Luxury wedding at Tonnara di Scopello shot by Benjamin Wheeler, bride wearing Danielle Frankel — Photo: Benjamin Wheeler

A wedding that could have been written for the big screen—Sicilian coast, effortless style, chic décor, and unforgettable bridal looks. Behind the magic of Meg + Olly’s Sicilian wedding? Well over a year of planning, a dream team working tirelessly, and plenty of problem-solving along the way. Lucy, CEO of Wiskow & White and the planner behind it all, lifts the curtain on the details and the budgeting that turned this celebration into pure aesthetic perfection.

The Planning

Eighteen months in the making. Meg came to us with a clear vision—she wanted us and photographer Benjamin Wheeler working side by side, inspired by our past collaborations. From there, I grew close to Meg, working with her to shape the vision, dream up every detail, and source each vendor for their role. Weddings that look this effortless take an incredible amount of work from every hand involved—and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Simplistic ceremony set up on the sea at La Tonnara di Scopello using white linen. Shot by Benjamin Wheeler, styled by Wiskow & White

The Budget

A six-figure budget might sound huge, but don’t be fooled by all those zeroes—it disappears fast when you’re booking a wow-factor venue, hosting multiple events, and tailoring every detail to feel perfectly authentic to you as a couple. Here’s how it starts to add up:

The Venue + Accommodation: 60k

Planning: 16k

Content: 30k

Entertainment: 16k

You can see Meg + Olly’s full budget breakdown in The Italian Wedding Price Guide. It’s your ultimate answer to decoding the costs, understanding commissions, ‘added’ costs and planning with confidence.

The Vision

Food was always going to be at the heart of Meg & Olly’s wedding. With their love of classic Italian Trattoria (and a soft spot for Parisian dining), the vision from day one was to recreate a relaxed yet elegant bistro vibe right on the waterfront at La Tonnara.

As with all our weddings, the goal was to let each part of the day feel distinct—building energy and anticipation until the party. The ceremony mirrored the flow of the sea, with florals and music designed to echo the water’s movement. Later, the atmosphere shifted: a live band in full swing, Meg & Olly grabbing the mics, limoncello flowing, and tiramisu served in shells.

Every moment was carefully crafted to feel unique, immersive, and utterly unforgettable—a true once-in-a-lifetime experience for their guests.

“It is important to prioritise what is important to you for your day and the things you see value in spending money on. For example, I am not a big flower girl… So this was reflected in our budget and designs. On the flip side, we had a vision for our dinner design which we were willing to spend more on to achieve the mood and aesthetic imagined.” ~ Meg, Bride

The Venue

Well, what can I say. Having worked at La Tonnara many times over the years, I can say it’s truly a one-of-a-kind location. The setting feels cinematic—like stepping straight into a film. As Meg herself put it, “a Bond film,” and that became the inspiration and theme for the entire wedding.

“After our first call with Lucy, we had said we love the idea of Sicily, out of two venues, LT being one of them, which would you suggest. She said there was no comparison and LT has a special magic to it. The benefit of having an experienced Italian wedding planner! We were sold.” ~ Meg, Bride

The Dinner

Dinner was set with refined precision—a nod to Parisian dining sensibility, reimagined in Sicily. The design was intentionally clean and minimal, each detail purposeful with warm table lamps glowing across long, elegant tables.

The table was adorned with love letters from the couple laying at each setting, personalised embroidered napkins added a tactile layer of sentiment. Red leather menus, bold and unexpected, punctuated the setting.

This was not just a meal; true to all our weddings, it was a deeply layered design experience.

“Dinner was always going to be the hero moment. Inspired by chic restaurants in Paris and New York, we envisioned it feeling like a stylish date night — low music, intimate chatter, a touch of James Bond glamour.” ~ Meg, Bride

Restaurant, candlelit, family style dining at Tonnara di Scopello

Best Money Spent

“We believe if you spend money on the things that are truly important to you as a couple and do your research on suppliers, you won’t regret spending on those elements. These were our three things:

1. The venue was a no brainer for us, we knew if we had our nearest and dearest with us at a beautiful location, we could have nothing else and it would be magical!

2. I had Benjamin Wheeler earmarked as my dream photographer since 2020. Ben's work truly represents the feelings in those precious moments, which is something special. He was a non negotiable for me if he had availability, which luckily for us, he did!

3. We believe music really transforms moments in the day. The music really sets the tone. We decided to have a relaxed dinner, low music to enjoy conversations, before BEAT band exploded us into the evening! We love a party so having a band with a DJ who could also carry on into the early hours was a must.” ~ Meg, Bride

The Challenges

75 vintage Italian-style side plates we sourced, all smashing on arrival to Italy (refunded luckily!)

The normal logistical challenges of working at a unique venue like LT. This isn’t an ‘event venue’, it’s a historic location without most facilities. It needs expertise to plan and money set aside to make it work. It’s not what most people will want to hear, nor spend their money on but it’s a must!

Stationery print runs on the wrong stock. Our menus came out the wrong colour and as such an iconic part of our dinner styling, they had to be redone at the last moment.

Sicilian time scales. The only option is to trust your planner.

Sticking to budget. We wanted to do a lot of lovely things which can be quite distracting and had to come back to the things that mattered most otherwise things could get way out of hand.

“Budgeting was a challenge when you have a real vision of what you would like your day to be and soon start to realise not everything will fit within it. We would say add a 20% contingency. This sounds high, however, this would reduce the stress of cashflow and any last minute additions you make. Plus, if you have money left over after the wedding, that’s a win!” ~ Meg, Bride

Advice for future couples

“Have a wedding that’s authentic to you as a couple, avoid following trends. Draw on inspiration from your life, holidays, the things you love to do together and create elements throughout the day to share that with your loved ones. Choose which elements make you feel excited and allocate budget to creating that, you won’t regret spending money on those things.” ~ Meg, Bride

VENDOR TEAM

Want to full understand the wedding costs no matter your budget? Join The Club. Inside, experienced wedding planner Lucy White (yes, the same Lucy that planned this unreal wedding) coaches you through every decision, giving you a planner-in-your-pocket whenever you need.