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Francesca & Michael
How you met – Michael and I met through mutual friends when we rented a house at the beach in Delaware in 2006. We started dating about a year later.
The proposal – Michael proposed to me in our living room after work one day. I was going through the mail and he told me he had something for me. I saw a bag of Swedish Fish candy on the counter and asked if that’s what he had for me and he said No. I turned around and he was on one knee holding a ring and asked me to marry him!
Why you choose Florence/Italy for your wedding – My parents met in high school in Rome and I have spent a lot of time in Italy throughout my life. Michael and I wanted more of a rustic wedding setting but something that our guests could get to easily. A family friend that lives in Florence told us about Villa Le Piazzole after having attended a wedding there. We visited it (in the snow!) and fell in love with it. We loved the proximity to Florence but the relaxed and beautiful setting and feeling that we were in the middle of Tuscany.
Your wedding day – Michael and I were married in a Jewish ceremony in the evening of October 15, 2011. We were joined by 50 friends and family that traveled to be there with us. We spent the afternoon taking pictures all over Florence before the ceremony and then had an amazing dinner and dancing afterwards. Michael and I were lucky to work with amazing vendors for our wedding. Planning a wedding in Italy from the US seems like a huge task, but we were fortunate to be in the wonderfully talented hands of Nadia and Oleg at Whitethings and Benedetta at Villa Le Piazzole. They helped organize everything from the beautiful candles all over the property, to finding the right florist and caterer, and suggested Michela for our photos (who was fantastic!). The whole experience was so much more beautiful and wonderful than I had been imagining since we started our planning process. I am confident that our magical wedding in Florence would not have been nearly as special had it not been for our wonderful vendors.
What’s the thing that some said or did that touched you most – I was very touched by my father’s toast during the dinner. He said some wonderful things about me and about Michael. It really meant a lot to me.
The funniest thing that happened – The dance party after dinner was so fun. We had everyone from my 6 year old cousin to Michael’s 89 year old grandmother dancing.
Your dress – I loved my dress. It was a Modern Trousseau design, tiered fabric and I had a hand crafted belt that I wore. Probably the highlight of my outfit were my yellow shoes though. I also wore something from both of my grandmothers and both of Michael’s. We each have one grandmother living, but only Michael’s could make the trip. I wore two bracelets from my living grandmother and Michael’s living grandmother, a pin from my grandmother who passed away, and used the wedding ring of Michael’s grandmother who passed away. She used that ring when she got married, as did Michael’s mother. I felt if was important to honor everyone.
Decor & color scheme – My favorite color is yellow, so I had yellow shoes, Michael had yellow socks and a plaid bow-tie with yellow in it. However, since it was fall, I wanted to incorporate fall colors, so my flowers were yellow, orange and red, my maid of honor (my sister) wore a red dress, and the best man (Michael’s brother) wore orange socks and a red and orange plaid bow-tie. The decor was very simple, white tablecloths and napkins and lots of candles because it was night time.
Your love song – Something by the Beatles
Where did you go on your honeymoon – We had an amazing, once in a lifetime honeymoon. After a week in Italy before the wedding where we explored Rome and Florence, we went to Istanbul for 4 days, Melbourne, Kangaroo Island and Sydney in Australia for 8 days, Auckland, New Zealand, and ended in Bora Bora for 5 days. It was incredible.
What’s Love for you – To me, Love is more than a feeling, it’s a state of being. I think when you are in love, more things make sense and you don’t take things and people for granted. (at least that’s how I feel!)
