Planning My Wedding Ceremony in Florence, Italy

Save the Date: We're Getting Married

Coding God and I had our legal wedding last month, but we still have our celebration in Italy coming up in July. I thought I’d share a few of our wedding plans and ideas with you guys. 🙂

The Venue

I think finding the venue was the most stressful part of the wedding. First, we had no idea what country we were going to do it in! We went back and forth between California (my home country) and England (Coding God’s home country). Then finally I said, “Fuck it. Let’s pick a third country.” So that’s how we settled on Italy!

Even after we got the country narrowed down, it still took a long time to settle on a venue. I felt like we were searching for one pretty last minute (at least compared to other couples). Many people book these things 12-18 months in advance, but we were booking only about 6 months in advance! A lot of places were completely full.

Finally, we found an amazing place: Villa San Michele in Florence, Italy! Check out some of these gorgeous photos:

The garden at Villa San Michele

Villa San Michele in Florence, Italy

Villa San Michele garden path

Restaurant dining at Villa San Michele

The Photographer

Finding a great photographer was a high priority for me. I love photography and as such, I feel like I can spot the difference between an “okay” photographer, a “good” photographer, and a “great” photographer. So naturally, I wanted a great one!

I found Jules Bower. Jules is an Englishman who lives in Tuscany. That was an immediate plus! HE SPEAKS ENGLISH!!! LOL. But also, he has a fabulous website. Here’s why I chose him:

  • He uses WordPress. (I’m not even joking—I love this.)
  • He has a very extensive frequently asked questions page.
  • He goes into detail about what equipment he uses. I love that, because I know camera equipment so I know what lenses/bodies are epic and which are not.
  • He provides clients with a flash drive of all the images he takes. The clients have a license to use all the images in whatever non-commercial manner they wish.
  • He has a blog. I think it’s great that he’s active online.
  • His portfolio kicks ass.

Obviously the last one (portfolio) is the most important, but it’s really the other bits that caused me to choose Jules over another photographer.

Check out some hot pieces from his portfolio:

Click images to enlarge them.

Image by Italian Wedding Photographer Jules

Image by Italian Wedding Photographer Jules

Image by Italian Wedding Photographer Jules

Image by Italian Wedding Photographer Jules

Image by Italian Wedding Photographer Jules

Image by Italian Wedding Photographer Jules

Wedding ideas and inspiration

Below are just a few pins from my wedding board on Pinterest. You can see some of the ideas I have for the wedding! Not all of them are going to happen (like the hanging light bulbs), but it gives you an idea of the style I’m going for. As you can see, coral is my wedding colour. 🙂

Click images to enlarge them.
Coral Bridesmaids Dresses

Wedding Cake

Candle holders

Candles and flowers

wedding-flowers

Pink Cocktail Drinks

Wedding hair style

Wedding hair style

Hanging light bulbs for Wedding

The most amazing mom ever!

And honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to get as far as I have without my mom! She’s been a total rockstar in helping me with the planning. Thank you, mom!

Photo of Ashley
I'm a 30-something California girl living in England (I fell in love with a Brit!). My three great passions are: books, coding, and fitness. more »

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24 comments

  1. The place in Italy looks absolutely spectacular! It’s like a dream come to life. Ahahaha, I love how you get a kick out of the photographer using WordPress! It really does show professionalism though so a good portfolio is always key. 😉

  2. Oh my!!! This is really going to be a princess wedding!!! The place is gorgeous… And Florence is one the most beautiful city in Italy! I wonder how you get all your family and friends to come to Italy? I mean you’re going to need half a Boeing!!!!! 😀

  3. That venue is perfect! It’s the sort of venue I’d choose for myself, if I could afford to. I love the soft, romantic look you’ve got going on. It’s so beautiful, and magical. It will be beautifully captured, especially with such a talented photographer!

    Nikki @ The Paper Sea recently posted: Reaching Out to Publishers
  4. Oh my gosh that venue looks gorgeous! Your wedding is going to be amazing! I need to go to Italy before I die. Bucket list item for sure. I’m actually trying to plan a Mediterranean cruise for next summer so hopefully that will happen. *crosses fingers* Anyway, good luck with all your wedding planning! I hope it all goes smoothly for you!

    Rebecca @ The Library Canary recently posted: Discussion Post: Organizing Your Bookshelf
  5. It’s a neat little coincidence that you mentioned camera equipment and knowing the difference between a good and a great photographer because I’m at a journalism convention right now. I went with one of my friends to a photography critique session this morning. We both received compliments and good feedback about our photos, but there was this one guy that was amazing. Every single one of the pictures he showed off had impeccable composition.
    Planning the wedding ceremony seems so exciting! Those hanging delightful are just darling 🙂

    Dana @ The Nerdy Journalist recently posted: Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  6. OMG, Jules’ profile does kickass!!! You found the perfect guy. And that place, I am speechless. It’s so breathtaking. I always wanted to visit Italy. If your wedding looks like any of those pictures it’s going to be the most amazing wedding I have ever seen.

    Side note: I just realized I am not receiving your blog emails. Is there a problem on your side or should I be looking at my side?

    Jennifer Bielman recently posted: Review: Slave by Sherri Hayes
  7. This is so the way to do a wedding – wow! Beautiful location!! Super exciting that you got a photographer that will give you rights to all the wedding pics – that’s a treat! So many of them won’t do that. Loving the updates, can’t wait to see the final event pics 🙂

    Berls @ Fantasy is More Fun recently posted: Life of a Blogger | Bucket List
    1. Congratulations!!!! 😀 Enjoy the wedding planning, but don’t let yourself go crazy 😉

  8. Congrats on deciding on the venue and photographer! Wedding planning seems like it’s stressful but I’m sure it’ll be worth it! I’m super in love with your photographer’s photos and I’m sure your’s will turn out great, too! Loving that romantic vibe going on!

    alice-jane recently posted: California + Update

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