(Birth announcements by Cut & Paste)

We are slowly going back to our regular rhythms though, and we will hopefully resume our regular blogging schedule soon!

We have many beautiful weddings, new venues, great design finds, and lots of projects which we want to share with you, so keep checking our blog!

In the meanwhile, let us wish all our past, present and future brides and grooms a very very very happy Valentine’s Day!

(Heart shaped bridal bouquet by Lorella of Fiori e Dintorni – Wedding Flowers in Tuscany)

They chose one of our favourite venues in the area: a beautiful place with great view, very good prices and great staff.

The ceremony was planned on the terrace by the swimming pool, where a gazebo was installed for the bride and groom and celebrant. The view from the terrace is amazing!

The aisle was decorated with blush pink flower spheres! So pretty!

The “altar” was decorated with candles and three small centerpieces with blush pink flowers and strings of pearls.

The guests sat on chairs behind the couple.

The ceremony location was separated from the aperitif area by a pretty heart-shaped arch decorated with greenery and white and blush pink baby’s breath.

The ceremony was followed by a buffet apertif and antipasty by the pool. The buffet table was decorated with tall crystal vases with white and blush pink baby’s breath and tall candles.

The seated dinner was held in the gazebo. The centerpieces were in the same style as the ceremony decorations, with small round centerpieces with blush pink flowers and pink ribbons for the napkins.

The cutting of the cake and the favours were placed under another gazebo in a panoramic position. Beautiful views over the hills and the Tuscany countryside! The perfect frame for a special moment!

As for the bridal bouquets and the butthonholes for the groom and the groomsmen, Valentina chose orchids, with ivy for her and the groom.

And here comes the beautiful bride with her bridesmaids and her beautiful dress!

A touching ceremony…

And… they were husband and wife!

To Valentina and Matias our best wishes for a fabulous life together!

Moreover, we strongly believe that beautiful flower arrangements accompanied by a suitable stationery suite give the event a completely different tone.

For this reason, one of the services that we offer as Boutique Events is help in defining the design of the perfect graphic suite that can really do justice to the work and care that our couples and clients usually put in the planning of their events, be it invitations, business cards, brochures, or a nice, perfectly coordinated and tailor-made full stationery suite.

In order to do this, we work with excellent graphic designers and with reliable printers that can guarantee the quality of the printing process, be it digital or letter-press printing.

Today, we dedicate this space to a graphic designer that we really love and who offers our clients a generous discount. For both these reasons, and for having accepted to answer our questions, we want to tell Valentina of Cut and Paste that we are very thankful!

How long have you been doing this?

I have been a graphic designer for about 10 years, but I decided to venture into wedding stationery only a couple of years ago.

How did you start?

As sometimes happens in life, when you least expect it, something is capable of changing everything. For me, the turning point coincided with my wedding, when I chose to personally take care of the graphic design. This very personal project was unexpectedly very much appreciated by the people with whom I shared not only my wedding day, but especially the previous months, during which I chose every single detail. The end result of this work was the right push to open a blog, where I could talk about my portfolio and the sources of my day to day inspiration.
Day after day, thanks to my dedication and stubbornness, followers have started to arrive and so have the first collaboration projects and the first tailored-made wedding stationery jobs.

Do you think that the Italian market gives event stationery the attention it deserves?

To be honest, I don’t, and this was one of the reasons that pushed me – first personally and then professionally – towards the world of event stationary design. I often wonder how it is possible that in a country like Italy, which is the birthplace of great artists, designers, and stylists, this reality is often ignored and made anonymous and banal. The only answer I can think of is that, in a country so bound to traditions, it is hard to escape from them and perhaps even to reinterpret them.

What do you think is the importance of stationery for an event?

It may seem obvious, but I think stationery is crucial, because, not only does it help outline the main theme of the event, but it “announces” it by making a statement about the unique “mood” chosen for the occasion.

Your style is very different from the traditional Italian wedding invitation style: where do you find inspiration for your projects?

Inspiration is something that cannot be controlled. I can go days without finding the right solution to put pen to paper and then all of a sudden, BAM! American and British blogs are my “daily bread”, but often that which “unlocks” my creativity might have nothing to do with the world of stationery: it might even be just a walk in the park near where I live.

What elements should always be part of a graphic suite for a wedding?

Starting from the announcements and invitations, which anticipate the style chosen by the couple for their wedding day, I generally recommend they add a coordinated ceremony booklet, or at least its cover, the seating chart with table cards, menus and tags for the wedding favours. Moreover, if they are open to the possibility of extending the graphic suite to get to a truly unique project, I recommend they add containers for the rice, placeholder tags, tags for the candy or dessert buffet and last but not least, a guestbook.

Do you have ready-made customizable suites or do you design a unique suite for each event?

Those who contact me are usually looking for something exclusive and tailor-made. However, in order to offer something original but at a lower cost, over the past few months, I developed a small portfolio of standard suites that can be customized to reflect the color palette chosen for the event.

How do you proceed to design a unique graphic suite after the first contact with the client? How do you figure out what is most suitable for the occasion?

The ultimate goal of a tailor-made project is to reflect the style of the event and the personality of the couple who contacts me. For this reason, the creative process always begins with some kind of a brainstorming that allows me to get to know not only the choices that have already been made for the event – e.g. the location, the floral arrangements, etc. – but also the little things and the interests that have brought the bride and groom together, which, with the addition of a good color palette, can become the basis for the design of unique wedding stationery.

What are the most common requests that you get?

Besides quotes for tailor-made graphic design, which, as such, are very different from one another, the letterpress and laser printing processes (the latter made possible thanks to a recent investment on a laser machine which will hopefully help me enhance my portfolio) are the products which most interest my readers.

Do you take care of the printing process as well or do you provide the graphic design alone?

Generally, those who choose me for the design of their stationery also rely on me for the printing process, but in the past, I’ve also worked on the development of the graphic design alone, leaving the couple free to commission the printing elsewhere.

Which printing techniques do you use for your projects?

My creations can be adapted to all printing methods, but because of the good value for money ratio, the majority of my customers end up choosing digital printing, which the least expensive solution, but also somewhat “limiting”. As a matter of fact, if you want to include  something “special” in the project it might be necessary to resort to other methods of printing and finishing.

How long after a customer first contacts you is a the complete graphic suite ready?

The development of a comprehensive tailor-made stationery line takes at least forty days, which includes the time required for brainstorming, coming up with a design, precisely defining the individual elements of the line and actually have them ready for printing.

If you could choose your ideal wedding stationery suite to design, what would it be like?

My ideal wedding stationery suite would be suitable for a small ceremony with a few close friends, celebrated at the beginning of the fall, among the trees, in a small forest on a cliff from which you can see the sea. I would choose a very neutral palette: white combined with green and brown. The wedding announcement, the invitation and the map to get to the ceremony location would have to be engraved on wood paper, wrapped in tissue and tied together with some rustic string. The invitation kit, enriched by a couple of small white-painted pine cones, would be placed in a cardboard box personalized with the monogram of the couple and padded with a soft bed of moss.

During the ceremony, the guests, wrapped in warm green and brown blankets, could follow the function with the mass booklet printed on kraft paper and, at the end of the ceremony, they could greet the bride and groom with white and green paper confetti placed in machine sewed bags.

A series of painted wooden signs would show the way to the nearby reception venue. The American-style seating chart would be made of large wooden boxes filled with moss on which a white pine cone with a name tag printed on kraft paper would be placed for each guest. The table cards would be printed on the same wood paper as the invites, and the menu, one for each guest, would be printed on kraft paper and tied to the napkin with a small white wooden pin out of which the couple’s laser engraved monogram would peep.

Tissue pom poms would frame the dessert buffet table, on which small wooden tag, lit by romantic tea lights, would help even the most greedy of the guests make up their mind. Guests could bring home some sweets and candies to enjoy on the following days using personalized green and brown bags.

Finally, the monogram of the couple, covered in moss, would decorate on its own the corner where the guestbook and wedding favors would be placed. For the occasion, wedding favours would consist in baby pine trees placed in small jute bags completed by the miniature printing of instructions to make it grow strong and healthy.

Which is the creation you are most proud of?

You never forget your first love, right? So, instinctively, I would say the first one, inspired by Ireland, and designed for my own wedding … even though, after some time, and with a critical eye, I would change a few details!

Do you have some anecdotes for our readers?

I have no special stories to tell, really. I’m building my professionalism day after day, sometimes making mistakes, but always trying my best to make a career out of a passion I know I have always had… at least since when, many years ago, I would have my mum buy boxes and boxes of crayons just to find the perfect pastel apple green!

It hasn’t always been easy, but now I have the right green in my pencil case and this makes me proud… as proud as when, just over a year ago, Oh So Beautiful Paper chose to publish my first tailor-made wedding stationery design.

Another big thank you for Valentina! And we recommend that all our future brides and grooms contact us at least 6 months before the wedding so as to be able to plan the perfect design for your event! For further information please write to info@boutiqueevents.it

If you are Canadian and you are looking to get married in Tuscany, you should remember that:

• legally binding civil weddings can only be performed in a Town or City Hall (Municipio) or on dedicated public properties (gardens and villas that belong to the City and have been designated as a possible ceremony venue by the Mayor). It is not possible to have a legally-binding civil wedding at a private villa or in a park, etc;
• only designated public officials can perform the wedding ceremony (the Mayor or one of the city councilors), so you may not have a friend or relative perform your wedding;
• you can get married in a town hall and then have a symbolic ceremony with your guests at a nicer venue. Please be aware that the legally binding ceremony is the actual signing of the registers at the town hall, and that the symbolic ceremony has no legal value. Anybody may act as a symbolic celebrant even one of your guests;
• the documents required for a legally binding civil wedding are only valid for 6 months, so there is no point in starting the procedure more than 6 months prior to your wedding date;
• you will need to be in Italy at least 5 days prior to the date of your wedding, preferably a week;
• you will need to be assisted by a translator in case your mastery of Italian is not perfect and you will need at least two witnesses for the wedding ceremony.

If your heart is set on getting legally married in Tuscany, the first thing to do is to choose the town or city hall where you want to get married and your wedding date.

Before committing to a specific date and time, you might want to check the availability of the ceremony venue you have chosen. Some town halls only allow people to get married on certain days and at certain times, and the most popular ones book up even 12 months in advance. So, before printing invitations or save the date cards, make sure to book your ceremony venue.

Getting married in a town hall has a cost which varies from the minimum tax required by law for civil weddings to a maximum of 1000 euros for the rental of the venue for the time required by the ceremony + taxes for civil weddings, depending on how popular the venue is.

In order to get married in Tuscany, you will need a nulla osta (Certificate of non-Impediment).

Most of the documents necessary to get a nulla osta can be obtained in Canada. The Canadian Government does however not issue the “Nulla Osta“: the Embassy in Rome does.

In order to get the nulla osta from the Canadian Embassy in Rome, each of the spouses must first complete and swear an affidavit to the effect that there is no impediment to the marriage. You can get an affidavit in Canada, which must be sworn in front of a notary public.

The original affidavit and certified true copies of the following documents must then be sent to the Embassy in Rome by registered mail:

• affidavit;
• valid Canadian passport;
• proof of Canadian citizenship (Canadian birth certificate or Certificate of Canadian Citizenship). (If you were born in Québec, only birth certificates issued on or after January 1, 1994, by “Le Directeur de l’état civil” in the province of Québec are accepted);
• complete details of each of the spouses (full name, date and place of birth, residence, father’s name and mother’s full maiden name);
• final divorce decree or death certificate of previous spouse (if divorced or widowed);
• parents’ consent (if the person is under marriageable age);
• proof of payment of appropriate fees (usually 50 CAD / 35 euros)

The Canadian Embassy in Rome will verify the validity of the documents and if everything is in order, they will issue the nulla osta and mail it to you.

The affidavit can also be obtained directly at the Embassy in Rome upon appointment, but most couples find it more convenient to take care of the whole procedure from home, as they will not be in Italy long before their wedding day.

The nulla osta must be authenticated by the dedicated local police office. If we assist you with the paperwork, we will make an appointment with the Ufficio Legalizzazioni of the Prefettura of the province where your wedding will be celebrated so that we can accompany you to get the documents issued by the Canadian Embassy in Rome authenticated.

We will also make an appointment with the Marriage Office of the town hall where you have decided to get married to execute a declaration before the “Ufficiale dello Stato Civile” (the local Registrar of Vital Statistics) of the Municipality. This procedure is called “processo verbale” and consists in signing a document where you state that you intend to marry at that town hall on the date you have chosen, that you are aware of the legal and civil effects of the ceremony, and that there are no impediments. If you are not proficient in Italian, you will have to be accompanied by a translator. You will also need to bring a copy of your passports.

A date is fixed (or rather, confirmed) for the civil marriage ceremony. Two witnesses and an interpreter (if necessary) must be present at the civil marriage ceremony, which usually lasts 15 minutes and consists in the reading of the civil codes regulating marriage in Italy. The spouses and their witnesses are then asked to sign the registers and are declaired legally married.

You can request an international certificate of marriage that you can use to register your wedding in Canada. The certificate is usually issued a few days after the wedding, so you can ask to receive it via mail, by leaving a pre-stamped envelope with the exact address where you want to receive it.

If we are in charge of the paperwork, we can get the certificate for you and forward it to your home address as soon as it’s issued. Please note that if you get married in the summer, it might take up to a month to get the certificate.

Catholic weddings in Italy can have a civil value too. In case you want a legally binding church wedding, in addition to all the procedures described above (except for the actual wedding ceremony, which will happen in the church), you will also have to take care of the church paperwork (see “Requirements for a Church Wedding in Tuscany“).

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us! Further information is also available on the website of the Canadian Embassy in Rome.

Sinéad and Stephen decided to have a legally binding catholic ceremony. They wanted a church and a ceremony location with authentic Tuscan character and a reception at a venue which had a traditionally Tuscan feel but which could also guarantee a bit of luxury and comfort for their guests.

The decor that they chose was simple and elegant like they are, and they opted for leafy white and green flower arrangements both for the church and for the reception.

We have seen few brides who were as nervous as Sinéad was on the day of the wedding! It was so cute!

She had a long morning of hair do and make up, followed by wearing her gorgeous dress and receiving a lot of compliments from her family and friends!

(All the photos below are by the talented Domenico Costabile! Thank you Domenico for letting us use them, and thank you Sinéad and Stephen for letting us publish this!)

In the meanwhile, the groom and his best man were getting ready to leave the hotel. Here they are proudly showing off the wedding rings in the hall of the hotel!

Here is a close-up of the buttonhole that Lorella created for Stephen, the groom!

Back at the hotel, the final touches for this stunning bride! Her mother helped her to put on the last piece of her beautiful, elegant dress, and her father brought the bouquets created by Lorella for her and her sister, the matron of honor!

And off we go!!

Meanwhile, the groom and the guests were waiting in the church. They look more relaxed than they actually were!!

And here comes the beautiful bride!

I love the photos where you can see how the bride and groom look at each other when they first see each other on their wedding day! They are so moving!

The ceremony was very moving. The church is small and beautiful. Can we brag about the flower arrangements too? :)

The bride and groom included the rite of the candles in the ceremony. They lit one candle each at the beginning of the ceremony and then, after they were declared husband and wife, they put out the two candles and lit the third one together, to symbolize that they are now one family.

We love this photo: it was taken after they were declared husband and wife. They finally look relaxed and enjoying a moment just between the two of them! In the meanwhile a guest was singing a traditional Irish song: what a voice!

And after the signing of the registers, the bride and groom got ready to exit the church. There was some hesitation among the guests. I guess in Ireland the bride and groom exit first, and the guests follow, but here in Tuscany, everybody leaves the church before the newlyweds, gets a rice cone (you can see the terracotta vase Lorella prepared with rice cones in the photo below) and waits for the bride and groom outside the church to throw the rice at them to wish them prosperity in their marriage!

Time for a few photos outside the church…

A close-up of the bridal bouquet.

And then, before joining their guests at the hotel for the reception, the bride and groom decided to go off for a little drive in the countryside in the company of a nice bottle of champagne!

While Sinéad and Stephen were cruising through the Tuscan countryside, their guests were enjoying an aperitif at the hotel. Here are a few photos of the reception including the flower arrangements we designed.

When the bride and groom finally arrived at the hotel, the reception could start. And here are a few image of the toast, the cutting of the cake and of course the first dance!

And here are the bride and groom with us!

We would like to thank Sinéad and Stephen for being so nice and patient! We are looking forward to seeing them again in Tuscany for some big anniversary!

We have found a couple of very interesting articles on Love my Dress:

• What Makes A Vintage Wedding ‘Vintage’? Have Your Say…
• The American versus The British Style Wedding… (we can’t wait to write a blog post to compare these with the Italian Style Wedding!)

We love these fabric bookmarks used as wedding favour (from Love my Dress)!

They are made by The Vintage Drawer, which has a large collection of really neat items which can be incorporated into your event!

We found some interesting wedding flower ideas:

(Fabulous bouquets from Love my Dress)

The warm colours of these bouquets are beautiful and perfect for a fall wedding!

(From Elizabeth Anne Designs Blog)

In Italy it’s very common to ask friends and family for contributions to go towards the honeymoon. Most people create a wish list at a travel agency, but for those who will not use a travel agent and plan their trip on their own, this could be a great idea:

(From Love my Dress)

We fell in love with this cake by Bobbetteandbelle: how beautiful is it?!

And if you are planning a winter wedding, we find this tablescape gorgeous!

On all these occasions, couples usually renew their vows, either with a religious or symbolic ceremony, and then they celebrate with friends and family with a nice reception.

Over the last few years, we have also seen an increase in the number of couples who celebrate their 5th and 10th anniversary, especially couples who got married in Italy with a destination wedding, and come back with their friends and family to renew their vows and experience once again that special atmosphere of their wedding in Tuscany. And for us it’s always a great pleasure to help them with that!

We had the pleasure of working on a 25th wedding anniversary this summer. These events always have “silver” as a theme. This one was a small and informal one, where only the flower design for the church and the bride were necessary. Here is the beautiful bouquet that Lorella designed for the occasion!

If you are planning your 25th wedding anniversary party, a vintage decor might be perfect. Best if it incorporates something that reminds you of your actual wedding day! Here are some ideas!

First of all, you need beautiful silver wedding anniversary invites. You could choose something elaborate and elegant like n.1 (Carciofi Design), something more simple and classic like n.2, or a more innovative vintage design like n.3 (from Oh So Beautiful Paper), maybe choosing a silver envelope instead.

For the ceremony you can choose whether to go with a classy and always elegant white and silver, or with a more daring combination of silver and a theme color, maybe the color you chose for your wedding 25 years before.

(First row, flowers by Fiori e Dintorni; second row, from the left flowers by Fiori e Dintorni, flowers from Style me Pretty, flowers from Style me Pretty).

(From the top, left to right: Flower Wild Flower Design, Jac Photography, Jagger Photography, Sarah Maren Photographers, Jac Photography, Lauren L. Liddell Photography, Jac Photography)

The same goes for the reception. Depending on what you chose for the ceremony, you can go with white and silver reception decor or with touches of colour.

(Photos from Martha Stewart Weddings, Ruffled Blog, Mike Colon Photographers, Krakora Studios, Flower Wild Floral Design,  Fiori e Dintorni).

To make the event even more special, you can add details with a lot of personality: a vintage photo corner; engraved cutlery; a corner with the most meaningful photos of your 25 years together, of your wedding day, or of all the friends and family members who are no longer with you; an old typewriter for your guests to leave a note for your guest book; polaroid photos to use as guestbook cards; a vintage car; the old suitcase you took with you on your honeymoon with plenty of vintage postcards of your honeymoon destination for your guests to use as guestbook cards!

(Photos by Modern Bouquet Floral Design, Garrett Nudd Photography, Shannon Sano Photography, Kelly Tunney Photographer, Marianne Wilson Photography,  Picotte Weddings)

And if you plan on celebrating your 25th wedding anniversary in Italy, you cannot forget traditional silver confetti for your favours!

Contact us today and we will be very happy to help you plan your silver wedding anniversary in Tuscany!

The wedding reception was organized at a nice restaurant on the beach.

Given that the whole setting was very informal, Lorella thought that, instead of opting for the usual bouquets for the bride and her bridesmaids, we could “dare” a bit!

Instead of bouquets, the bridesmaids had corsages with hot pink flowers that matched the buttonholes of the groomsmen. A great touch of colour against the blue sea and the white sand!

And for the bride… a beautiful “flower pochette” purse with white flowers!

Wasn’t this lovely?!

We will start with the photos of the decor we created for a birthday party. The party was held at beautiful L’Andana. We didn’t plan it, we only designed the decorations, but we still had lots of fun!

Lorella created these beautiful spheres of green chrysanthemums and lilac roses.

They were then placed on a bed of green leaves and on the table.

The lucky lady also received a gorgeous bunch of flowers from her friends, and of course Lorella designed it.

Do you have a special birthday coming up? Let us help you with the planning and decorations!

Besides offering full and partial planning services, we also offer flower design, or full event design if we also take care of wedding stationery and other decorative details. There is no consulting fee for the basic flower design, as that is a separate part of our business. Clients who choose to have us plan their event or to let us design their invitations and stationery and in general, the look of their wedding or party as Boutique Events receive a discount on the flower arrangements from Fiori e Dintorni of course.

On July 2, we were in charge of the design for Cristian and Valentina’s fabulous cream and hot pink wedding through our Fiori e Dintorni. They had chosen the beautiful church of St. Francesco in Grosseto for their wedding ceremony and a great holiday farm in the countryside near where we are for their reception. We especially love this venue, because the owners are great and the views are stunning. You are surrounded by nothing but nature, and the place itself is quintessentially Tuscan.

They chose to have a buffet antipasto by the beautiful panoramic pool. The decorations we chose for that area were very simple, with white lanterns to decorate the olive trees, tall bunches of hot pink roses in crystal vases and white candles on the buffet table.

The buffet aperitivo was to be followed by a seated dinner in a large gazebo in the garden.

The bride and groom chose a mix of round and square tables for their guests, and a different table placed in the middle of the room for the two of them.

Each table was decorated with a centerpiece made with a candle surrounded by roses in a round crystal bowl. We were very proud of the result! Two menus were placed on each table, and as place holders, the bride and groom chose small bottles of soap bubbles in the shape of a little wedding cake.

The table of the bride and groom had different decorations: the same flowers but instead of crystal bowls we chose two tall crystal chandeliers.

Since there were several children, the bride and groom opted for a separate table for them. The centerpiece was a vase of… marshmallows! So cute!

The cutting of the cake was organized in a smaller gazebo in the garden.The view from there is simply breath-taking.

Wedding favours were also placed under the gazebo where the cutting of the cake was to take place. The bride and groom opted for a traditional bag of confetti decorated in their wedding colours.

And as usual a special thank you to the crew of Fiori e Dintorni! Lorella is the lady on the left!

And from us all, our best wishes to Cristian and Valentina for their life together!