An Ethereal Wedding at Masseria Moroseta in Puglia

Beneath an ancient olive tree suspended with ephemeral fabric, Sarah & Brett exchanged vows at Masseria Moroseta in Puglia. Clean lines and white walls were contrasted by the surrounding rugged terrain at the Italian villa which required little styling to bring their dream of a simplistic wedding to life. The reception dinner was held outside under a starlit sky, on long tables draped with florals, designed to look like they were just picked from a wildflower field.

The bride wore an ethereal silk wool satin gown designed by Danielle Frankel, with billowing Tulle sleeves, woven with a Grosgrain detail, perfect for the muted earth-coloured setting in Ostuni. Capturing the day was one of The Lane favorites, Giuseppe Marano.

Our Story

Names / Sarah & Brett

Wedding Date / May 27, 2022

Guest Numbers /  60

How We Met

We met working at The North Face. Brett was designing the Sportswear line, and I came in to develop the materials. It was my first job out of college, and I had moved from the east coast to California. We were both newly single and dating around in San Francisco, but there was chemistry from the moment we saw each other. About six months into knowing each other and working with each other all day every day, we were both out at a party with our respective friend groups and it was the end of the night and everyone was going home, Brett was pretty drunk and confessed his love to me, to which I replied, “WHATever!” (of course I was in love with him too). He will never let me live that down and it’s something we joke about all the time! Neither of us were ready to date, and we worked together very closely, so we flirted heavily and Brett made any excuse to come to my desk for about a year. We started dating the day he announced he was leaving The North Face for a new job and the rest, as they say, is history.

Our Engagement Story

We got engaged on a surprise birthday trip he planned for me to Japan. We had been dating for about 5 years and we had been on so many romantic vacations together that I didn’t think anything of it. About halfway through our trip we were staying at the most gorgeous boutique ryokan nestled in the hillside town of Yamashiro, Japan, where you basically just wear their beautiful yakata (kimono) your entire stay and go from your room to nature to your own private ryokan to the restaurant. I had had a day full of facials and massages and had just gotten back to the room to relax before dinner, and when we were getting ready for dinner he got down on one knee and confessed his undying love for me.

Marriage To Us Means…

For us, marriage is a journey that comes with highs and lows, and everything in between. It’s a beautiful commitment that requires patience, flexibility, kindness, and humor. At its core, marriage is about making space for ourselves, for each other, and for our love. It’s a never-ending harmony of balancing these three things, and through it all, we are reminded that love is the most powerful force of all.

“We wanted to keep the aesthetic very simple and let the beauty of the property and surroundings speak for itself. I knew I wanted a big white bouquet and dreamy gauzy fabric draped from the ancient olive tree where we would hold our ceremony.”

Photography

I found Giuseppe Marano on The Lane Directory and was immediately drawn to his humanistic and his ability to capture emotions and connections with a candid unproduced elegance. And he also used film and shot on a Leica, we knew we wanted to have some moments captured on film.

The Setting

Wedding Location

Masseria Moroseta was our wedding venue in Ostuni, Puglia, Italy. We put a deposit down about 3 months prior to covid shutting everything down and waited two+ years for it to happen. We chose Masseria Moroseta for its simplistic beauty and refined aesthetic. We wanted to have a destination wedding, as we are both transplants to California, with our families on the east coast of the US and the UK, and friends all over the world. We didn’t want a traditional wedding, and wanted to keep our guest list quite small. The landscape of Puglia reminded us a bit of California with the cactus and olive groves, the authentic towns and slow life. We liked that it wasn’t super flashy or showy; just the perfect amount of refined elegance.

Aesthetic

We wanted to keep the aesthetic very simple, and let the beauty of the property and surroundings speak for itself. I knew I wanted a big white bouquet and dreamy gauzy fabric draped from the ancient olive tree where we would hold our ceremony. For the tables, I wanted brown tones mixed with soft blues, pinks and purples that looked quite natural and maybe just pulled from a wildflower field. I’m not sure why but I was loving those colors at the time and I think our florist Nunzia Guerino nailed it. For our after party, we used the same fabrics from the olive tree draped over the stoned pergolato, and I absolutely adored it. It felt like we were in a dream.

Preparation

We wanted the day to be low stress and make sure we stayed connected to each other and didn’t get wrapped up in the chaos, so we slept in a little, wrote our vows, and ate breakfast with our friends. We didn’t have a bridal party, but I did hair and makeup with my mom, sisters and best friend and Brett got ready with his mates. We did a first look before the ceremony, it was such a perfect tender moment just between us.

Wedding Planner & Stylist

We used Flavia Robbe and her assistants, as they were recommended through our venue! They were lovely and really helped bring my Pinterest boards to life.

Stationery

For our wedding invitations we used Paper Paper Co., a company out of Australia, as I loved her refined and minimal aesthetic. Again, kept it simple and let the beauty of Puglia shine.

Cake

The chef at Moroseta, Giorgia, made us an incredible ricotta, lemon, rosemary olive oil wedding cake and put fresh flowers on top. It was divine!

Food & Beverages

Brett and I, and probably most of our guests, agree the best part of our wedding was the cocktail hour by the pool after the ceremony when he and I snuck off to take photos in town. The menu was incredible and included hand pulled mozzarella, an insane meat and cheese spread, the best meatballs I’ve ever tasted, and lots and lots of other divine regional foods to Puglia. Our only regret is that we missed most of this and didn’t get to savor all of it! After that, we sat down for a two course menu of braised lamb shoulder ragu lasagna, local white, salad and roasted veggies, and unlimited local wines and then of course desert. At midnight, we had freshly made panzerotti (basically southern Italy’s small calzone). We had a variety of cocktails from Quanto Basta, the coolest street bar in Lecce, serving up anything and everything as well as plenty of Peroni for the Brits.

Fashion & Beauty Notes

Bride’s Dress & Shoes

Danielle Frankel, Ruby Gown; I felt like a dream in this dress, its the perfect combination of ethereal and sexy, it had just the right amount of romeo + juliet meets cool girl. I wore the Attico Devon Mules in the sweetest bridal blue.

Wedding Rings, Jewelry & Accessories

His: handmade gold french band from one of Rome’s oldest jewellers; Hers: Polly Wales. I wore a silk veil from Cortana and baroque pearl drop earrings from Danielle Frankel

Groom

The Groomsmen look was a bespoke double breasted buttery ivory wool silk suit from the San Francisco sartorial mecca Tailors Keep. It was a harmonious blend of contemporary aesthetics and traditional Italian craftsmanship. Alden suede leisure loafer and Gucci neckerchief.

Hair & Makeup

I found my makeup artist Jessica on The Lane Directory, and up until that point was really worried I wouldn’t find someone who understood my natural aesthetic and would be available in southern Italy. I’m not a fan of looking like a completely different person on your wedding day, and don’t wear a lot of makeup in general, so it was important for me to feel like myself. Jessica is such a beautiful soul and I would recommend her to anyone, anywhere. For my hair, I wanted it to look like that just woken up from a nap with braids in, sort of ethereal and messy. She nailed it.

The Details

Transport

We stayed on the property, but after the ceremony we escaped in a vintage Fiat to take photos in the historic old town of Ostuni.

Honeymoon

For our honeymoon we went to Sicily for three weeks, it was charming and chaotic and breathtaking all at once. We loved it, wished we had had longer to explore!

Wedding Songs

Entrance song: “ Take yo praise” by Camille Yarbrough

After ceremony song: “Just Like Heaven” by The Cure

First dance: “its not easy” by Ofege

Entertainment

Our dear friend Caity (DJ Cherry Pie) was the DJ at our wedding. We collaborated on playlists for dinner, reception, and danced into the night! She spun a lot of Italo disco, classic Chicago house, early electro synth pop and some top 40’s for good measure. Total Bangers, all Killer, no filler. Check her out she is the best.

Celebrant

My dad was our celebrant 🙂 He made all of us cry.. It was so special and tender.

Readings

We wrote our own vows, and didn’t have any readings during our ceremony. Though my constant source of inspiration on the beauty and pain of love and life is Rainer Maria Rilke, he has changed my heart with his writings in ways I didn’t think possible.

“The Lane was my biggest source of inspiration; it was a breath of fresh air for the refined aesthetic I had in mind. I found my photographer and hair & makeup artist through their Directory”

Our Advice

A memorable moment…

My favorite day leading up to our wedding was two days before, Brett and I went out for a walk that morning among the olive groves down a dirt road to get some fresh air and talk about our vows. I was having a lot of anxiety because I was still making decisions for our wedding, our stationery for the wedding was stuck in international customs with DHL and we weren’t sure they were going to make it for the ceremony/dinner on time (we also don’t speak Italian lol), and at that point I had major decision fatigue on all fronts.

We had decided we were both going to write separate wedding vows to each other, and on the walk I broke down and told Brett I just didn’t have anything left in me. And he pulled open his notes app on his phone, and started to read his to me that he had already written and I started crying (not a shock if you know me). We decided we would share those for each other, as what he wrote was so beautiful, touching and just a perfect affirmation of what our love is

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

Oh my, that covid was going to happen! I spent so much time between March of 2020 to Oct 2021 stressing about what to do; if we should still go through with a destination wedding, how many people to invite, would our people feel safe, would our people have the funds to travel; if our people

would want to travel amidst covid travel restrictions, should we just elope or do something small in California where we live, UK where his family lives, East Coast US where my family lives, just the courthouse in SF!? I’m sure so many covid brides felt the same way; looking back I probably should have joined some online support group for covid brides haha! I wish I would have just sat back and waited for covid to take its course instead of trying to plan or think my way to a solution that in the end was just a matter of forces I couldn’t control. We were so relieved and grateful to be able to go through with our original plan, and our people were thrilled to travel and party all together in paradise after such weird and stressful covid times!

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

A girlfriend gave me one bit of advice for planning while we were in the midst of covid that really stuck with me; make decisions based on what your nervous system can realistically handle. I wish we had taken a minimoon directly after our wedding, and planned our actual honeymoon for a few months after our wedding. I spent the first half of our honeymoon just releasing all of the stress from the 2+ years of planning and excitement of our wedding, seeing all our people in one place and traveling during covid.

Sources of inspiration…

The Lane was my biggest source of inspiration; it was a breath of fresh air for the refined aesthetic I had in mind. I found my Wedding Photographer and Hair & Makeup artist through their Directory. Others include Loho Bride, Anti Bride, and basically any Australian bridal Instagram account haha.

Our Contacts

Wedding Venue /  Masseria Moroseta

Wedding Planner /  Flavia Robbe

Photography /  Giuseppe Marano

Bride’s Dress /  Danielle Frankel

Bride’s Shoes /  The Attico

Groom’s Formal Wear /  Tailors keep

Wedding Rings /  Polly Wales

Jewelry & Accessories /  Danielle Frankel

Hair & Makeup /  Jessica Berullier

Stationery /  Paper Paper

Florist /  Nunzia Guerino

Entertainment /   Caity Watson