We're very, very (very!) excited to share this wedding with you.

As wedding bloggers we see a lot of white dresses, whimsical invitations, innovative florals and in-love couples. But Anna and Andrea's Assisi, Italy wedding is a real stunner.

It all started with a story book, about birds, and love, and distance. And it developed into a full blown wedding concept with hummingbird-themed decor, bird's nest floral arrangements and even a spot of bird watching the morning after the night before.

Add in a little taste of la dolce vita, (cigars, whisky, pizza and desserts) some impeccable style (a Chanel dress and a Panama hat) and a hefty does of fun (silly hats and games for the kids), and you have yourself one incredible bash in Central Italy.

With stunning photography by Rutko Photographers, and flawless planning by Monica Ferraris of That Day, forget that it's Monday, grab yourself a cuppa, and feast your eyes on this spectacular soiree.

In Three Words

Spontaneous, nature loving and enjoyable.

The Ceremony

The wedding was celebrated by the mayor on Saturday morning in the beautiful Palazzo dei Priori in Assisi. 

Our ring pillow was in fact, not a pillow, but a cute nest and the reading we chose was “The Art Of Marriage” by Wilferd A. Peterson.

We love the wording and we strongly believe that a happy marriage doesn’t just happen, it has to be created. 

Our Inspiration

The location we chose was inside the wonderful Natural Reserve of Mount Subasio, in Umbria. We fell in love at first sight. We both love nature in all its manifestations.

My family’s origins are from this area, but now we both live in US and this venue was large enough to host all our family and friends from all over the world.

We also fell in love at first sight when we met Monica, our wedding planner. According to the location and our tastes, she suggested we develop a botanical theme and atmosphere.

We love a book which is a perfect metaphor for our life and our respective relationships, “There’s No Such Place as Far Away”, by Richard Bach. 

It is a short story with five birds as main characters, and a profound reminder that miles cannot truly separate us from friends… that those whom we love are always with us, every moment of the infinite celebration we call life.

The Details

Monica managed to incorporate the book in our vision of the day. The logo for our stationary was a hummingbird, which is also the main character of the story,

The story of Bach was rewritten and illustrated with our interpretation and became a nice little booklet with a fabric cover – used as an escort card for all the guests

The story also inspired a video production, which was a surprise for the groom, and was projected during the evening party.

We also organized a bird watching trip the morning after.

The Decor

The floral arrangements matched the botanical scheme: the terrariums in bowls and glass of various shapes and sizes (we even got a few glass containers with our hummingbird engraved), little wood logs, nests, ferns, mosses and flowers celebrated in their individuality, as the botanical approach requires.

We also had some bunting, lightbulb strings in the evening; and paper umbrellas for the guests.

The Favours

Our favours were forget-me-not seeds attached to a little personalized bag containing sugared almonds. 

We also let our guests find a welcome bag in their room upon arrival.

Made in natural cotton, the bags had customized print and the contents was: a welcome letter with the programme and useful information, plus an extra virgin olive oil tin (for which the area is famous), some candy and a map of the territory.

And our favourite favour: a steel water bottle with our laser engraved logo.

The children received lovely lunch boxes with lots of toys combined for each of them according to gender and age.

The Photography & Videography

They were both proposed by Monica. We saw their portfolios and we loved them.

They are incredibly talented and among the sweetest people I have ever met.

The Refreshments

We had a more formal reception at lunch, with a welcome buffet followed by a sit down four course meal.

Then we had an informal pizza party plus an open bar in the night and a picnic the day after.

Our Favourite Moment

The invitation was the first thing we loved: listed on the back was the flora and fauna of the natural reserve we were staying in.

During the first site inspection I made with Monica, one of those quite rare birds, the upupa, flew just our heads.

And my parents saw (and photographed) a hummingbird flying around the house as soon as they were back in the US.

Those are signs meaning you are doing/did things right.

We started our collection of hummingbird-items as soon as we got back home!

We're in love. With every little detail.

How incredible are all the florals? Wire nests, and jars and bottles and wood cuttings, I love how each vessel is as unique as the blooms inside. And I adore how the entire floral and fauna theme evolved from such a sweet storybook.

From the town hall ceremony to the pizza party in the hills, I just can't get enough of this fabulous wedding day. And for even more gorgeousness, watch Anna and Andrea's epic wedding video.

Thanks so much to Anna and Andrea for sharing their gorgeous wedding with us, we're sure they've lots of bird-watching escapades to come.

For more utterly unique weddings, see our Real Weddings + our Wedding Inspiration boards on Pinterest.