PHOTOGRAPHY: SANDY AND ODYSSEAS | WEDDING PLANNER: The Tuscan Wedding | Venue: Villa Valentini Bonaparte | VideograpHy: Vertigo Wedding Films | Florist: Il Giardino delle Fate | MUA: Cherie Spisso | Stationery: The Wedding Letters | Band: Musica Evento | DJ: Matthew Dj | Lights: Wedding Music and Lights | Catering and cake: Preludio | Fireworks: Pirotecnica Soldi | Dance Studio: Fred Astaire Dance Studio | Wedding Dress: The Dress Theory San Diego | Bridal Shoes: Mime et Moi | Jewelry: Melanie Casey + Kendra Scott | Veil + Alterations: Veiled Beauty | Groom suit: MuddHouse by Saima Rana | Groom shoes: Magnanni | Wedding rings: Melanie Casey (hers) + Ring Concierge (his)
Fusing three cultures into your vows can only come as beautiful as this super-romantic, interfaith Luxury Wedding At Villa Valentini Bonaparte in one of Perugia’s most opulent villas!
When Ayesha and Asad asked us to be their destination wedding photographers we did the happy dance, considering ourselves so lucky to have such a sweet and kind couple! When we realized they were planning to meld their multiple traditions, cultural elements, and their hearts’ content in the wedding weekend we got ecstatic! There’s nothing to beat the beauty of multifold interfaith I do’s which bring together the most beautiful parts and customs from all worlds. The beautiful couple jetted off to Italy, for their Umbria Luxury Wedding and specifically the region of Castiglione del Lago. They flew their beloved family and friends to Villa Valentini Bonaparte, and asked Pepper – the cutest pupper ever- to be their ring bearer. See it all below and while at it read all the good stuff right from our bride’s pen (well, keyboard).
LOVE SCIENCE
Asad and I met during our first year at UCSD. In the first couple weeks of the quarter, he sat behind me and noticed me because of my curly hair. A few days later, he came up with an excuse to talk to me in the computer science labs by asking me about the details of our programming assignment. And then the rest is history! We became study buddies and lab partners and eventually started dating a few months later. We then spent the rest of college together and moved up to San Francisco after graduation, where we adopted Pepper. The dates of our wedding actually worked out quite poetically, as it marked ten years from the day he first saw me in that fateful computer science class.
AN ITALOPHILE COUPLE
Sometime during our 2nd or 3rd year of dating, Asad and I talked about having a Tuscan countryside wedding one day. We’ve always loved traveling, and knew, even early on, that we’d love to bring our international family together for a multi-cultural, destination wedding. When it came time to actually start planning our wedding, Italy still felt like the natural choice. We loved the food, the culture, the atmosphere, the scenery, and the idea of giving our friends and family a beautiful adventure abroad in our Umbria Luxury Wedding.
THE WEDDING AT VILLA VALENTINI BONAPARTE
Our final day was a more traditional Umbria Luxury Wedding ceremony and reception. Villa Valentini Bonaparte had a gorgeous “enchanted forest” that we fell in love with through pictures, so when we saw our ceremony set up among the trees in such an intimate setting, we knew we made the right choice. Everything about that day turned out even better than expected, from the incredible aperitif hour with such a talented band creating the perfect atmosphere to the picture-perfect reception setup in the orangerie where we partied and danced all night long.
A SUPRRISE SHOW
What really took the cake though was the surprise firework show that my husband had coordinated (behind my back) with our amazing wedding planner, Daniela. They kicked off just as we had finished cutting the cake, and I still can’t get over how stunned everyone was, including myself. It was all truly magical, and a moment we’ll always look back on with huge smiles.
STYLING THE WEDDING
For our Umbria Luxury Wedding day, we went more subdued and elegant, allowing the incredible venue to shine. Our enchanted forest ceremony was framed by a gorgeous asymmetric, broken arch, and the reception incorporated lots of greenery, candles, and chandeliers. One of our favorite little extra touches was a custom logo with our initials that was projected onto the dance floor all night.
VILLA VALENTINI BONAPARTE WEDDING FLOWERS
For our ceremony, I knew I wanted a less traditional backdrop that didn’t compete with the forest setting, so I chose an asymmetric, broken arch, which the florists at Il Giardino delle Fate created beautifully. We also had the arch moved to our reception space, where it created a beautiful framing at the entrance to the space. For the reception centerpieces, we did a mixture of greenery, light pink, white, and burgundy flowers, and candles, which perfectly complemented the table setting and menus. I was initially on the fence about whether or not to have a bridal bouquet, but in the end I’m so glad I did. It was a gorgeous arrangement that complemented both my dress and the surrounding scenery beautifully. I even packed it up in the car the day after and set it up in a vase in our Positano honeymoon suite so I could continue to enjoy it for a little bit longer.
OUR BRIDE’S FAVES
One of my absolute favorite parts of our Umbria Luxury Wedding was our first dance. I had successfully convinced Asad to do an upbeat, choreographed first dance, so we started working with an amazing ballroom choreographer, Valeria, to create an elegant yet energetic dance to Frankie Valli’s Can’t Take My Eyes off You. The dance involved lifts, spins, and lots of energy, so Asad and I practiced for months ahead of the big day. On the day of, despite our best intentions, we never got a chance to practice one last time, so we were relieved when we got through it all in one piece without falling on the incredibly slippery dance floor. In the end, we pulled it off beautifully, and it was definitely a highlight of the evening.