Sophie + Ronan’s romantic wedding in Tuscany

With just 10 months to plan and no planner on board, LL team member Sophie and her husband Ronan pulled off a romantic, three-day celebration in Tuscany. Working in the industry gave her an edge, but it didn’t make things stress-free, from language barriers to social media pressure and a few hiccups along the way, not everything went to plan. Now, with time to reflect, she’s sharing what was worth every euro, what she’d do differently, and some home truths for anyone planning their own Italian wedding.

“It’s true what they say, it really is the best day of your life and it’s a shame that hindsight can shift your perspective. There’s so much pressure online to have the perfect wedding, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of comparison. But chasing someone else’s version of perfect can take away from the real magic of your own day. As cliched as it sounds, do what feels right for you and remember the feelings from the day are worth gold.”

The Venue

“We actually found our venue on TikTok. I saw a video and it was exactly the vibe I’d always imagined for our wedding. After a bit more digging and seeing more photos, I completely fell in love. We were looking for somewhere that could sleep all our guests, and we loved the renaissance feel of the place. However, in hindsight I think we could have found something we loved just as much that worked more with our budget; our venue and the hotel buyout we had to do ended up taking a huge chunk of it.”

Stand Out Moments

“Stand out moment was the ceremony, we got married in a Catholic church that was over 1000 years old and it just felt so special to us. Besides that I couldn’t pinpoint another specific moment but more just the flow of the day, there was no waiting around for the ‘next part’, every transition to each part of the day felt intentional and seamless and just made the vibes unmatched.”

The Planning

“We had 10 months to plan. It was stressful, especially with no planner. Because of the short amount of time we had, we had to make decisions really fast and we were limited on the venues and vendors that were available. Also, dealing with vendors myself meant some things got lost in translation which lead to some mistakes on the day.”

Best Money Spent

“1. Jazz Band: They set the tone and brought the energy! They also organised a violinist for the ceremony and a saxophonist for the afterparty which saved us a lot of money as we could just add it on with them!

2. Custom Plates: They worked as the hero of our table scape so we didn’t need to spend 1000s on flowers. PLUS they doubled up as gifts for our guests.

3. Welcome Party: Second best day of our lives. If you’re on the fence about doing a welcome event, do it. It made such a difference. Everyone got to meet, we did all the hellos then and there, and by the wedding day it felt like one big family. ”

The Budget

“After doing research on Italian wedding costs and what we wanted, our first budget we set ended up almost being doubled and we still ended up going 12k over that budget...”

The Vibe

“We focused just as much on how the wedding would feel as how it would look. Aesthetically, we went for a romantic, intimate vibe with touches of red through roses and handwritten love notes. But it was the atmosphere that really brought it to life, slow jazz during the aperitif, relaxed speeches throughout the day, family-style dining with no top table, and personal details woven in from start to finish.”

Mistakes On The Day

“There were various things that went wrong on the day, such as the wrong tables: we wanted 2 long straight tables but ended up with a serpent style. We also opted for ‘family-style’ dining for our pasta courses and due to a miscommunication the mains (steak) were served like this too which wasn’t ideal. The vintage car we hired to take us from the church to the venue was crashed the day before and we were sent the wrong one… but if I’m honest, as much as these things are frustrating looking back, no one noticed besides me and I was just enjoying everything so much I didn’t even care!”

Advice For Couples

“1. Have a buffer in your budget: Most couples go over budget so just keep this aside from the start, even if you don’t need to use it you could use it for something extra special.

2. Give yourself time: Don’t rush to have the wedding so you can actually enjoy the process.

3. Get a wedding planner: I feel like our budget and mistakes would have been managed much better with one! You absolutely can plan a wedding on your own but having someone in your corner who has experience is worth the money I’d say.”

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Sophie + Ronan’s romantic wedding in Tuscany

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