In the vines and under the stars – A Scottish-Italian wedding in Tuscany

We’re on our travels today, heading to Tuscany, where CJ and Alun’s destination wedding took place “in the vines and under the stars”. After falling in love with the region (and its delicious food and wonderful hospitality) while on holiday, they were married in a local church before celebrating with a five course traditional Italian menu and dancing the night away. And they took two of our favourite photographers with them, Audrey and David of Tandem Photo, to capture all the beautiful moments along the way. So much to love!

How did you two meet?

We met through a mutual friend on a night out and got along famously from the first word. It was about six months until we got together and our first date was February 13th!

A week before my 30th, and a month before we bought our first flat, Alun surprised me with a Eurostar ticket to Paris where I honestly had no idea that he was going to propose. He popped the question at midnight on Pont Des Artes by the Louvre and I cried so hard that he had to actually remind me that I had to answer him. It was beautiful.

What inspired you to get married in Italy?

We chose Tuscany because we wanted delicious food, to be outside and to have a fantastic time with friends. We had our first holiday together in Tuscany on a rainy, May bank holiday weekend. We were blown away by the region; the views, the food, the wine, even in the rain.

I found the venue on Instagram! I had a shortlist of four other venues from lots of online research and found the fifth option on Instagram the week before we travelled out to visit venues. Yes it was last but certainly not least. We were in love with the views the second we drove up the drive: surrounded by the venue’s own vines and the church and accommodation were both on site.

The venue provided a tasting menu which took us two hours to get through so we were in love with our menu before we’d even booked. The food was so important to us as it was half the reason for coming to Tuscany, we are still hearing compliments on the food – a 5 course traditional Italian menu of pesto gnocchi pasta, more pasta: this time Wild Boar and a beef main, and traditional millefeuille wedding cake with seasonal fruit and chocolate chips.

The team at Vicchiomaggio, our venue, absolutely rocked our wedding weekend. We could not have had better support from the venue than we did. Sandra, Federica, Marco and John Matta were exceptional and anticipated our every want. With 34 of our 60 strong party staying onsite, they were unruffled by anything. The food was perfection – as we knew it would be – and they were very generous with unexpected extra touches. We loved every minute.

Massi at Enotecca Di Greve was such a highlight. Giving our guests an opportunity to meet before the wedding was important to us and Massi put on amazing antipasti which never seemed to run out. The Enotecca was a bar and wine shop so there was something for everyone. It was a fun way to kick off our wedding weekend.

And were there any challenges along the way?

It was hard finding suppliers abroad, as we were planning the wedding in the UK, but the venue was fantastic and it’s amazing the tips bloggers have for organising!

Most things were quite straightforward as the day was scheduled in 30 minute slots. That sounds militant but it had to be! Our guests had come from literally around the world and many had used the time with us as their summer holiday; it had to be perfect. However, about five weeks before we were due to drive out for the wedding, the Italian authorities rejected one of our legal documents. We had to resubmit the document and display it for 30 days, and get them notorised and submitted back to be approved. It was very tight but we just made it!

The logistics of getting bulky accessories out to a wedding abroad are difficult so we made the most of the many guests and farmed things out across everyone’s luggage! I handmade 16 mini barrels with burlap and tartan for the centrepieces down the table and we used an Instax for guests to put a picture alongside their note in the guestbook. I also made our seating plan out of corks with tiny luggage tags for each name. That was harder to travel with! Other touches, including mini burlap bags for the confetti of lavender and rose petals, I shipped out to the florist ahead of our arrival.

We had fresh hydrangea, babies breath and white peonies in the church and reused them on the dining table, adding lots of greenery trailing down our U-shaped dining table for 60. The colours in the hydrangea were incredible: deep purples, light blues and pure white. On the wedding morning, I mopped outside and snipped rosemary and lavender from outside my room and made buttonholes for the wedding party, tied in tartan. As I know I get incredible hay fever in June, I decided not to risk fresh flowers in mine and the bridesmaids’ bouquets. I found amazing value silk flowers on Amazon actually!

Your photos are incredible!

We brought our photographers, Audrey and David of Tandem Photo with us from Scotland. I worked with David in restaurants years ago and Audrey photographed a friend’s wedding where I was a bridesmaid. She saved the day by producing a Compeed blister plaster from her camera bag, when I was about to have to hobble down the aisle! I’ve followed Tandem on Facebook ever since.

I love the naturalness which is always present in their photos and I knew she would love our venue. Audrey’s enthusiasm was infectious, she was even able to convince Alun to pose for a few extra shots down in the vines and the additional ones at sunset, which are some of our favourites. After they’d gotten all the shots they wanted, they partied the night away with us!

We love your dress! Tell us more…

I found my dress in a little boutique, which has since closed, outside of Glasgow. It was the second dress I tried on and it was unforgettable. It had eye lace on the shoulder straps and across the bust, with an exposed back and strands of crystals swagged from shoulder to shoulder across the back with a short train.

My two bridesmaids – my sister Christine as my MOH and my other best friend, who flew all the way from Sydney – wore ASOS boat neck and knee length dresses, with a few pops of colour to match the bouquets. Knee lengths dresses seemed fair in exchange for the heat of June in central Tuscany.

The wedding party all wore jigsaw pieces in silver. I’ve had a jigsaw piece necklace since I was small and I wanted to incorporate it as I bought Alun jigsaw piece cufflinks years before. My wedding jewellery otherwise was heirloom jewellery. I wore both of my grandmother’s engagement rings and my mum’s eternity ring on my right hand, and my earings were pearls wrapped in a gold twist from a shop in the Argyle Arcade.

And what about Alun’s outfit (we’re loving the tweed and trews combo!)?

Alun isn’t Scottish but went to Uni in Stirling. He wanted to nod to the traditional kilt but didn’t want to be in a kilt itself. He went for Black Watch tartan trousers and a navy blue tweed blazer and tartan bow tie. He looked so smart and we had great fun announcing the removal of the ties after the ceremony at the cocktail hour when he ripped his off.

What was your first dance song?

Our first dance song was George MacCrae, Rock Your Baby! We both heard it in our favourite local bar and looked at one another. We didn’t have a song but we both agreed that would be very ‘us’ to dance to.

We were lucky enough to be able to have the entire evening outside so we danced on the terrace on a rustic, wooden dance floor and our DJ kept the party going for hours! Paolo at Audiodress, introduced us to Celeste at Musica Evento. The suppliers are very connected in Tuscany!

Did you manage to stick to your budget?

We went a little over budget in the final month as we got carried away and booked the string quartet. They were worth every penny and provided the music for the church and the cocktail hour, so it’s hard to regret it.

Anyone you’d like to give a special shout out to?

Nick, our MC, deserves the biggest shout out for keeping the day running smoothly. Otherwise our families. From my mum, Jeanne, ironing probably every outfit in the wedding party on the wedding morning. My Maid of Honour and sister Christine who did my hair beautifully, made sure I was not a hungry bride and was always on hand. The dads; Danny for an unforgettable father of the bride speech, including impersonations which had us all in knots. The quaich toast was a last minute request we made of Alun’s dad, Dave.

And the overall enthusiasm for our extravagant request to travel all the way to Tuscany, even with 18 months notice. We can’t thank them enough.

Any advice?


CJ: I swear by the wedding spreadsheet! It’s planning, not practice that makes perfect. Our day ran on schedule thanks to our excellent MC, our friend Nick, so also get yourself a friend like that!

Alun: It’s all the little things which add up and make the day complete. Each of our guests told us different things which were special to them, from making the programme fans for the church – it was hot in there! – to having an Instax guestbook. Everyone made their own memories and made friends. Guests were meeting up for the rest of the week after as they toured Tuscany so it became so much more than just a wedding, exactly what we wanted.

Honeymoon or minimoon?

We called ours a weddingmoon really because our wedding was abroad, we drove there and back over three weeks. Friends and family contributed so kindly to our weddingmoon registry – from flying a seaplane on Lake Como, a Champagne tour at Moët, hotel nights & dinners instead of a wedding registry. We took in 7 counties in three weeks so were absolutely spoiled.

What’s the one moment you’ll always remember?

Alun: My memorable moment is seeing CJ walk down the aisle towards me. We’d been together for 7 years and been planning the wedding for two-and-a-half years. It felt like it had all come together for us then.

CJ: I was trying so hard not to cry walking down the aisle to Alun that I could barely see him actually! Walking into our cocktail hour to Mr Brightside on strings with my new husband was so special as we’d gotten past the planning and now we could enjoy the rest of our day! The quartet were amazing; Fleetwood Mac and other pop & rock on strings was a surprise for our guests.

What an incredible setting. Thanks for bringing us some much needed sunshine CJ & Alun, we loved getting to share your story! Anyone else craving a trip to Tuscany now? x