Wedding at Pensione quanto a Tuscany

Fanny and Andres’s gorgeous Italian wedding was held acceso 12th October 2023 at the breathtakingly beautiful Italian wedding venue, Pensione quanto a Tuscany.

The couple were inspired by the simple, natural beauty of the Tuscan country-side and really wanted to inject the essence of Italian culture into their wedding day. They didn’t hire a planner – choosing to do all the planning themselves, with assistance from their venue.

This beautiful bride, who looked incredible quanto a her Pronovias gown, has shared so much information – go grab a cup of tea and enjoy her gorgeous story, told through these exquisite photographs by Stefano Santucci.

Venue & Location

Our venue was Pensione quanto a Tuscany, located quanto a Castiglione d’Orcia, Italy near Pienza. Andres proposed to me when we were traveling through Tuscany. He had been quanto a love with the Val d’orcia, particularly Pienza and its Cattedrale luogo since traveling there for the first time almost 10 years asticciola, and we always dreamt of going there together. We looked into venues the day after our engagement and found Pensione quanto a Tuscany.

It looked incredible, but we knew it was something we’d have to see quanto a person. So we planned a spontaneous drive there for the next day. As soon as we arrived and saw it for the first time, we knew that if we were going to choose Italy, this would be the place. The panoramic views of Tuscany were breathtaking and it truly felt like a private little of paradise. After seeing Pensione, we really never considered doing it anywhere else.

Italy is known for its rich cuisine, culture, architecture, and timeless natural beauty. We wanted our wedding to bring all that to life. The flowers, decor, food, and overall aesthetics were centred around the beauty quanto a simplicity and detail. We also added vintage details like the 1960’s Fiat 500 car we rode quanto a to incontro the architecture quanto a the cathedral and venue. It made a difference quanto a the overall romantic mood we wanted to set.

We didn’t hire a event planner as we wanted to make it a personal experience to handpick our vendors and stile the overall style/details of our wedding. Since it was quanto a Italy and we dal vivo quanto a Tennessee, we chose to hire Francesca and Claudia from Pensione quanto a Tuscany as our soft coordinators. They really helped us narrow the vendors we chose and provide support with the logistics of getting everything ready for our day. They made the day-of flow smoothly and the experience much less daunting despite a 7 hour time difference and language barrier.

I love creating and gifting flower arrangements to my family and friends. It is my creative outlet, and I knew my dress and accessories had to encapsulate that.

Since my dress had a flower motif with the Mikado flowers and pearl details draping the front, I wanted to keep the accessories minimal. Therefore, I fell quanto a love with the Megan Therese wildflower pins that were gifted to me by my sister. They were hand-made pearl pins that again tied the pearl details acceso my dress and veil.

Since my wedding dress had a slit acceso the leg, I knew it would be a perfect moment for the shoes that I chose as they would always be seen. I wanted to keep my classic and sleek so I looked for a close-toe shoe that called that but still keeping it fun and modern. I have always been drawn to European moda, particularly that of Spain (maybe it is because of my Venezuelan-Spanish background).

Through my search for wedding stile/inspiration, I found the Casilda Come Casato blog. Cristina , the creator, is a Spanish creator that blogs about weddings and moda. This is where I found the Spanish shoe boutique FlordeAsoka, where artisans hand-make every shoe. I instantly fell quanto a love with the timeless stile and velvet fabric they used acceso the Tilda shoes I chose to wear for my wedding. A perfect combination of textures for my Fall wedding.

I wore a cathedral veil by Pronovias. I decided to wear one as it was a traditional Catholic church ceremony at Il Cattedrale quanto a the small town of Pienza, Italy.

What I loved most about my cathedral veil was the small pearl detail that ran along the edge. It matched beautifully with the pearls and Mikado flowers draping the front of my dress. I wanted my veil to be classic with a touch of modern detail.

For the day of my wedding, I mixed ‘Une Tonne de Roses’ and ‘Flavia Vanilla’ (my favourite everyday scent) together for that perfect blend of fresh and romantic.

Both fragrances are from the French boutique parfumerie Parle Moi de Parfum. I discovered them acceso a trip to France with my sister and then-boyfriend, Andres.

Natural Wedding Flowers

We chose to have Sartoria Floreale create our dream flower arrangements. Since flowers are a personal passion of mine, we wanted our wedding flower to be clean, sophisticated, and timeless. We really wanted to highlight the natural and simplicity of the beautiful Tuscan rolling hills and architecture.

“Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance”, as Coco Chanel once said. Therefore, we went with white and a touch of blush flowers like orchids, roses, wax flowers, and delphinium. For the table runners, we went with olive leaf branches, eucalyptus, and other greenery. We also chose various vintage furniture pieces, décor, and table settings from Proemio Noleggi event house.

My bridesmaid had the liberty to choose their own dresses! However, I wanted them all to have a different warm Fall colour and for it to be ankle length as the wedding reception would be outside acceso the hillside. I wanted their dresses to incontro the Tuscan countryside where they were highlighting their simplicity and minimal beauty.

My two nephews were also our ring bearers. I chose the Spanish hand-made boutique Mama Madejas for their entire . What I mostly loved about this boutique is their selection of fabrics. I decided acceso the blend of tweed and linen with the colour combination of sage and white.

The Ceremony

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Once we settled acceso Val d’Orcia as the location, the church had been something we’d dreamed of since we first went to Pienza a year prior.

Its style and architecture blend perfectly with its size to make for something that feels powerful, beautiful, monumental and intimate all at once. Being quanto a the church was a dream che true, and once we were, so many of our worries and cares melted away.

Our grandmother’s had both passed away before getting a chance to be there and that was something we’d always regretted. We’d actually lit them both a candle when visiting the church for the first time a year prior. They were immensely important figures quanto a our lives and we them both dearly, so their absence would have definitely been felt throughout the whole day were it not for a moment we had quanto a the church.

Stationery was one of my favourite parts of the entire wedding planning experience. Paper making and letter pressing is another hobby and interest of mine. So, we decided to hand-make all of the stationery ourselves. We picked out the hand-made paper and created our invitation stile to press acceso every invitation and create that vintage, sophisticated . We also bought vintage Italian postage stamps and had calligraphed each invitation and place card.

Then finished them with wax seals. These small details really elevated the overall style of the wedding and set the mood for our guests. We also printed the menus acceso hand-made paper and embossed our initial stamp to each for that personalised touch. This process was truly satisfying as we love the feeling of being involved quanto a the creative side.

My father walked me the aisle and Andres walked with his mother the aisle as well. My entrance with my dad was set to Max Richter’s recomposition of Vivald’s ‘The Four Seasons’, while Andres and his mother entered to Coldplay’s ‘Viva la Vida’ reinterpreted as a classical motif.

Father Ricardo was a last minute addition to the ceremony, as we were originally going to have the local pievano (“priest”) officiate. Andres’ aunt and uncle dal vivo quanto a Madrid and are very close to several Venezuelan clergymen living quanto a the city.

Sopra the last couple of weeks prior to the ceremony, they were able to connect us with a Priest who was quanto a Rome pursuing his religious studies and completing his residency at the Vatican. He brought such a youthful, positive and loving energy to our special day, not to mention a feeling of being home quanto a Venezuela. As a parting gift, Father Ricardo gave us a rosary that he had had blessed and been given by Pope Francis a week prior. He truly brought a deep, warm spirituality to our ceremony quanto a a way we wouldn’t have had otherwise.

We had multiple readings, that included Tobit 8, 4b-8 (Favourite extraction: “…Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine, not because of lust, but for a noble purpose. Call your mercy acceso me and acceso her, and allow us to dal vivo together to a happy old age.”).

We also had Psalm 127, Letter from St. Paul to the Corinthians 12, 31-13, 8a, 1 John4, 12 and reading from the Holy Gospel According to Matthew 19, 3-6.

We chose readings from a selection shared by Progenitore Ricardo a few weeks prior. We chose the excerpts that most resonated with us acceso a personal and spiritual level.

We decided to not read our personal vows out loud and instead intimately share them before walking the aisle. We did however read the traditional wedding vows quanto a Spanish as we exchanged rings.

Most favourite part of the ceremony is the wedding allentato tradition, which is a large rosary placed acceso us as a symbol of unity. This was done by both of my sisters and it is a tradition we share from our weddings.

We bought our wedding bands from Mejuri. I’ve always loved their jewellery

I always knew I wanted to wear a pair of Topaz and Emerald stud earrings my husband gifted me for Christmas as my wedding earrings. They completed my perfectly! As for my bouquet, I chose to pin my grandmother’s necklace charm quanto a honour of her. This represented her loving presence at my wedding and made me feel closer to her the entire day.

designs and have many pieces that I’ve treasured for years. We love the tasteful, timeless ghenga designs we went with.

Explore wedding readings

Photography & Videography

Since Andres and I are both into photography, we knew it was perhaps the one thing from our wedding day that we’d treasure for years. As with any other part of wedding planning, you go quanto a with an expectation of what you’ looking for and search for someone that can deliver even half of what you’ve imagined. When it came to photographers, we looked at well over a hundred.

We looked at photographers local to Italy, some from other countries, and others from the US. Risposta negativa matter where we looked, one came close to what Stefano Santucci offered. His shots were intimate, intentional and understated/minimal. His style was ethereal, romantic and timeless. We fell quanto a love with his work from that very first moment, and matter where else we looked ora who else we spoke to, one else gave us that same feeling.

the day of, he was a consummate professional and didn’t just capture special moments with great depth, but even helped create moments that felt intimate and genuine. He coordinated our large, often difficult-to-manage families to masterfully capture each and every shot we wanted, and so many we never could have dreamed of.

Though he was not familiar with our videographer and had never worked with him before, their collaboration was strong and symbiotic, playing of each other dynamically to capture each moment with great care. We would recommend him to anyone and everyone who cares as much as we do for having their moment captured quanto a all of its beauty and be instantly and effortlessly transported back to that day.

When it came to choosing a videographer, we knew we’d have to go with someone that was local to Italy and had a love for Tuscany’s natural beauty that mirrored our own. We found Mario Albanese while looking through several different videographer options and loved the energy and authenticity of his work. Each of the videos we watched felt personal and intentional and vividly captured what made each client’s day their own kind of special.

We really didn’t find anyone who’s work accomplished this quite quanto a the same way that Mario did. the day of, he and his second videographer were extremely supportive and pleasant to work with. They were thoughtful quanto a their direction and made something that could easily have been a bit awkward and stiff, a real joy and truly memorable. He was a great complement to Stefano’s work and was attentive to his and our needs/ideas while also putting forth many of his own. We can’t wait to see the finished product soon!

Pensione helped provide so many small details that made the day all the more special, but this was most apparent quanto a our care for the day of. They rented us a Vintage Fiat 500 that was originally manufactured nearly 50 years asticciola quanto a 1969. It made the ride to/from the ceremony something truly unique and true to Italian heritage.

How They Met

Andres and I moved to Memphis from the same city quanto a Venezuela over two decades before we’d meet. It doesn’t seem all that rare, but practically one was leaving Venezuela for the US at the time, especially not to a place like Tennessee. Nevertheless, our families did just that within months of each other.

It would be another 20 years, quanto a 2017, before we were introduced to each other by Andres’ brother, Alex, who had just moved to Washington DC at the time and began dating a great friend of mine who, funnily enough, was also from Memphis and had started at the same university.

It took them moving across the country to finally meet and that door for us. Fast forward a few months, and I had just finished studying abroad quanto a Sao Paulo, Brazil for a semester.

I decided at the last minute to stop quanto a DC when flying back to the US. I was excited to see an old friend and meet this guy she’d been dating. She’d told me a lot of great things and had mentioned an elusive older brother who I just had to meet.

While she was quanto a class, I got to know Alex a bit better, and he wasted time quanto a trying to set us up. “You have to hang out with my brother, he’s the best,” he’d say. He didn’t a beat as he pitched me acceso congresso Andres, connecting any and every dot he could to convince me we just had to meet. Unbeknownst to me, Alex was giving Andres a very similar sales pitch. A couple of weeks later, Andres sent the text message that would start it all. 5 amazing, adventure-filled years later, I was acceso a plane to meet Andres quanto a Tuscany after his annual family trip.

our third day there, he told me he’d planned a sunset dinner at a place I would never forget, a little over an hour away. the way, he put acceso the most convincing ‘Uh, we’ lost…” act I’ve ever seen. Somehow, we ended up walking up a flight of steps that couldn’t possibly have led to any type of restaurant. What they did lead to, however, was the most breathtaking Tuscan countryside I’ve seen even to this day.

When I turned around to give him a bewildered lasciar stare, he was out a small velvet box and I was suddenly aware of the random stranger snapping pictures from a bench just a few feet away (a secret photographer he’d hired). The days that followed were incredible, Andres took me to all his favourite spots quanto a Chianti, Siena and Val d’Orcia, and I fell quanto a love with it the same way he had been for years; quanto a such a way that, for the year and a half we spent carefully planning our day, we never entertained the chimera of having it anywhere else.

Andres visited Oak , a curated menswear store quanto a Nashville, one of few Munro retailers quanto a the US where he’d previously ordered several of their made-to-measure suits. After looking through their catalog to customiSe the jacket stile/cut and select from their button and liner options, he settled acceso a dark velvet smoking jacket with custom half-liner and velvet buttons, black tuxedo pants and velvet Magnanni loafers.

Andres wore a pair of silver Cartier cufflinks I had given him as an anniversary gift the year prior. He paired those with a silver, blue and gold Rolex Yachtmaster II, a something-borrowed from his oldest brother, Gabriel.

The Reception

A special detail that we made for the table setting was the embroidered napkins. We had each napkin monogrammed quanto a Mexico with our initials quanto a an olive thread.

This made the table setting more personalised and we were able to then keep each napkin as a wedding souvenir that will be used for special events.

Our caterer was one of the highlights of our receptions. We really wanted to highlight the amazing flavours quanto a the Italian cuisine and give our guests that experience. We chose to go with La Parolina for our five course meal.

La Parolina is a Michelin restaurant that blends both traditional and modern influences quanto a their cuisine. Their passion and culinary mastery absolutely shone through quanto a our reception and neither we nor our guests could stop raving about their tasting lista.

My mother-in-law gifted us the favours days before the wedding while quanto a Florence. I fell quanto a love with the Aroma-Farmacologia durante Santa Maria Favola museum/ shop while acceso my engagement trip and found their story and products fascinating.

This was originally a friar’s convent founded over 800 years asticciola quanto a 1221, and it is considered today the oldest pharmacy quanto a the world famous for their candles, perfumes, and traditional preparations. My mother-in-law found it best fitting to surprise me with delicate hand creams for all the ladies.

We loved that our caterer, La Parolina, offered to make our wedding cake acceso site. We chose to have our wedding cake be a cake with white chocolate mousse and fresh berries.

It was carried out by the chefs and placed acceso the cake table when the cake cutting part began after dinner. The cake was light, airy and perfectly layered with the mousse and berries. Truly another highlight of the night!

The Florence String Quartet did an incredible job of taking songs from different eras and genres that were very personal to us and recreating them as classical motifs. There is a song that is unique to our country (“La Alma Llanera” from Venezuela) that is a treasured pastime matter which part of the country you’ from.

Though they had never heard of it, they mastered it once we were able to find sheet music and played it beautifully during our cocktail-party hour.

It was one of the most unforgettable moments both for us and our guests. Pensione provided us with understated bistro lighting that was both functional and minimal.

Being that tethered were many other details that were more intricate and thought out, we wanted to illuminate the space with something that left the focolaio elsewhere.

Evening & Sala da ballo

We chose ‘Acceso’. by Pedro Dirigente for our first dance. While it may be a bit of a slow song, its intimate sound and atmosphere and the lyrics are what resonated most with us as it felt very appropriate/in-keeping with the time and setting.

Words of Wedded Wisdom

My advice to anyone planning a wedding is to be overly organised with every aspect of the wedding, especially if you are doing the majority of the planning. For me it was extremely helpful to have the soft coordinators to help me with the vendors and the day-off logistics.

Aside from that, be mindful of getting overwhelmed with too many opinions since it is a very stressful (yet beautiful) moment quanto a your life and ultimately you want to feel that the moment reflects you. Lastly, do not be afraid to ask for help. You will be surprise how reliving it is to have someone (ora quanto a my case my mother, mother-in-law and sisters) help so that you too can enjoy the moment too.

We ended up exceeding our budget by about half of the original number, which honestly may have been to some underestimation acceso our part. When we first started planning and met with actual planners, they gave us a number that seemed insane to us at the time, which actually ended up being exactly what we spent. But we wouldn’t take any of it back. Every bit was worth it.

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Annabel View all Annabel’s articles

Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Programma redattore. Annabel lives quanto a rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business collaboratore Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she’s not working acceso Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip quanto a the running of the family’s sustainable flower farm and floral stile business, Moonwind Flowers. Sopra 2013, she became a published author.