A Sicilian Wedding in the Baroque City of Noto

Within the historic walls of Baroque Sicilian town Noto, Fanny and Jacopo exchanged vows. With a special love for places that tell a story, the couple were surrounded by 58 of their closest family and friends. As golden hour set, the reception was held amongst olive trees, aged stone walls and a backdrop of sweeping countryside views on the site of a former monastery and converted honey farm. With a focus on simplicity, string lights were suspended above, and singular flowers stood in small vases along the single long dining table, as a live jazz band played.

Capturing this minimalist wedding in their distinct photojournalistic style, was The Lightbox Tales.

Fanny & Jacopo

Our Story

Names / Fanny Arbez & Jacopo Boscaino

Wedding Date / September 3rd, 2022

Guest Numbers / 58

Budget / €60,000

How We Met

Fanny: We met six years ago in Geneva. Jacopo and I were both working for the same company, in the same team. Jacopo had moved from Milan and we’d liked each other for a while. I don’t know why, but I remember that I was always attracted to him, even before meeting in person (we’d spend a lot of time on calls in our jobs). We took our time to grow our relationship as we were both recently out of long love stories. It was at our vacation in Sicily in 2017 when everything changed. I’m not sure which kind of magic happened there but it’s like both of us knew we would be linked to each other for a long time. The trip connected us forever.

Jacopo: Yes, although it seems a story like many, we really found almost immediately a strong connection and enjoyed each other’s company and friendship. We became closer and evolved quite quickly. After just over a year, we moved in together and started to invest in this relationship.

Our Engagement Story

Fanny: Jacopo proposed to me on his birthday. At that time, we were living in Singapore and I’d booked a brunch in the iconic Manhattan bar. We had a great day with delicious and fancy cocktails in one of the best bar’s in the world. We came back home, to relax after such a big brunch. This is when Jacopo proposed! For the rest of the day, we were both floating on a cloud. I remember we had a nice long walk in a peaceful area of Singapore, both still crying about what just happened, not talking, just being happy. What a day?!

Jacopo: I decided in November that I wanted to propose to Fanny, it was a week that we were apart and I felt it was the right time to make a move. I then started a stressful search for a ring. I knew Fanny would not love a very traditional one. I finally found it and decided that between Christmas and New year, I would propose. It was on my birthday, as I thought the surprise would be greater, and my chance of success was higher!

Marriage To Us Means…

Fanny: A celebration of love.

Jacopo: Committing to each other forever and a new start together.

Fanny & Jacopo

‘‘To be in the place right where we fell in love with each other and say ‘I do’ in front of our family and friends was so special.”

Jacopo & Fanny

Fanny & Jacopo

The Setting

Wedding Location

Fanny: Since the beginning, we knew we wanted to have our wedding in Sicily with it being so symbolic of our relationship. Our wedding planner shared a couple of places she knew and we were pretty quick in choosing a very charming resort near Noto called Borgo Alveria, which was built on a site of an ancient monastery. We saw the pictures and we knew this was THE place.

As my family is from France and Jacopo‘s is from Italy’s Caserta, next to Naples, we also wanted a location where they could stay.

Aesthetic

We wanted to have a wedding that represented us. We both like nature and authentic places – things that tell a story. Borgo Alveria is just beautiful as it is, surrounded by nature, and olive trees, it has no need for extra decoration.

It was a country minimal style with the charm of the ancient monastery remains and magnificence of nature of this part of Sicily, amplified by the special warm sunlight, especially at sunset.

Preparation

Our closest family was staying at Borgo Algeria, so it was nice that 20 people were actually staying in the same place. We were not able to get together in the two years prior so it was a lovely moment to catch up. On the day of the wedding, we all had a long breakfast together. After that, I got ready in my mother‘s room, and we had the hairdresser and the make-up artist there. My closest friends and my mum stayed with me while I was getting ready, it was a nice moment of complicity between us.

Jacopo was getting ready with his testimonies in our bedroom. Everyone was very at ease, knowing the ceremony was at 5 pm, we had some snacks around the pool. People were enjoying the pool, getting some nice sun and we had all day to talk and enjoy the moment.

Fanny & Jacopo

Photography

We know our wedding photographer, Celia, from Amsterdam. She was the one capturing our engagement pictures and we loved her natural style and her personality straight away. We asked her if she would be ready to fly to Sicily to be our photographer for our wedding and she said yes! She also captured our pregnancy and then the first pictures of our daughter, Emma. Celia is amazing, she has this gift of being able to capture the magic of a moment. I wouldn’t have picked another wedding photographer for this big day.

Fanny & Jacopo

Style Notes

Ceremony Décor

We kept it simple. The ceremony was in Noto’s old food market which is extremely charming without adding any decoration. I remember when I saw this place for the first time, I knew this is where we would get married being so charming and romantic.

We organized a drink there, just after the ceremony as it’s pretty warm in Sicily even at 5 pm.

Reception Décor

The reception was at Borgo Alveria and it did not need any decoration. The aperitivo was in front of one of the main ancient buildings, surrounded by olive trees. Then our guests were passing under an old arch (was one of the elements I loved the most when I first saw the pictures of Borgo Alveria) and the dinner was in a very intimate garden with one of the old walls as a background. We wanted one long table with flowers and candles and string lights, which added to the special atmosphere.

Fanny & Jacopo

Wedding Planner & Stylist

Our wedding planner was Adriana from Dazzled. We got her details while we were looking for a wedding location. One of the owners recommended Adriana. We had a great connection, she is also speaks well in English, which was helpful for me as my Italian is not perfect. We met via video calls, and we had to postpone the wedding two times (Covid then a baby) but Adriana always stayed by our side and she understood very quickly what we wanted – an intimate wedding that embraced the beauty of Sicily. We were sharing inspiration found on Pinterest and we were very much in sync, I was sending her pictures and she was making things happen. Adriana was the master behind the organization of the day.

Flowers

I love flowers. The idea was to have multiple small vases with a couple of flowers everywhere on the table. I found this inspiration on Pinterest. I asked to have seasonal flowers from Sicily. For my bouquet, I wanted something very colorful and not a round bouquet. The inspiration came from French influencer, Anne Laure Mais.

Favors

Each of our guests went back home with some Italian confetti (almonds with sugar) and my mother-in-law prepared lovely packaging made of colorful fabrics that everyone could keep and use (I am using them as table sets).

Food & Beverages

Let’s be honest, Sicily is the best place on earth for food. Our menu was very focused on Sicilian food. We had a standing aperitivo first, which was very high quality and had a lot of variety. Then we went to the dinner table and had three other plates, the wedding cake and other sweets.

Fashion & Beauty Notes

Bride’s Dress & Shoes

My wedding dress is from the French brand Love is like a rose. I went to Paris to pick my wedding dress. My testimony lives in Paris, and it was a dream to go to this romantic city to choose a dress for the big day. We had an immediate connection with the designer, Sandrine. I tried three or four styles from her latest collection and we agreed on the le Baiser gown, which I customized. The dress is modern and elegant with a touch of sexy, and simple but full of little details.

My wedding shoes were from an Italian designer with an amazing line of wedding shoes, Gianvitto Rossi. My shoes were small transparent heels, simple and elegant.

Bridesmaids’ Dresses & Shoes

I had one testimony and she was wearing a light pink outfit from French brand, Maje.

Wedding Rings

No wedding ring for us. I have my Cartier engagement ring and this ring means a lot to me, I wouldn’t like to wear another one. And as a symbol, I offered to Jacopo a Trinity bracelet from Cartier which has three intertwined gold bands that represent love, friendship and fidelity.

Jewelry / Accessories

I was wearing the Univers Médium earrings from Maison Sabben with hairpins from the same collection. I was wearing the pearl necklace my grandfather gave my grandmother after they got married, and that she offered to me before she passed away. I put it around my wrist as a bracelet, a strong symbol for me to wear it.

Hair & Makeup

My hair was super simple, I saw a picture of Hailey Bieber which inspired me, a simple low chignon with golden hairpins.

Fanny & Jacopo

The Details

Transport

This was a surprise for Jacopo but I rented an old Fiat. I had my dad and my mum with me in the car, it was a very intimate moment with my parents, we laughed, and I was glad I shared this moment just before the ceremony with them. The trip to the old city center of Noto was beautiful, the Fiat stopped in front of the Loggia del Mercato where everyone was waiting for me, such an intense and emotional moment!

Once the ceremony was over, Jacopo and I went through Noto in the old car to take some pictures in front of the famous cathedral of Noto. We then joined our guests.

Honeymoon

The honeymoon is yet to come but we will go to San Sebastián. Both Jacopo and I are food lovers and many great restaurants are in the area.

Gift Registry

Our guests offered us personal gifts but we did not give a registry. One of these was a painting, my family also made a video, my dad played the guitar during the aperitivo, and many people did speeches during the dinner. We received a lot of love and attention throughout the whole day.

Wedding Songs

Entrance: Just The Two Of Us – Kauaie45 version
Signature: Better Together – Jack Johnson
Exit: B.A.B.Y – Carla Thomas

First dance: Baby I’m Yours – Arctic Monkeys

Entertainment

We had a live band during the ceremony and aperitivo, we asked them to play a jazzy style of music. Our first song was played by the singer and guitarist of the band. We then had a DJ who played during and after the dinner. We shared with him a very diverse selection of music that we liked in advance.

Celebrant

Our wedding was a civil wedding, performed by the Mayor of Noto.

Our Advice

A memorable moment…

There’s no specific moment that comes to mind, just the whole day was stunning and such a unique experience. To be in the place right where we fell in love with each other and say ‘I do’ in front of our family and friends was so special.