Jennifer and Nicholas, castle wedding in Florence

June 9th, 2012 Florence.

Hi Martina,

We have just returned to London after what has easily been the best weekend of our lives! We got married in Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, followed by an evening reception at Castello il Palagio (located in the stunning Tuscan countryside), with 40 of our closest family and friends. We had been imagining how our Wedding would be ever since we first contacted Exclusive Italy 12 months ago, but the reality of the day surpassed every expectation we had. It was just the most amazing day, and we (and all of our guests) were absolutely blown away by the whole experience. Thank you so, so much for everything. You ensured that our day was unforgettable,and I cannot thank you enough! The word that our guests keep using to describe the Wedding was 'magical'. And it really was!!

We first got in email contact with the team at Exclusive Italy a year ago and, since then, must have exchanged about 80 emails (possibly more!) arranging details for June 9th! Our Wedding planner, Martina, has been incredibly helpful and enthusiastic throughout the whole planning process. No detail was overlooked, and she did everything she could to meet our (sometimes unusual!) requests. She replied to all of our emails really quickly, and was just incredibly supportive and reassuring throughout. I can't believe we have never met! It is thanks to her that our Wedding was such a success and we are very grateful to her for everything she did for us!

We flew out to Florence for a few days in October to visit the venue, but then did not return until a few days before our Wedding. Planning a Wedding in Italy from London should have been very stressful, but everything was taken care of and, whilst we were understandably nervous about the day, we trusted Martina completely and knew it would go well. All of the providers organised by Martina were fantastic and the quality of the services they provided was excellent. Below are listed just a few of them:

The Florist

The flowers were stunning. My 2 bridesmaids were wearing royal blue, so they had plain white bouquets, and then my bouquet was a mixture of white and royal blue roses! The flowers on the tables were similarly beautiful - with lots of added touches we hadn't even thought of (like royal blue rose petals scattered all over the tables). They were beautiful.

The transport

We had 2 luxury cars picking up the bridal party and taking us to the Palazzo Vecchio, and then a coach taking our guests out to the Castle reception and back again at 1am. All of the drivers were very friendly, and very efficient.

The Palazzo Vecchio

The location of our civil ceremony was just incredible. I kept passing by the Palazzo Vecchio in the days leading up to our Wedding and staring at it in amazement thinking that we would be getting married in that iconic building. The Sala Rossa was beautiful, and the ceremony itself was great. We were lucky enough to have the Mayor of Florence officiating proceedings, and he added a very comical element to the service - making lots of jokes, and making us feel very welcome in Italy. Our guests loved it too!

The guide around Florence

We had requested for our guests to have a guided tour around key areas in Florence between the ceremony and the reception, and Martina organised it all for us. The guide was very knowledgeable and gave our guests a great tour whilst Nick and I had photos taken.

The photographer

Francesco was fantastic. He made us feel very relaxed as we wondered around Florence, and we can't wait to see his photos! It was quite entertaining to be walking around Florence in our Wedding clothes, and a surreal experience to have lots of locals and tourists alike shouting out "Auguri" and "Congratulations" in many different languages! We felt like minor celebrities!

The Castle

Our guests couldn't believe how beautiful the venue for our reception was. It is a stunning castle set in the middle of the Tuscan countryside - with beautiful views all around, a lovely fountain area, Italian gardens, and a beautiful courtyard where dinner was served. Lapo Lapi (the castle owner) was incredibly friendly and we were in regular email contact with him in the lead up to the Wedding too.

The caterers

The food was by far the highlight of the whole Wedding. It was incredible - with 28 canapes, a delicious 3 course dinner followed by beautiful Italian Wedding cake! The wine was fantastic too, and all of the serving staff were so friendly and cheerful.

The music

The music throughout the day was perfect. From the violinist during the civil ceremony to Fulvio and his band in the evening, finished off by the DJ in the late evening! They were all great, and kept our guests entertained throughout.

I cannot put into words how fantastic our Wedding day was and how happy we both are. We flew home yesterday buzzing with excitement after the best day of our lives. Thank you so so much for making it happen. I wish we could do it all over again!

Jenny and Nick Wood x