A Countryside Wedding in Tuscany

Photography by Divine Day Photography for Ali & Dani

There is a particular romance to intimate weddings held abroad. A collection of guests descend upon a venue; a pilgrimage made to witness a relationship’s progression…

Drawn to moody settings and intimate scenes, Ali and Dani’s wedding was a family affair held beneath the stars. Set in a sprawling estate carved into the Chianti countryside, the couple were wed amongst flourishing olive gardens and grapevines. Vows were exchanged in a timeworn church, with bronze chandeliers suspended overhead and pews adorned with bunches of fresh foliage.

Dinner was served under the Tuscan skies, in a garden setting illuminated by lights strung above. Styling mirrored the horizon, sunset hues and neutral palettes perfectly paired with votive candles and installations of olive branches which spilled from tablescapes…

Photography by Sandra Von Reikhoff.

Our Story

Names / Allison Schulze and Dani Bchara

Wedding Date / September 9, 2016

Guests / 60

How we Met…

Dani and I attended Florida State University together and knew each other for three years through mutual friends before we began dating in 2010.

Our Engagement story…

Dani’s proposal was incredibly romantic. We had been traveling throughout Europe in May of 2015 and decided to end our trip in Paris. Neither of us had been to the City of Lights before, so we tried to fit everything in to one short weekend. On our last day, May 23, we woke up and got cappuccinos and croissants to-go and walked to The Luxembourg Gardens. We were strolling around taking pictures when Dani stopped and asked me to wait for a moment. He then got down on one knee and proposed! I completely blacked out and don’t remember much, except that I screamed ‘yes!’ (meanwhile noticing there was a bit of croissant stuck in his beard!). Knowing how much I love photographs, Dani hired a professional photographer to capture the entire proposal and we are so thankful for those memories.

Marriage to us means…

Eternal love, support and loyalty.

Details

Wedding Location

I studied abroad in Florence during college and knew that I wanted to marry Dani in Italy after witnessing a romantic Italian wedding there. After we got engaged, a close friend of ours recommended the divine Castello Vicchiomaggio in Greve in Chianti. Fortunately, the Castello also had a Catholic church on the premises, which was very important to us. After visiting Castello Vicchiomaggio, we knew it was the perfect place to get married.

Theme & Style

We wanted the wedding to feel like an intimate Italian dinner with family and close friends underneath the stars. We chose neutral colors to avoid taking away from the natural beauty of the Chianti countryside and we were thrilled with the outcome.

Photography & Videography

I found the amazing Sandra Von Riekhoff through previous weddings she had photographed and fell in love with her work. I contacted her immediately after getting engaged and was fortunate enough to book her for our wedding. Sandra introduced me to Stephanie Trowell, who did our video, and both women completely exceeded our expectations. We feel so fortunate for having been able to work with them. The way they capture the moment and their eye for beauty is beyond talented!

Fashion Notes

Bride’s Dress

I decided to go with something extremely simple to avoid taking away from the overall look of the wedding. I wanted classic and simple but form-fitting. I chose the Abigail gown by Nicole Miller and had the back lowered to make it feel more like my own.

Bride’s Shoes

I chose a pair of Gucci rose gold heels. My ring is rose gold and I wanted my jewelry and shoes to match.

Bridesmaids’ Dresses

I chose Twobirds for my bridesmaids. I loved the combination of the mocha, oyster and putty colors. The great thing about these dresses is that you can wear them several different ways, so no two girls have to look exactly alike.

Groomsmen

Groomsmen wore their own suits, all in shades of navy blue.

Hair & Makeup

Hair I wore down, curled to one side with volume at the top. I chose a bright, dramatic lipstick and warm, bronze colors for eyes. I loved that I still looked like myself but a little more glammed up.

Style Notes

Stationery & Invitations

We wanted simple, elegant, Italian-inspired invites. We worked with an amazing store called Rock Paper Scissors of Charlottesville, Virginia. A close friend of ours also painted an image of Castello Vicciomaggio and Castello di Verrazzano (our wedding events venues), which we included. We were thrilled with how our invites turned out.

Flowers & Bouquets

Bridal bouquet: Red garden roses, burgundy dahlia and astilbe celosia, white lisianthus, peach ipericum berries, green amaranthus, leucadendron, artichoke, eucalyptus and olive leaves. Maids/matron of honor: white lisianthus, eucalyptus and olive leaves. Bridesmaids: olive branches. Groom: white lisianthus and olive leaves. Groomsmen: olive leaves. Table greenery: eucalyptus garlands

Preparation

The wedding party ate breakfast together at 10am on the day of the wedding. Afterwards, my bridesmaids and bridal party got ready in the bridal suite while drinking champagne and listening to our favorite music.

Venues

Find our handpicked edit of Venues from around the world on the Directory.

Discover more

Reception Notes

Ceremony & Reception Décor

Each place setting had an olive branch (native to Tuscany) on the napkin along with a plethora of greenery. Atmosphere was very important to us, so we had cylinder glass votive candles dispersed throughout the tables and fairy lights above the dinner area. We made sure there was plenty of Italian wine throughout the night and we used king tables to enhance the feel of a ‘family dinner’.

A lovely friend of mine did all our calligraphy, wrote the nametags on paper tags and attached an olive branch to each one. We ordered ‘Sposa’ and ‘Sposo’ signs for the bride and groom’s chairs and had beautiful floral arrangements attached to the signs. We wanted a simple, natural, rustic, chic look and Pinterest, wedding blogs and hours of sleepless nights helped us to achieve this

Cake

We had a traditional Italian wedding cake, known as a millefoglie. It was so delicious and light.

Wedding Songs

Ceremony and aperitivo: a string trio

Processional: “A Thousand Years” – Christina Perri

Recessional: “Bittersweet Symphony” – The Verve

First dance: “Everywhere” – Fleetwood Mac and “The Way You Look Tonight” – Frank Sinatra

Cake cutting: “Crash” – Dave Matthews Band

Entertainment

Reception: a DJ accompanied by a sax player – the combination was amazing!

Food & Beverages

We chose to have a classic Italian aperitivo with Prosecco and small bites before the formal sit-down meal began. This allowed the guests to really absorb the Italian culture and taste the local delicacies. Dinner was an authentic affair and included wine pairings with each course.

Special Details

Honeymoon

We went to The Amalfi Coast for a week and it was the best experience of our lives. It was so wonderful to relax and reminisce about the wedding. We stayed at the most incredible Villain Positano and Dani and I were on cloud nine. We can truly say it was the best week of our lives.

Gift Registry

We registered with Bloomingdales, William Sonoma and Anthropologie Home. We decided to register for crystal and we are so thankful we kept that tradition.

A memorable moment…

Having all our closest friends and family in our favorite place in the world was beyond memorable. Most of our guests decided to turn the trip into a week-long vacation, so we hosted events in Florence leading up to the wedding. Everyone arrived in Greve in Chianti the day before the ceremony and we spent the day drinking rose, swimming in the pool and laughing! That night, all 60 of our guests attended the rehearsal dinner and it was an amazing kick-start to the wedding weekend.

Having a ‘first look’ was also very special. It allowed for private time with Dani before the celebrations officially began. Lastly, the speeches made by my maid-of-honor, Dani’s brother and my father were truly heart-warming. It made the entire evening feel so personal and special

One thing I wish I knew before I started my wedding plans…

Planning a wedding is stressful but you’ll remember the day for the rest of your life, so enjoy it!

If I could give other Brides to be one piece of advice…

Organize as much as possible, try not to leave last-minute details until the very end. Have a detailed timeline ready for everyone in the bridal party and your vendors and communicate with everyone involved about your expectations. Get plenty of sleep the night before and be sure to eat and drink water on the day. Also, if you are using a wedding planner, be sure to read the contract thoroughly, ask any and all questions and go through each and every aspect of the day before signing a contract. A wedding planner is so crucial (in my opinion) but you have to choose wisely. In addition, be sure your planner is experienced. Check his/her credentials and do not assume they know what they are doing.