A Summer Garden Wedding in Italy

Photography by Nicoletta Subitoni & Francesca Angrisano.

In a tiny village in north-eastern Italy near Verona, Keoma Sanna and Patrick Pröller were married in the Romanesque parish church of San Giorgio.

The historic building, crafted from local limestone in the 8th century, has spectacular valley views and is surrounded by olive groves, vineyards and cypress trees. Inside, exposed stone walls and frescoed archways softened with gypsophila flowers and diffused light made for the perfect backdrop for bringing the couple’s vision of a ‘neo-classical fairy tale’ to life in Valpolicella.

Dinner was set beneath chandeliers, the serpentine table enveloped by greenery and lilac flowers in what the bride describes as an ‘enchanted summer garden’.

The Italian wedding was beautifully captured by Nicoletta Subitoni & Francesca Angrisano.

Our Story

Names / Keoma Sanna & Patrick Proller

Wedding Date / August 20th, 2022

Guest Numbers / 60

Budget / €60,000

How We Met

Twelve years ago, during a study holiday in Linz (Austria), a shy boy wrote to me on Facebook asking if I could help him learn Italian. I was a bit skeptical at first but promptly changed my mind once I met the nice, calm boy in person. After three months, the time came to return to Italy, and it was very difficult for both of us to part because a deep love had blossomed. This feeling has guided us over the past twelve years and taught us many lessons. The time had come to crown our union and become a full-fledged couple, until death do us part.

Marriage To Us Means…

Celebrating with the people we love, the fate that brought us together and the immense love that has managed to endure years of distance and sacrifice.

The Setting

Wedding Location

A unique spot Convento Dell’Annuciata, the Church of San Giorgio in Valpolicella is a historical and romantic Pieve, with an amazing view of the valley! The venue is an evocative 1455 convent immersed in a woodland area with a lot of secret garden vibes. It’s a place of breathtaking beauty.

Aesthetic

Our style was neo-classical fairy tale, we wanted to re-create an atmosphere suspended in time.

Preparation

We got ready at the venue with the bridesmaids and the mother of the bride. The venue has one room for the bride and one for the groom, and the funny thing is that they are adjoining rooms, so maximum attention is needed not to see each other, but also a lot of emotion!

Photography

I chose Nicoletta Subitoni for her natural photography with regard to details and aesthetics. Nicoletta and Francesca Angrisano are very creative and unconventional photographers – a perfect match.

Videography

We liked the combination of Weddingmovieteam with the photographer. They know how to capture the emotions in our eyes.

Style Notes

Ceremony Décor

Our wedding ceremony was styled with simple and ethereal elements in order to keep the focus on the beautiful architecture of the church. We decided to use gypsophila for the ceremony because of its soft texture. Also, it’s a really strong flower and can resist very well in Italy’s high August temperature.

Reception Décor

For the reception, we created a romantic tablescape in shades of and lilac and dusky pinks, mixed with neo-classical elements such as ceramic head-shaped vases. The movement given by the serpentine table and the rippled tablecloth helped to create an enchanted path immersed in the nature of the venue, with no other lights except for the chandeliers at night.

Wedding Planner & Stylist

Confetti a Colazione assisted in planning the wedding from the beginning, including budgeting, vendor scouting and management, design, and styling, as well as coordination on the day. Besides the planning, we worked on the mood board together and styling down to the finest details, going through more than one proposal together, before finding the perfect representation of the idea.

Flowers

We choose lush wedding flowers from Il Profumo Dei Fiori in delicate colors to match the magic atmosphere of our location and creating an enchanted summer garden. My suggestion for the colors was lilac and pastel green, so the florists suggested we use Ocean Roses for the perfect lilac touch and green amaranthus on the table to give a feeling of softness.

Stationery

The wedding venue was the main source of inspiration for our wedding stationery. In fact, the illustrations of the stationery by The Creative Design Lab represent specific areas of the venue; the ancient decorated arch on the invitation, the wood with its pond for the liner, and the menu background. Fonts, colors and details followed the main style with particular attention on choosing a fine paper with luxurious texture that’s pleasant to touch.

Favors

Favors were artisanal handmade candles by Hotanvintage, to tie in with the table decor and the overall style. The intention was to gift something to use but also to be preserved in time and shown in a corner at home, that’s why they were packed in glass cases.

Cake

Our wedding cake was a 3-layer tiered cake, covered in sugar paste and rice paper decorations. Inside, it was vanilla sponge cake, Italian chantilly, strawberry drawstring, and white chocolate crisps.

Food & Beverages

For aperitivo we set up a cocktail-style setting with finger food, traditional food corners, and lounge areas in the garden to enjoy the relaxed summer day. Then we had a setting for dinner, risotto was chosen as the first course, and two options for the main course, one with meat and one with fish. Overall the menu was refined but made with genuine Italian food, raw materials, and ingredients of excellent quality.

Fashion & Beauty Notes

Bride’s Dress & Shoes

The wedding dress was from Le Spose di Giò, an Italian firm designing wedding dresses since 1975. It was a chiffon, organza, and tulle dress, romantic style with handmade soft flowers, multilayered silk skirt. The shoes were Gianvito Rossi’s ‘Leomi’ light woven sandals.

Bridesmaids’ Dresses & Shoes

Bridesmaids wore light, long soft dresses, in different shapes and colors from the chosen palette of pastel hues.

Wedding Rings, Jewelry & Accessories

Our engagement rings are cushion cut, white gold. Our wedding bands are white gold and diamond for the bride, smooth white gold for the groom. Accessories were from Brunathelabel. The headpiece was composed of ceramic handmade petals and earrings from Taala.

The Details

Transport

We arranged shuttles to better manage our guests since the ceremony was far from the venue.

Honeymoon

We had a little escape right after the wedding at an enchanted chalet in the mountain region called Adler Lodge Ritten. We’re still deciding on the final destination between Maldives, Polynesia, or Mauritius for our official Honeymoon.

Gift Registry

Guests were free to gift what they wanted. We did not want to force them to give a specific gift.

Wedding Songs

Classic church ceremony songs!

Entertainment

We started with live jazz music with a piano, sax, and singer in the garden. Then background music for dinner and a DJ after. We trusted the musicians and their repertoire.