With the sun shining outside we thought you’d appreciate a real wedding just as glorious! Joanne and Paul took to Italy to say ‘I do’ in an intimate ceremony. With the help from our friends at Infinity Weddings and Events, their big day looks just as beautiful as the surroundings. Congratulations to the lovely couple, hope you enjoy this week’s wedding as much as we did.
Bride and Groom… Joanne and Paul
Wedding date… Saturday 6th July 2013
We met… At a party. I was instantly attracted to Jo, and asked for her telephone number. A few days later I called and arranged our first date.
The proposal… Paul- We regularly visit Italy and on one of our trips to Umbria we visited a small town in the hills called Todi. At the right time, whilst taking in the views from the top of the town, I asked Jo to take a picture of me and as she focused the camera on me I went down on one knee and popped the question. It was a total surprise to Jo and she said yes! Jo- I cried with happiness and relief as I had been waiting 14 years! But it was worth the wait, I instantly called my family to tell them of our happy news, although I was surprised to find out they already knew as Paul had asked their permission to marry me.
We knew it was ‘the one’… Paul- I know it’s a cliché but instantly, the night we first met I had fallen for Jo and then each date we went on our feelings got stronger for each other, that was 14 years ago!
Jo- We have the same interests and make each other laugh, that’s a great recipe for a long and happy future.
Length of engagement… 18 months
Our bridesmaids were… – My sister Kelly, my nieces Jessica, Charlotte and Tai as our flower girls
Our groomsmen were… Daniel our Best man, Mark and Matt as our Ushers and Luke as our Pageboy.
My dress was… by Claire Pettibone. I tried a number of dresses on before but nothing was right until I came across this designer and after trying the dress on, fell in love with it. A tearful mother only confirmed it was the perfect dress.
Suppliers
Wedding Dress: Sky Between the Branches by Claire Pettibone | Wedding Suits: Savile Row tailor | Bridesmaid Dresses: Monsoon and Dessy | Wedding Entertainment: Bill Downs | Wedding Photographer: Joanne Killingworth, Affinity Images | Wedding Hair & Make-up: Vanni Coiffeur | Wedding Planner: Infinity Weddings and Events
Our wedding ceremony and reception was held... At the Castello Brown in Portofino, Italy. 50 of our family members and our closest friends travelled out to Italy to attend our wedding. We encouraged our guests to arrive a day or two earlier to enjoy the local area and meet with us for dinner in Santa Margherita. Spending time with our family and friends before the wedding day itself created a closer bond between the group so by the time the wedding day arrived, everyone was relaxed, knew each other and in good spirit. This helped to create a relaxed and enjoyable day for everyone. On the wedding day itself we arranged for a private ferry to pick our guests from Portofino’s neighbouring towns, Santa Margherita and Rapallo and have them dropped off by ferry in the port of Portofino. Jo and guests made their way to the Castle by private car in the morning and I joined our guests on the ferry. This was an amazing experience, travelling into Portofino by boat, with my family and friends on my wedding day. As the ferry moored up I looked up and could see the castle and started to feel excited about the day. The walk up to the castle was hot but we decided to dress at the castle so on arrival myself and my best man sat down with a cold beer while Jo and her bridesmaids, flower girls, matron of honour and mother were across the hall way all making themselves look beautiful.
After getting ready I greeted all our guests and made my way to the front. We opted for an outside ceremony as us ‘brits’ don’t get to spend much time outside so it was a pleasure to spend the day in the sun. Everyone seated and our singer, who we flew over from the UK, Bill Downs, a singer songwriter, started singing a special song for Jo to walk down the aisle to. The song was Higher Love by James Vincent McMorrow. Listening to the lyrics of the song I turned and our eyes met for the first time that day, my heart skipped a beat as Jo looked stunning, a beautiful dress superseded by Jo’s beautiful face.
We were fortunate enough to have the mayor of Portofino marry us that day and after we wed he presented to us a gift from Portofino which was a plaque with the crest of Portofino engraved on it. After the ceremony we had some amazing pictures taken by our photographer, who also flew out to Italy. We then seated for a three course meal prepared by the castle and then enjoyed music from Bill Downs as we celebrated our wedding with our family and friends. It was without doubt the most amazing day of our lives so far.
Our favourite part of the wedding was… Jo- arriving at the venue with my wedding party and the excitement of preparing for the day and then walking out to meet Paul.
Paul-For me it was the special moment when Jo walked down the aisle with a song I had chosen sung live.
Suppliers
Wedding Dress: Sky Between the Branches by Claire Pettibone | Wedding Suits: Savile Row tailor | Bridesmaid Dresses: Monsoon and Dessy | Wedding Entertainment: Bill Downs | Wedding Photographer: Joanne Killingworth, Affinity Images | Wedding Hair & Make-up: Vanni Coiffeur | Wedding Planner: Infinity Weddings and Events
Our wedding photographer was… Joanne Killingworth, Affinity Images, Norwich, UK
Why did you choose the location? We decided to get married in Italy and knew it would be wise to have a wedding planner to help. Especially with local knowledge and speaking the language. We contacted quite a few online, spoke to several on the telephone and eventually found Barbara from Infinity Weddings and Events and I instantly took a liking to her. Immediately Barbara was offering advice, answering questions and make early suggestions on locations. A few telephone calls and emails later we had arranged our first wedding planning trip to Italy where we would meet Barbara. The service, knowledge, professionalism and friendly attitude Barbara offers not only for us but all of her clients made what would normally be a stressful time actually pleasant and enjoyable. We flew out to meet Barbara a few times and brought our respective mothers on different visits. Instantly our mothers took a liking to Barbara which reassured us that we had found someone very special. Eventually she showed us Portofino, we fell in love with it and thought it can only get better, and it did!
Our wedding theme was… Ivory and soft pinks
Our first dance was… Let’s Stay Together by Al Green.
Our wedding was unique and special because… Of the venue and Portofino. It’s a place we hold dear to our hearts and plan to visit Castello Brown on July 6th every year
Did anything funny or unusual happen at your wedding? The speeches were very funny, the best man had picture evidence of Paul’s stag do and to my surprise my sister did a lovely speech and a good friend sang to us, it made the day even more special.
What is your advice for other brides? If you’re getting married abroad, choose a good wedding planner, someone like Barbara. She made the whole planning process easy and enjoyable; she kept us updated at every part of the wedding so we felt involved, even though we were planning our wedding from the UK. Meeting her in Italy was great fun and put our stressed heads at ease.
Our honeymoon was to… Mauritius for a 2 week all inclusive stay at the LUX Belle Mere. We highly recommend staying at this resort for its 5 star service.
Suppliers
Wedding Dress: Sky Between the Branches by Claire Pettibone | Wedding Suits: Savile Row tailor | Bridesmaid Dresses: Monsoon and Dessy | Wedding Entertainment: Bill Downs | Wedding Photographer: Joanne Killingworth, Affinity Images | Wedding Hair & Make-up: Vanni Coiffeur | Wedding Planner: Infinity Weddings and Events
Create the Look
If you love Joanne and Paul’s wedding as much as we did then you’ll love our mini mood board below!
Above, clockwise from top left: Vintage Romance Laser Cut Placecard | Antiqued Lace Hand Fan | Sweet Art Flower Girl Basket | Rectangular Organza Bags
