all get a little antsy when we witness an hour long ceremony. I grew up Catholic so obviously, I’ve been to a few. 🙂 And yes, as beautiful as they are, for people who are not religious or who came to enjoy your destination wedding, the actual ceremony portion can be a bit how do I say it?… well, quite frankly, BORING.

So… we spiced things up a bit. We wrote our own vows and we made them FUNNY. I talk about my nerdy scientist and how he’s marrying me and our yorkies. He talked about his “beautiful” and how he was marrying me and my yorkies.

Hahaha at least we both included our fur babies without knowing it!

I think this made it fun for people. It took the “normalcy” out of things. I also highly recommend serving some sort of cocktail before the wedding. It helps break the ice when guests are mingling and waiting for the bride. And it totally helps while you’re sitting there, waiting for the ceremony to end so that the real party can begin!

So yes, I am one of those people who can’t sit still for long. And quite honestly, in those high heels of mine on the grass, I had no desire to stand there for a long time! I couldn’t wait for the ceremony to end so we could breath a sigh of relief and enjoy all of our planning and hard work!

Does anyone think I’m nutty? What are your thoughts on weddings? Would you go simple or extravagant? Short or long ceremony?

To me all that matters is owning it and making every part of your big day and celebration turn out as you’ve planned for all to enjoy and celebrate YOU.

Off to watch the first episode of GOT season 5. Yes, I know, I’m totally behind! I think I’ve watched all 4 seasons in ten days. Gosh it’s addictive. 🙂

xx Shanna