Elegant Destination Wedding in Italy

We’ve shared a number of destination weddings on Once Wed recently, several of them taking place in Italy. There’s many good reasons for this: the breathtaking views, inspiring architecture, the food…and one of the things that we like the best about Italian destination weddings is that a couple can still maintain an elegant, chic style in their event design. Jessica and Josh’s wedding is no exception.

The couple knew they wanted a small, very intimate wedding, allowing them to spend as much time as possible with their loved ones, creating lasting memories. They did just this: with La Bandita, a private country home in Tuscany, as their venue of choice, and with the help of wedding planner Laurel & Rose, they were able to absolutely pamper their guests with special details. From a welcome gift with a bounty of local treats – cheese, wine, biscotti, an Italian phrase book to name a few – packaged in a wine box, to a perfectly packaged box of freshly baked cornetti (Italian croissants) that were hand-delivered to each guest in the morning, and the surprise lavender oils that were left on each pillow at turndown, this couple made sure each guest felt appreciated around the clock.

Read on for more!

More from the Planner, Laurel & Rose:
“In addition to the couple’s thoughtfulness and class, they also cared deeply about creating a wedding landscape that felt organic and timeless. Complimenting Jessica’s exquisite blush Watters gown, we worked closely with the florist to design a look for the wedding ceremony and reception that was sophisticated yet playful. The flowers and décor were meant to compliment the undeniably stunning centuries old country house that is La Bandita – but never stealing the spotlight from the golden Tuscan countryside and the intimate gathering of family and friends celebrating this timeless love. Not even the pouring rain could tarnish this ethereal Italian wedding.”

More from the bride, about her destination wedding planning experience:
“We found exactly what we were looking for at La Bandita, a stunning private country house set up high on a beautiful hilltop in the Val d’Orcia region of Tuscany with 360 degree views of the Tuscan countryside; however it was not just the beauty of La Bandita that sold us. We learned early on that planning a wedding anywhere was challenging, let alone half way across the world. The added challenge of a language barrier, time difference, and different cultural traditions made us concerned that we couldn’t pull off our dream wedding in Italy. These concerns were quickly erased after meeting John Voigtmann, the owner of La Bandita. John Voigtmann moved to Italy with his family to open La Bandita after living in New York working as a Sony music executive. John has impeccable taste, is incredibly personable and organized, and was easily able to understand and execute our vision with ease. John worked in tandem with the insanely talented Jolene Peterson of Laurel and Rose, to create a magical wedding weekend, something straight out of a fairytale. We can honestly say, planning a wedding in a remote area of Tuscany was stress free which allowed us to enjoy the moment and focus on each other.

We used La Bandita as a home base for the long weekend with our guests, touring a nearby winery, exploring the countryside and nearby towns, relaxing, sharing meals, and drinking wine late into the night. We brought in Kate Holstein from the States who perfectly captured every moment of the long weekend. Put simply, La Bandita is a little slice of heaven and was the perfect place for our intimate dream wedding.”