Karina and Michael are both British citizens but live in Moscow, Russia. When they got engaged they decided they wanted to celebrate their marriage in a warm and beautiful country that could offer them many stunning location options and a great wedding dinner for them and their guests. They decided to marry in Tuscany Italy in a little historic medieval village that today offers guests a unique hotel experience.

Karina and Michael first legalized their marriage in Italy with a civil ceremony in Siena, inside a historical museum hall, with a very intimate group of family and friends a couple of days before their weekend celebration.

 

The kick-off event to the weekend’s celebrations was held on Friday evening, where the bride and groom welcomed to the village about 65 guests from Ireland, England and Russia, during an informal, yet lavish dinner that allowed for guests to meet and mingle before the big wedding celebration.

 

On Saturday afternoon, in the presence of all their guests, Karina and Michael celebrated their marriage vows with a traditional church wedding in the village’s 13th century Romanesque church, brightly decorated with Tuscany ’s famed golden sunflowers and filled with the sound of sweet music from two classical guitars.

 

Immediately following the ceremony, guests gathered for a cocktail reception in the garden that was adorned with luscious, colourful blooms, where they enjoyed some Italian prosecco accompanied by a selection of puff pastries, olives, parmesean cheese and mixed nuts.

 

Guests then made their way just outside the village walls to the restaurant where the festive wedding dinner was held, on an outdoor terrace, set in a panoramic and green area. The meal began with a grand traditional Tuscan antipasto buffet. Guests were then served at their tables a variety of dishes including porcini mushroom risotto, candy shaped pasta filed with ricotta and aubergine and picci pasta with wild boar sauce. A juicy fillet of chianina beef in a vino nobile sauce, accompanied by roasted potatoes and mixed salad was served as the main dish. To accompany the delectable meal, Conti Attems Collio Chardonnay 2005, Nipozzano Frescobaldi Reserve 2003 and Castello Ginori 2003 wines were served. Limoncello was then offered with the traditional Italian millefoglie wedding cake made of sponge cake and chantilly cream. To add an extra personal touch to their celebration, Michael’s mother prepared and transported from Ireland, a traditional wedding cake, wonderfully decorated with sugar sunflowers that was also served for dessert.

 

The festivities continued well into the night, with a fully stocked open bar and the singing and dancing of an Irish musical group that traveled to Italy for this celebration.