Today I am introducing you to a superb wedding planning company in Italy. They have the know-how on everything wedding related in the country of Love. Here’s a little bit more about Country Weddings Italy, my newest Dream Team member…..
Tell me about Country Weddings Italy
Country Weddings is a wedding coordination and design business for overseas couples, based in the countryside north of Rome. We aim to provide a bespoke wedding service for anyone who is looking for that individual, personalized attention and approach that they would get from a wedding planner at home. There are no set packages, no set styles, and what is more important, an unlimited amount of time spent on planning the whole event. We work with each couple to bring to life the wedding day that they have imagined and dreamed about. We can also provide our ideas and services for the entire trip to Italy, if the bridal party so wishes: accommodation searches and pre and post wedding celebrations and special activities to share with your family and friends. Cookery courses, barbecues, sightseeing tours, a day driving a Lamborghini or Ferrari round a racetrack or a relaxed post-wedding brunch are just a few of the ideas.
How did you get into this type of work?
I moved to Italy 22 years ago, straight out of university. I’m actually from Lancashire, an area of England that I still have very strong ties with and that I adore. I’m a linguist by trade and a crafter by nature! Daniela, my co-founding partner of Country Weddings Italy, comes from Naples and has a business and economics background with a personal passion for anything shabby chic, vintage and beautiful. When we met three years ago, through our children going to the same nursery school, we soon found that we had many interests in common and the idea to start a wedding coordination popped into our heads over a glass of wine in the garden one late springtime evening. We live in a beautiful area, just a few miles north of Rome, and we decided to focus our business venture outside the city, amazing though it is, and that is how Country Weddings Italy was born. That makes it sound simple, but like any new business venture, the learning curve has been huge: a completed advanced wedding planner course, days on end searching for suppliers that suited our style and works ethics, many nights writing website and blog material, letters, promos, and just generally finding our way around the wedding world. We are still at the beginning of this whole new adventure but it really is one of those dream jobs, where you actually really enjoy what you do.
Do you have a particular style and can you describe it for us?
We both have a love of anything original, shabby chic, vintage, rustic and genuine. Our choice of venues and suppliers is most definitely influenced by that. Daniela and I tend to find ourselves in agreement about most of the things we fall in love with, but I love the way I see things with an “Anglo” spin on ideas, even after 22 years here, while Daniela provides her perfect Italian view of “style”.
What / who inspires your design style?
We are most definitely inspired by our surroundings. Italy is without a doubt a beautiful country, and the countryside in central Italy where we are based is just filled with fantastic venues: castles, farmhouses, lakeside retreats and country villas, so there is no end of inspiration. I am also a crafter and make wedding venue decorations, cards and favours, which are very much influenced by my personal love of anything butterfly, flower and heart-shaped.
What makes your service unique?
Our total commitment! When we were researching the destination wedding market in Italy, we were surprised by how many other businesses were specific about the number of hours they would put into the organization, or how many hours they would be present on the day of the wedding, with any extra hours being added on at a price per hour. We also didn’t like the “package” idea, although we realize this may appeal to some couples, who want some of the time-consuming decision-making taking out of the equation. After talking to get a basic ideas for theme, style and obviously available budget, we will always present our couples with a choice, whether that is venue, flowers, photographer or any other sort of supplier, and we will be on the other end of the email, Skype or phone right up until the wedding to discuss changes, new ideas or additions. Once the bridal party arrives here for the big celebration, we will personally be on hand in the run-up to the wedding, on the day and also for post-wedding events too, if asked to. We will also have liaised with the embassies and wedding halls for all the legal side of affairs beforehand and will be present on the day to interpret at the ceremony (a legal requirement) and make sure everything runs smoothly throughout the ceremony and wedding reception.
What is currently hot in the world of weddings?
In Italy there is a general return this year to a love of things classic. Italian weddings from the dresses to the reception, have been very “sleek” in recent years, but there is a return to a more romantic, traditional approach. I think that is a general reflection on an attempt to return to traditional values in Italian society, after years of everything being upbeat, expensive, ultra-modern. A bit “flash Harry” as we say in Lancashire!
What about future trends, what is going to be popular in the future?
I don’t know, but I hope our ideas on style will be popular for lots of couples! One trend that can be noticed in Italy is the growing popularity in contacting a wedding planner for your big day. A few years ago it was unheard of, but wedding planners are now an increasingly common presence in the Italian wedding cosmos.
Which bride (past, present or future) would be your dream bride to work with?
Ooh, I really don’t know, there are just too many to mention. How about one of the great Hollywood stars from the past, or Julia Roberts, who stayed in a beautiful country villa in this area, which can also be hired as a wedding venue incidentally, while she was filming Eat, Pray, Love a couple of years ago? I’m a huge Adele fan, and I love her dress-style, so how great would it be to organize her wedding here? More generally, we would love to work with brides with a love of Italy and a passion for vintage or rustic chic thrown in.
Who would you love to work/collaborate with and why? Do you have any plans to make this happen?
In just a few, short months, we have had the opportunity to meet several people who work in this industry and who are so committed to their work. We hope most of all to be able to share our adventure with them and people like them. To name just a few, the photographer Fabrizio Vinti, the floral designer Rosella Antonelli and the wedding planner extraordinaire Sanda Pandza, all successful names in their chosen wedding-related have been so helpful and enthusiastic about our plans. I have also been lucky to get to know some British wedding suppliers, creators of gowns, accessories and stationery, whom we hope to be able to work with and recommend to our brides. I feature them on the blog that I write for Country Weddings Italy, so that people get a chance to see the kind of people we like to work with.
Can you share with us a sneak-peak exclusive of future plans for your business / goals for this year?
Our goal this year is to get a foot in the wedding market in Italy, and be appreciated for the quality of our work. It’s early days and we know it will take time, but we really want to be known for our commitment and dedicated approach to each and every wedding.
When you are not designing and coordinating weddings what are you doing?
We both share a love of animals and the countryside. Daniela is a great cook and dinner hostess. She is also a very “hands on” mum with her two boys. I love spending my free time with my partner and two sons and crafting at every given opportunity. I’m also a freelance translator, so there really isn’t a lot of time when I’m doing “nothing”.
What is your ultimate dream in life?
On a personal level, we both feel that we are very lucky people for a number of reasons, and that is what really counts. I personally can add that I would like to think that my children will grow up to be as happy and satisfied as I am. It might sound too good to be true, but that really is the way I feel.
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