A Quirky, Book-Themed Italian Wedding

Today we've got a really fun wedding to share with you guys… Luca & Rachela's book-inspired bash in Bologna, Italy.

We just love it when a couple puts their own stamp on their day, and this quirky pair had their style all over it, with unique looks, bright hues and DIY touches.

And it was all candidly captured by Serena Cevenini Photography.

While we adore a soft updo or hair down style, we have to give props to gorgeous bride Rachela's bold bun (how fab is her hair colour BTW!), which gave a cool spin to her classic mermaid gown and beautiful blooms.

Luca kept it unique too by ditching the typical tie for something a little more him, with an open neck and brocade-effect suit.

But this Italian wedding was all about the love story, from Rachela & Luca's own tale, to the ones in their favourite books. From the decor to the table names, the sweet favours to the literary confetti, every detail was touched by their thoughtful theme.

Love a happily ever after? This one is extra special…

Wedding Day Snapshot

Our Love Story

We met in 2009 but at that time we were both in other relationships so we kept our distance for four years.

In 2013, Luca decided to contact me again and so we started dating regularly.

In August 2014 Luca proposed – or we better say that Paride, our dachshund puppy, did!

In fact, Luca made a silver tag with the words “MARRY HIM” written on it. He hung the tag to Paride’s collar…and I said yes!

The Attire

Rachela: I’ve always wanted a colorful wedding starting with the wedding dress…but, I unexpectedly fell in love with a mermaid-style white dress with a romantic lace train with Swarovski crystals on it.

I found my shoes on Yoox, I didn’t want the classical bridal shoes but something sparkly and unique, so I opted for a pair of glittered open toe shoes.

For my hair, I wanted a high bun with a fresh Lisianthus flower on it. My mom’s earrings completed the look.

Luca: I wanted a non-conventional look so I opted for a Daniele Alessandrini suit: jacquard gilet and jacket, blue trousers. A white shirt and black varnished shoes completed my look!

I decided not to wear a tie or a bow tie, instead I preferred a simple black gold necklace – I wanted to be elegant but not classic.

The Inspiration

We had a book-themed wedding, we wanted something sparkling, fun and chic.

Our colours were pink and white like cyclamen flowers, with a slight touch of green.

The Venue

We were looking for an intimate and evocative location, with a lot of green areas. The ivy-covered walls, the beautiful fountain and the vegetation made us fall in love with the little borgo.

The Flowers

Francesca from Fiori di Francesca created a white lisianthus bouquet with pink roses, pink and cyclamen peonies and purple calla lilies, all the season’s flowers that could match our palette.

The boutonnieres were made with a pink rose, while the maid of honour’s corsage was completed with white lisianthus

The ceremony area was bounded by columns of grass and amber jars containing hydrangeas.

English roses, peonies, hydrangeas and white lisianthus completed the centrepieces.

The Ceremony

We decided to incorporate some readings and some of our favorite songs in the civil ceremony, something meaningful and touching.

The walk down the aisle song was Jeff Buckley’s ‘Hallelujah', Bjork’s ‘All is Full of Love' and Lana Del Rey’s ‘Young and Beautiful' were perfect for the ring exchange and the end of the ceremony.

Jade of Good Vibes Live Music gave us a majestic interpretation of those songs and our family and friends were all happy and teary-eyed – this was certainly the best gift.

The Photography

We choose Serena Cevenini after a long search – we wanted an unconventional photographer to capture our day in a spontaneous and natural way.

We immediately fell in love with her work: the colors, the natural style and her ability to capture real moments.

Her pictures are intimate, honest and spontaneous. This is what we wanted for the day and we are so happy with our choice!

The Refreshments

We wanted a fun party from the beginning to the end of the day. So we created a relaxed atmosphere with a long buffet before the short dinner followed by the cake and….a dance party at night with an open bar.

For us, it was important to have excellent food and wine, while respecting the dietary needs of our guests. This is why we gave our guests the choice between a traditional menu and vegetarian menu (the bride herself is vegetarian).

Our guests could also drink smoothies, cocktails and Spritz popsicles.

The Decor & Details

We opted for a book-themed wedding because we share a passion for reading and because a book is an invitation to a new journey, the same journey that we decided to start together.

We wanted something colorful and fun and everything reflected it. SposiAmo created elegant floral centrepieces for us, the flowers were put into vintage small cups and silver pitchers. We used white candles, vintage books and some letters from Scrabble game to name the tables – every table was named after our favourite books.

The bride did the little rice bags herself using confetti made from the pages of books and mixed them with rice.

And obviously, the gifts for our guests were… books.

Not simple books, though. For four months we visited old markets trying to find the perfect books for our guests.

We had so much fun organizing this surprise, and people loved it because they could choose their favorite between the 200 books collected in the bookcase that we also used as table plan.

Favourite Moments

Our favourite moment was the cake cutting while Cesare Cremonini’s song ‘La Stella di Broadway' was playing.

Our guests started singing this song with us and it was a powerful and touching moment.

Advice for Other Couples

Timing is the key to having a relaxed wedding. If you start planning enough time in advance, you can choose everything you want and decide what aspects of the day you want to invest more in.

Do whatever makes you happy and feel at ease – not what others think you should do for your wedding.

Choose the right photographer, this is really one of the best days in your life and all you have left to re-experience it are the photographs.

Pinterest was a great source of inspiration, as were blogs and websites.