Marry in Florence's scenic hills at this stunning villa wedding venue

Classic Florence Italy Destination Wedding – Villa La Vedetta – Photo Santucci 3

When you have scenic views of Florence, expansive villa grounds with cypress trees & Italian food – do you really need to embellish much more? Today we share how picking the right venue (& planner) can make destination wedding planning oh-so-simple.

Sapna & Taj chose Villa La Vedetta due to its stunning Florentine views. High above the art-filled city yet still a quick Vespa ride down to town, the hotel and venue offered a backdrop for their wedding that needed not much extra decor. Adding classic white roses, little bits of blush and plenty of greenery the wedding-day scene was timeless Tuscan opulence.

It’s thanks to The Tuscan Wedding planning team that the decor & day seem so effortless in Photo Santucci‘s natural photos.

And if Sapna & Taj’s elegant day has inspired you to jet set to romantic Tuscany, you’ll want to bookmark my own travel tips from our monthlong honeymoon in Florence.

Our Love Story

We met on a dating website – they do sometimes work.

We went to Bali for Taj’s best man’s wedding. After the wedding, we spent some time in Nusa Dua with Taj’s friends. It was out last night in Bali and so Taj told me he had organised a dinner just for the two of us.

Off we went for dinner, we arrived at this beautiful boutique resort nestled by the beach, we were greeted by the staff and then taken to the beach where Taj had organised a private dinner by the beach caves. It was an absolutely beautiful setting, with candles and rose petals scattered around the private cave, with the sound of the sea in front of us.

I remember thinking wow this is a lot of effort for just a dinner, I didn’t want my mind to start thinking a proposal was about to happen in case I was wrong. As I started taking pictures of the setting, I remember Taj standing behind me, I turned around to speak to him and there he was on one knee.

The Dress & Attire

My wedding day outfit was designed by Sophia Tolli and I spent a few enjoyable evenings at Caprice Bridal Store in Hammersmith trying various dresses on, the staff were great here, reliable and professional and they had a brilliant selection of outfits.

Taj’s suit was from Suit Supply in Mayfair and he had an absolute gem of a personal designer in John Natoli who has an amazing eye for putting together outfits, we highly recommend him.

The Venue

We chose our Villa La Vedetta because of the breathtaking views. The venue showcased the beauty of Tuscany effortlessly which we wanted our guests to enjoy. The venue also offered enough rooms for our close family and friends to stay at which appealed to us.

From meeting the hotel staff, tasting the food and wine we felt this venue could offer everything we were looking for, the whole venue echoed “class” and was a great home for a three-day wedding celebration. We loved how the venue had different areas that we could use for different events that would showcase the beauty of not only the villa’s grounds but Tuscany. We wanted to keep the decor and colour palette soft and neutral, having the amazing Tuscan view that we did allowed us to simplify the decor but in an elegant way with a more “less is more” feel.

Also, the villa’s location was great for guests as it was a short distance from the town centre which allowed everyone to do a bit of sightseeing before the events, this was great for guests to make it into a holiday.

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Favorite Moments

My favourite moment was when I was about to walk down the aisle. I remember standing at the top of the aisle with my father about to make my walk down the aisle (which was quite long) and I looked up and quite see Taj in the distance and everything just stood still for me.

The weather was a bit dull on the day of the wedding and apparently a thunderstorm had started in the Tuscan distance, but as I made my descent down the steps to Taj the sun came gushing out amongst the clouds and I remember noticing how exact the timing was. Seeing Taj’s beaming smile as I approached him brought such solace to me, I wish I could have that moment again.

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The Photography

We decided to choose Stefano Santucci as we loved his photography style, with the naturally taken photos, we don’t particularly like cheesy photos. After seeing the photos taken we were so so happy with our choice, we loved how Stefano told a story of the day from getting ready through to the ceremony and reception. The sign of a good photographer is when you don’t notice they are there and still are able to capture the moments of the day in a beautiful way which they did.

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The Planning

We had spoken to a few wedding planners in Tuscany, but The Tuscan Wedding by far was the most insightful, helpful and responsive and we immediately built a bond with Daniela and the team. They made everything so easy for us that I actually enjoyed the wedding planning, Daniela thought of absolutely everything and we really did trust the team to execute our vision, which they did with such class. The best decision we made was hiring them.

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Advice to Other Couples

Get an amazing wedding planner you can trust! Honestly, The Tuscan Wedding ensured we could actually enjoy the day. Daniela and the team were our best decision, and all the guests noticed how organised and in control the team were.

Enjoy the day because it does fly by.

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The Food

The food on the day was out of this world, we enjoyed every course. The presentation of each course was beautifully done with such precision.

The Honeymoon

We got married in May but we decided to go n honeymoon in October, which I think was a better idea as we had still had something to look forward to after the wedding.

We went to Sri Lanka and the Maldives and can not fault either destination. With Sri Lanka we got the adventure side of a honeymoon, we packed our immersing ourselves in the culture days hiking, seeing temples, eating some amazing Sri Lankan food, elephant safari and took a train from Kandy to Ella where we saw the beauty of Sri Lanka. We decided to go with Sri Lanka Wide Tours, who arranged a private driver for us, our itinerary and tour guides for our seven-day visit and they were fantastic and we highly recommend them. They took away the thinking for us so that we could enjoy all of what Sri Lanka has to offer.

Maldives was picturesque, tranquil and a great way to relax after Sr Lanka. We stayed at the Anantara Khiveh for seven nights in the water villa. Maldives is a great place to relax and unwind. We enjoyed the great food that the islands have to offer, couples massages and in an evening with a star guru. We recommend both destinations as places to go for your honeymoon and both destinations offer something different.