Photo: Lisa Poggi1/64Designing the wedding suite was my favorite part of the wedding-planning process. I had the best time with Emily Irwin from Paper Plane Paperie and Kara Anne Beatrous of Kara Anne Paper. They are both so talented, and I love the custom illustrations and monogram that Kara Anne created for us. The whimsical drawings added excitement for our guests’ upcoming trips to Italy, and the invitations really set the tone for the wedding.
Photo: Lisa Poggi2/64Our wedding rings on top of our monogrammed Velvet Raptor guest book. Michael’s gold wedding band is Cartier and my diamond eternity band was created by Lizzie Mandler. I also worked with Lizzie on resetting my oval engagement ring, which belonged to my grandmother, to modernize and make it my own.
Photo: Lisa Poggi3/64Friday morning, the bridal party had an early wake-up call for a hot-air balloon ride together. It was such a fun morning and special way to kick off our wedding weekend with our bridesmaids, groomsmen, and significant others to show our thanks for being a part of our wedding weekend.
Photo: Lisa Poggi4/64The beautiful view of the Tuscan countryside before the pool party at Castello di Casole.
Photo: Lisa Poggi5/64Salute! Aperol spritzes and Negronis were the official cocktails of the wedding weekend and were crowd favorites. Having the first of many with my Ralph Lauren girls.
Photo: Lisa Poggi6/64Little George living la dolce vita!
Photo: Lisa Poggi7/64Friday evening, Michael’s family hosted the rehearsal dinner in the piazza of Casole d’Elsa. We brought in rentals to create a dinner setting for 160 guests and strung lights above the town square for a magical ambiance. Caffe Casolani, our favorite restaurant in town, prepared traditional Tuscan dishes for the event that were served family-style. The party turned into dancing in the streets until 1:00 a.m.!
Photo: Lisa Poggi8/64I wore a green Jason Wu slip dress to the rehearsal dinner. I wanted to wear color and have my hair down to contrast with what I would be wearing the next day. I loved that the green of my dress perfectly matched the wedding theme!
Photo: Lisa Poggi9/64My Carolina Herrera dress hanging in my bedroom the morning of the big day! I loved the delicate Italian lace; it felt perfectly Old World for Tuscany yet modern and youthful.
Photo: Lisa Poggi10/64Having mimosas with my girls while getting ready. My engagement ring has significant sentimental meaning to me since it once belonged to my grandmother, with whom I was extremely close. She unfortunately could not attend the wedding due to her poor health and it being too far to travel. The hardest part about having a destination wedding was not having her there. Wearing her ring that weekend—and every day—makes me feel like I always have a part of her with me. I also kept her lace handkerchief with me all night—my something old.
Photo: Lisa Poggi11/64I chose a cathedral-length veil with the same lace trim, which provided the dramatic entrance I had envisioned. I accessorized with Manolo Blahnik satin pumps and a personalized Edie Parker clutch with my new initials.
Photo: Lisa Poggi12/64My adorable flower girl Genevieve. I gave both of my flower girls look-alike American Girl dolls. I found a vendor on Etsy to create dresses for the dolls that matched their Oscar de la Renta flower girl dresses.
Photo: Lisa Poggi13/64The boys’ boutonnieres, ready to go!
Photo: Lisa Poggi14/64I gave my bridesmaids these adorable robes and eye masks from Cloud Hunter for the wedding weekend. The Los Angeles–based designer was so fun to work with and we customized these pieces for the wedding by adding “Ciao Bella” on the eye mask and embroidering the girls’ initials inside of their robes.
Photo: Lisa Poggi15/64A moment of laughter with my bridesmaids. I’m so fortunate to have such amazing women in my life, and I’ll always cherish having them here with me in this moment.
Photo: Lisa Poggi16/64My bridesmaids helping me into my dress.
Photo: Lisa Poggi17/64My bouquet was by our amazing Italian florist, Vincenzo Dascanio, and wrapped in leftover ribbon from our wedding suite. We worked with Froufrou Chic to get the perfect custom green ribbon that matched the engraved paper.
Photo: Lisa Poggi18/64As soon as I put this Carolina Herrera dress on, I knew it was the one for me. I wanted a sleeve over my arms and the lace jacket was the perfect solution to remain comfortable in the hot Italian sun!
Photo: Lisa Poggi19/64For beauty, I wanted a clean and natural look. I’ve never worn much makeup since I have so many freckles, and I think it’s important to keep it light. I wanted my hair off my shoulders to emphasize the feminine neckline of my dress, so I wore it back in a low bun at the nape of my neck. I kept my jewelry simple, wearing my mother’s Graff diamond flower earrings.
Photo: Lisa Poggi20/64Michael’s wedding accessories: Ralph Lauren bow tie and monogrammed pocket squares that he also gave to his groomsmen and our fathers.
Photo: Lisa Poggi21/64My wedding present to Michael was a vintage Rolex Pepsi engraved with a note from his bride on the back.
Photo: Lisa Poggi22/64My handsome groom in his Ralph Lauren shawl tuxedo.
Photo: Lisa Poggi23/64Taking a quiet moment alone before the ceremony to soak it all in.
Photo: Lisa Poggi24/64Our first look. It was so nice to have a couple moments alone together before exchanging our vows.
Photo: Lisa Poggi25/64I loved the floral arch that our florist Vincenzo Dascanio and team created at the entrance of the church.
Photo: Lisa Poggi26/64I was absolutely blown away by how beautiful the church looked when I was walking down the aisle. Vincenzo Dascanio completely transformed the 800-year-old church into a romantic garden bursting with white flowers, greenery, and an abundance of candles.
Photo: Lisa Poggi27/64My parents are divorced so I decided to have both of them walk me down the aisle to recognize them both for helping mold me into the woman I am today.
Photo: Lisa Poggi28/64My flower girls, Carolina and Genevieve, walking down the aisle. They are wearing Oscar de la Renta dresses and Ralph Lauren Mary Janes with flower crowns and baskets created by Vincenzo Dascanio.
Photo: Lisa Poggi29/64Michael waiting for me at the altar.
Photo: Lisa Poggi30/64I love this view of the church during the ceremony.
Photo: Lisa Poggi31/64Our Catholic ceremony was officiated by our priest from high school. He had seen us grow up over the last 10 years and knows us both as individuals as well as a couple, so it was very special to have him there.
Photo: Lisa Poggi32/64I love this photo of my bridesmaids during the ceremony.
Photo: Lisa Poggi33/64Realizing we just tied the knot—such a magical moment.
Photo: Lisa Poggi34/64Married! Our first kiss as Mr. and Mrs.
Photo: Lisa Poggi35/64Walking down the aisle, feeling the love from our family and friends, was so special.
Photo: Lisa Poggi36/64When we walked out of Santa Maria Assunta our guests were cheering, clapping, and tossing white rose petals our way. It was the sweetest exit as we greeted guests and hopped into our getaway car.
Photo: Lisa Poggi37/64Our green Jaguar getaway car decorated with white and green florals.
Photo: Lisa Poggi38/64Sharing a kiss in the back of the car as we drive off to the reception.
Photo: Lisa Poggi39/64Our guests cheered and clapped as we were leaving the ceremony.
Photo: Lisa Poggi40/64From this moment on, it was just laughs, toasts, and cheers—a true celebration.
Photo: Lisa Poggi41/64I love the look of an all-white wedding, so I let the girls choose their own long white dress. They ended up all looking so great together and uniquely their own.
Photo: Lisa Poggi42/64All smiles! I love that this photo captures how blissfully happy I was.
Photo: Lisa Poggi43/64Zipping around in Castello di Casole’s house Piaggio Ape outside the hotel to shoot bridal party photos.
Photo: Lisa Poggi44/64Back a Castello di Casole, ready for cocktail hour.
Photo: Lisa Poggi45/64My flower girls, Genevieve and Carolina, were absolutely adorable all weekend long! Here they are at the Vespa photo booth station we had set up with vintage La Dolce Vita–inspired accessories.
Photo: Lisa Poggi46/64My stylish grandmother! She was our only grandparent who was able to travel to Italy, and it was so special to have her there. Her nickname is “Dancing Queen,” and true to her reputation, she was one of the last people to leave the dance floor!
Photo: Lisa Poggi47/64The entrance to the tent featured seating areas with matching fountains on each side. I loved how Vincenzo cascaded flowers around the fountain and it was only when you got up close that you could see the water streaming.
Photo: Lisa Poggi48/64My wedding planner, Silvia Galli, and florist Vincenzo Dascanio brought to life every detail I had envisioned and described! I wanted to simply enhance the beauty of Tuscany so we kept the flower arrangements simple with a white and green palette.
Photo: Lisa Poggi49/64The tables were set with bouquets of white and green flowers with local greenery. We wanted a lot of candles and low floral arrangements so that our guests could easily talk and see each other.
Photo: Lisa Poggi50/64Our table settings included monogrammed linen napkins with hand-calligraphy menus from Kara Anne Paper.
Photo: Lisa Poggi51/64Our first dance was “It Had to be You” by Frank Sinatra. It felt like the perfect song, given our long history together and our singer—Matteo Brancaleoni—did an absolutely amazing rendition of the song!
Photo: Lisa Poggi52/64Over the moon!
Photo: Lisa Poggi53/64Our photographer, Lisa Poggi, pulled us out of the tent during magic hour and captured such beautiful shots of the sun setting behind us.
Photo: Lisa Poggi54/64The beautiful view of the Tuscan hills from Castello di Casole—still can’t believe we got married in such a beautiful place!
Photo: Lisa Poggi55/64The speeches were fantastic. My mother, cousin (my maid of honor), and Michael’s brother (his best man) all gave wonderful heartfelt toasts that left everyone laughing and crying.
Photo: Lisa Poggi56/64My bridesmaid Kendall who is even more beautiful on the inside! I loved the Grace Kelly–inspired beauty she had for the wedding.
Photo: Lisa Poggi57/64The ambiance inside the tent. We were so fortunate to have our close family and friends travel such a long way to celebrate our wedding.
Photo: Lisa Poggi58/64My handsome groom having a James Bond moment. Michael changed into a cream Ralph Lauren dinner jacket for the reception, which went perfectly with the Old Hollywood heritage of the hotel.
Photo: Lisa Poggi59/64Carolina was having the best time twirling on the dance floor all night long!
Photo: Lisa Poggi60/64At the end of the night, our guests were invited back to the terrace for the cake cutting. We chose a traditional Italian millefoglie wedding cake, and it was a really special experience to watch the pastry chefs make it front of all the guests. Millefoglie means a thousand layers, so we watched them layer the pastry and cream over and over and finish it off with loads of fresh berries.
Photo: Lisa Poggi61/64When the cake was finished, the chefs invited Michael and I over to cut it. I had planned fireworks as a surprise for Michael, which went off as soon as we cut the cake.
Photo: Lisa Poggi62/64The fireworks started to the Star Wars theme song—his favorite movie—so he instantly knew it was a gift from his bride and couldn’t stop laughing!
Photo: Lisa Poggi63/64Enjoying the fireworks show!
Photo: Lisa Poggi64/64I love this picture of us captured looking out at our guests during the fireworks. Following the fireworks, we had the after-party at Bar Visconti, named after the Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti who once owned the villa and entertained European and Hollywood luminaries throughout the estate. We switched over from a band to DJ, and the dancing really got started!
