Tell us a little about yourselves!
April, an avid traveller and had spent most of her life abroad - having brief stints living in the UK, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Her return to Toronto was only because of the re-discovery of her love of the ocean, more specifically, Marine Biology. It was a pit stop before she jetted off to the East Coast of Canada to pursue her education in the field.
I was lucky enough to stumble (or rather Bumble) across her during this short window and managed to talk her into meeting. Perhaps it was fate that brought us together, as we were both on the same bus en-route to the bar on our first date. As it turns out, we had been crossing paths for years prior without knowing, having a few intertwined friends, while even attending the same college. A few dates later I was ready to pack my bags and asked April if I could join her. Well, she said yes, and our beautiful six-year love affair began in Nova Scotia.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
When we first got engaged, we knew our wedding was not going to be in Toronto. Getting married was the perfect excuse to get our closest friends to travel and vacation together so we explored options in Mexico, Portugal, Spain, and Italy. We received the fastest responses from Italian vendors, and since almost half of our guest list resided in Europe, we thought Italy would be a great destination - the food couldn’t hurt either. We jumped at Villa Catureglio’s response and booked it sight unseen! It was one of the best semi-impulsive decisions we’ve ever made.
How many guests did you have?
50 of our closest friends and family. We kept the guest list quite small, as we wanted everyone to stay onsite or close by.
What was your budget?
We wanted to come within the average price point for a single evening event in Toronto (minus the travel costs). We succeeded in making that budget stretch for a three-day event in Italy. We did this by sourcing our own food and drink (excluding the welcome dinner and wedding meal) while prioritizing our most important elements (florals and photography). Saving on stationery and decorations, we found helped us stay within our budget.
Tell us about your outfits.
April: After looking through endless vintage dresses with no luck, I decided that having a custom dress fit to my measurements was the way to go. I found the talented designer Paula Nadal on Instagram and visited her studio in London where I found my dream dress. The veil was not as easy to find, though I landed on an Etsy designer ZoeymadeCN, and with the help of my talented seamstress friends I altered and dyed the veil to match the colour of my dress. I paired these with Maison Margiela Tabi’s and my late mother’s jewellery. She was always fashionable, radiant and the best dressed, so having pieces from her collection was the perfect touch to complete my look.
Andrew: Originally, I was looking at having a custom bespoke suit made, however finding the right tailor in Toronto to produce what I was looking for proved to be difficult. Most of what is made is modern, where I wanted to pay homage to classic Italian tailoring. After realizing what I wanted was not plausible, I went the vintage route and scoured the city and online vendors for the perfect look. Given that April and I made the decision to keep our outfits secret, it was a bit of a gamble, but I eventually scored a Vintage off white Gucci dinner/tux jacket and pair of well-tailored Alexander McQueen trousers. I built the rest of the outfit around that, incorporating the LU’U DAN silk top with an oversized collar, a silk Etro neck scarf, and the Toga Virilis black loafers sporting the silver details in the heel and buckle. The goal was to look sharp, while not following “traditional” wedding attire rules.
For the reception we both changed into less formal looks, while keeping the “non” traditional feel. April chose an Acne Studios mini dress and paired it with a ballerina heel made by Madomorpho. I found a vintage tasselled jacket by Claude Montana, cowboy trousers by Needles and swapped into another pair of Toga Virilis loafers.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
The most important aspect for us when it came to planning the wedding was ensuring the entire event felt as if it was as much for our guests, as it was for us.
It was important that the Villa Catureglio felt like our home, so we did a lot of the work ourselves, along with the support of our guests to bring to life the communal feeling of being surrounded by family. We elected not to have the venue provide breakfast or lunch during our stay and had an open-door policy in the main kitchen, with enough food and drink for everyone. Our final dinner was prepared by a collective of our most talented cooks, with everyone pitching in to put on a feast shared in the back garden. This provided the feeling that it was a vacation and celebration shared between us all.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
Beauty and Simplicity. We wanted nothing to be “overdone” while still paying closing attention to the little details. Everything needed to be on the same playing field, with no event standing out or shadowing another. The welcome dinner, ceremony, reception and day after all had to match not only in energy, but also aesthetics.
Any tips for couples getting married?
Everything happens as it should, when it should, so don’t overthink or stress about what has yet to happen. It will only drain you of the energy you will most certainly need on your wedding day!
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
We received many compliments from our guests about the service from the venue staff, as well as the catering company (Olivia Catering). They were so involved in making sure everything was as flawless as possible, while still managing to not intrude on the experience. They made it feel as if they were not even there, yet always around when needed.
Our wedding planners, Laura and Marilù from Laura Ferrari Weddings, made our dreams come true having supported us throughout the whole planning process. They were amazing at providing suggestions for local vendors and their knowledge from years of experience made a lasting impression.
Our florist Maria from Mary Poppies made our vision come to life. She was able to capture our vision while staying true to her own style. We would like to mention her devotion to April’s mom memorial bouquet (chair) which we believe was the highlight of our floral designs.
Gemma Wedding Ceremonies our celebrant, brought everyone to tears. Her attention to our story painted the most beautiful picture of our life together. We would recommend her to anyone looking at having a non-traditional ceremony in Italy.
Lastly a mention to our photographer Nicole Plett, she went above and beyond to capture us in a way that was true to ourselves. She was able to capture not only emotional moments between us, but fabulous shots of our guests dressed to the nines. We couldn’t be happier with how she photographed our wedding.
Photographer: Nicole Plett @nicole__plett | Planning: Laura Ferrari Weddings @lauraferrariweddings | Flora: Mary Poppies @marypoppies | Videographer: David Novakovic (close friend) @dvdnvk | Ceremony & Reception Location: Villa Catureglio @villacatureglio | Celebrant: Gemma Wedding Ceremonies @gemma_blessings | Hair & Makeup: by April | Catering, Beverages & Cake: Olivia Catering @olivia_catering_events | Stationery: by the couple | Entertainment: SOJI @sojisoj | Dress:
Paula Nadal, Acne Studios @paulanadal_official @acnestudios | Suit: Vintage Gucci @gucci Jacket & Vintage Alexander McQueen @alexandermcqueen Trousers & LU’U DAN @luudan_official Silk Shirt | Post Ceremony: Vintage Claude Montana Jacket, Needles @needles_tokyo_official Cowboy Trousers & Zegna @zegnaofficial Shirt | Veil: Etsy - ZoeymadeCN, altered & dyed by April | Scarf: Vintage Etro | Engagement Ring: Lang Antiques & Estate Jewellery @langantiques | Shoes: Maison Margiela @maisonmargiela & Madomorpho @madomorpho (April_ & Toga Virilis (Andrew) @togaarchives | Andrew's Brooch: Vintage
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