An Italian Romanesque Castle Wedding in Siena

Within Italy’s medieval city of Siena, Natalia and Diego wed inside the ancient Church of Santa Maria dei Servi. Delicately styled, the romantic Romanesque building was dotted with florist Tearose’s cloud-like gypsophila floral installations at the entrance and altar.

Amidst the vine-covered crumbling stone walls of a nearby 16th-century castle, the couple’s cocktail and reception followed. A live band played in the grand garden as the sun set surrounded by the Tuscan countryside. Decadent tablescapes were created using dusky colored florals, colorful plates and glass-encased white candles, beneath string lights and the moonlight.

The elegant Tuscan destination wedding was masterfully captured by photographer Stefano Santucci.

Our Story

Names / Natalia Laresgoiti & Diego de Haro

Location / Siena, Italy

Wedding Date / May 27th, 2023

Guest Numbers / 200

How We Met

Natalia is from Mexico City and Diego is from Spain. However, they met while living in New York City. They had many friends in common and would often see each other at the same dinners, parties, and events. Eventually, they got introduced and after some more friendly encounters, they finally went on a date which was the first of many.

Our Engagement Story

Diego surprised Natalia with a trip to an unknown destination. At the airport, Natalia found out they were flying to Phoenix, Arizona. Once in Phoenix, they took another small plane to a town called Page. When arriving to Page, a car picked them up from the airport, as soon as they got in the car, Natalia noticed the water bottles given to them read: Amangiri. As an Interior Designer, Amangiri had been Natalia’s dream hotel for years, and that’s exactly where they were heading. A day or two into the trip, Diego planned a romantic sunset aperitivo out in the desert with beautiful canyon views. It was there where he proposed!

What we love most about each other…

What Natalia loves most about Diego is his constant support in everything. He is always her number one cheerleader no matter what and he is the one person who can always make her happy. What Diego loves most about Natalia is that she always looks at the world in a positive way. She is one of those people that makes your life better by being in it.

The Setting

Wedding Location

The couple chose to get married with a destination wedding given they are each from different countries and always liked the idea of an Italy wedding. They specifically liked Italy due to its effortless beauty in every corner. The wedding day began with a beautiful church ceremony in the town of Siena, Italy. Siena is renowned for its medieval charm and rich history, providing a picturesque backdrop for the special occasion. The church, adorned with intricate architecture and centuries-old art, exudes an air of elegance and reverence.

As the ceremony concluded, the celebration moved to a breathtaking Tuscan castle nestled amidst the rolling hills. This majestic castle, perched on a hilltop, offers panoramic views of the Tuscan countryside. Surrounded by vineyards, olive groves, and cypress trees, it presented an idyllic setting for the cocktail and reception.

Aesthetic

The couple did not want their Italy wedding to be very classical, and since the venue was in a Castle (it doesn’t get more classical than that), they added more rustic touches such as different coloured plates for each guest, wooden tables with no tablecloths, and tinted mirror bars.

Preparation

The couple and their families stayed at the wedding venue, Natalia’s family was staying at the castle and Diego’s family was staying in a separate house on the property. The day of the wedding, they each had breakfast and got ready with their families.

Photography

Stefano Santucci was the photographer for the wedding. They were drawn to the photography for his focus on candid moments. Natalia and Diego did not want a staged photoshoot, they wanted their photos to be organic and really capture the true moments of the Italy wedding, which was exactly what he achieved for theirs.

Videography

Richard Hall was the videographer. He was also able to capture the organic raw moments of the night, while using top of the line equipment that makes their wedding video look like a true movie.

Style Notes

Ceremony Décor

The ceremony décor was kept to a minimum since their ceremony was in a very grand beautiful church In Siena, it did not need much more. There were, however, beautiful gypsophila flower arrangements outside the entrance of the church and at the altar.

Reception Décor

The décor of the reception for the Italy wedding was a mix of the more classical elements of the castle venue, with more rustic touches like wooden tables, different coloured plates, and stained-glass bars. Everything was adorned with flowers and candles to give it light and color.

Wedding Planner & Stylist

Federica Russo was their wedding planner and coordinated the entire event from start to finish alongside her co-planner, Sabrina Caracappa.

Flowers

Natalia’s flower bouquet was made from white flowers that had naturally curved stems to give the appearance of a ‘messy’ or ‘funky’ bouquet, yet very elegant.

Stationery

The couple designed their own stationery and invitations. They went for a more modern design for their invitations, welcome cards, seating cards, etc. Using a lot of photography and big texts.

Favors/Bonbonniere

Since Natalia is from Mexico, they wanted to include something traditional to give their guests. Guests were given handwoven Mexican handbags.

Cake

The couple chose a traditional Italian cake, Millefoglie. This cake consists of many layers of a crispy puff pastry. Additionally, this wonderful cake is multi-tiered and features whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

Food & Beverages

The couple had a sit-down dinner but decided to have a very relaxed menu that everyone was sure to love: tomato carpaccio, eggplant parmigiana, and raviolis. The couple was very firm on having a simple, yet delicious, dinner that was authentically Italian but also not too heavy so that people had the energy to dance afterwards. A variety of cocktails such as spicy margaritas, pisco sours, and Moscow mules were served throughout the entire event.

“Siena is renowned for its medieval charm and rich history, providing a picturesque backdrop for the special occasion. The church, adorned with intricate architecture and centuries-old art, exudes an air of elegance and reverence.”

Fashion & Beauty Notes

Wedding Rings, Jewelry & Accessories

Natalia’s engagement ring is rectangular, with an emerald cut diamond bordered by smaller round diamonds. Her wedding band is a simple thin white gold band with diamonds, while Diego’s is a traditional gold band. Natalia wore white gold tear drop earrings from Bottega Veneta.

Hair & Makeup

Natalia wore her hair slicked back in a low bun; she wanted something classical that would last her the entire night. She then added a cutting from her veil as a hair clip to add detail to her more simplistic hairstyle. She wore minimal and natural makeup, done by one of her close friends.

Groom’s Attire

The groom wore a traditional Spanish custom morning suit from the family tailor.

The Details

Honeymoon

The couple did a two-week mini moon in Sicily and Puglia. They then went for a bigger honeymoon for their one-year anniversary in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Gift Registry

Natalia & Diego used Zank You for their gift registry where people could contribute to their new home or upcoming honeymoon.

Wedding Songs

Entrance: “Something Just Like This” by Coldplay

First Dance: “You’re The First, The Last, My Everything” by Barry White

Entertainment

The couple had a live instrumental band playing during the cocktail. For the reception, they also had a live band and singer (Joe Victor) who mainly played 80s music. The party then switched over to two DJs from Florence who livened up the dance floor with upbeat songs and Latin music. Lastly, for the after party, two DJs from London, Xander & Fede, took over and finished the night with electronic music.

“Since the venue was in a castle, they added more rustic touches such as different coloured plates for each guest, wooden tables with no tablecloths, and tinted mirror bars.”

Our Advice

A memorable moment…

The most special part of the wedding was knowing that that night was probably the first and last time the couple would be in one single room with every single person they loved together. The most memorable, however, would be that at the end of the wedding, Diego jumped and danced the night away (as he should) until he dislocated his knee!

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

Do not stress, everything works out in the end. There is only so much you can control so the best thing to do is relax and enjoy every single part of the planning process, and mainly enjoy every single second of the wedding day – it goes by incredibly fast.

Our Contacts

Wedding Venue / Castello di Celsa

Wedding Planner / Federica Russo

Photography / Stefano Santucci

Videography / Richard Hall

Bride’s Dress / Marquise Bridal

Bride’s Shoes / Gianvito Rossi

Hair / Bridal Luxury Backstage Service

Florist / Tearose

Cake & Catering / Banquetopolis

Transport / Xander & Fede