Whimsical Italian Wildflower Wedding at Castello di Paderna

Bohemian Wildflower Wedding in Northern Italy – Margherita Calati – Castello di Paderna 7

Some brides & weddings I just vibe with – no matter how far away & unknowing I am of the couple I can just instantly tell through images we’re cut from the same cloth. I like to think Silvia, Davide & I would hit it off…

It starts with their proposal story. Without ruining the story for you, their engagement gift & story is one after my own heart. With an intense love of animals & wildlife (particularly this one) my jaw was dropped with delight when I read their story below.

Then, there’s their whimsical wedding day style filled with colorful wildflowers at a rustic Tuscan venue (Jack & I’s *almost* wedding destination had we not married in Mexico). Fashion choices included a smashing groom’s suit with cat pattern lining – obsessed – and a vintage-inspired ruffle gown that we are literally dying for here at the Bridal Musings virtual water cooler.

Margherita Calati captured the couple’s festive & cinematic day with such style & authenticity.

Our Love Story

The best part of our proposal is that I didn’t receive a wedding ring, but a wedding horse. This was one of my dreams for years and Davide as a present got in contact with my horseriding teacher and decided to give me my first horse.

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The Dress & Attire

About the dress, I could not find anything that seemed different, comfortable and suitable for me. I entered Poesie Sposa asking for a dress to wear with bare feet, they created the dress for me, redesigning it so that they could add the harness.

Davide’s suit instead was easy to find, the top detail is the pattern on the inside of the jacket, with fat cats (we have two cats, both fat).

The Planning

The real stylist of the event was our dear friend Sofia, from Il profumo dei fiori. We wanted an informal countryside wedding, and she helped us choosing the palette, soft pastel shades, and the style. The happy hour was inspired to an English breakfast, cushions and carpets on the grass, sofas and poufs, while the dinner took place in the old barn.

Bohemian Wildflower Wedding in Northern Italy – Margherita Calati – Castello di Paderna 5

Favorite Moments

Our friends’ speeches, they made us laugh a lot and cry a little bit. And having my brother officiate the wedding, he was super embarrassed, but it was fun for all of us.

The episode with forgotten rings, I think everybody will remember that. I looked at my bridesmaids, my sister and my best friend, silently asking if they had them, then I pictured the box on the table in the room where I changed, then I had to face my friends and family and tell them that we possibly forgot them.

Bohemian Wildflower Wedding in Northern Italy – Margherita Calati – Castello di Paderna 6

The Photography

I wanted Margherita from the moment I saw her Instagram feed for the first time, her pictures were real. We wanted a reportage of the day, no classical posed pictures with family, no photo moments with friends, we just wanted the photographer to catch the emotions of the moment and the details. I think she did a fabulous job with that.

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Bohemian Wildflower Wedding in Northern Italy – Margherita Calati – Castello di Paderna 8

Advice to Other Couples

First, chose a team that makes you comfortable. That day we wanted to enjoy every moment and that was possible because the team was taking care of everything on our behalf, they also reminded us to eat at a certain point. We would suggest all the vendors that worked with us, we cannot pick one! From Sofia, Il profumo dei fiori, to Lucrezia for makeup and the super-efficient Silvia from Scotti.

Second, take your time to plan, we spent more than a year organizing the wedding; this way we had the chance to see the location in the right season, to try different caterings and to choose carefully every detail.

The Honeymoon

We love backpacking so we traveled in Argentina, Patagonia in particular, all the way until Ushuaia, the southern city in the world. We absolutely recommend the trip to people who love nature, trekking, animals. Magellano penguins and sea lions are the best.

The best suggestion we can share is also to sleep in estancias, instead of hotels. They are country ranches, sometimes not far from cities, that allows you to meet many travelers and to live the real Argentinian lifestyle. The food is awesome!

Obviously, our trip included plenty of horses and horseriding, one of the estancias we visited, Peuma Hue in Bariloche area, was a real heaven and there we had the chance to meet Chris, an incredible horse whisperer, we learned a lot from her.