How we met

We met back in December 2015. Our first date was at a local restaurant – we went for dinner and drinks after work and ended up getting on so well. We went for several dates throughout December and did lots of festive things. From that point we never looked back!

We moved in together in January 2018 and build a lovely life together from there 🙂

Proposal Story

We got engaged in Mykonos, Greece on the 5th of September 2022. Secretly James had organised a photographer and a sunset dinner overlooking the beautiful sunset of Mykonos Town.

How could she say no? We spent the entire evening sitting on some bean bag chairs watching the world go by and didn’t tell our friends for another week to prolong & enjoy the moment!

We have hundreds of photos of the proposal, see below 🙂

Why Italy?

We both love to travel and therefore always knew we wanted to get married abroad. We were considering France, Greece and Italy when we started our search. We always thought it might end up being France because we both used to go on holiday there a lot throughout our childhood. However, when we started our search we just fell in love with the idea of getting married in Italy. The people, the food and wine and the way the wedding day runs – it was just exactly what we wanted! We’re so glad we made the decision, we have fallen in love with Italy and it’s not our favourite place.

Why Tenuta San Masseo?

Once we had made the decision to get married in Italy we shortlisted four venues and planned a trip. The venues were all over Italy – our trip started in Ancona and ended in Pisa. As we travelled through the country we happened to drive through Assisi and we both just looked at each other and said, ‘this is it, it has to be here.’ We’d never seen a place like and we instantly felt a connection. When we got home from our trip, I started to narrow down the search to focus on Assisi. I found Tenuta San Masseo really quickly and enquired straight away. The property was so lovely that I didn’t think it would be in our budget and when it was, we knew that was it! It was perfect because it’s a boutique hotel that we could have it exclusively to ourselves. We took over the property from the Friday – the Monday and not only did we host the wedding there but also the pool party the day after. There was lots of accommodation nearby for guests and it’s only 15 minutes from the airport. We couldn’t believe our luck!!

We did a video call with Iuliia to speak with her and check we liked it, and we booked a flight that weekend so go and see it. When we arrived, we knew it was the perfect place and said yes there and then. We couldn’t be more grateful for our experience at Tenuta San Masseo and all the people we have met along the way.

What we loved most about the wedding?

We genuinely loved everything about the wedding which makes it really hard to choose, but we would have to say having all our friends and family there to celebrate with us – there is no feeling like it. Especially because they all made the effort (and spent the money) to travel to be there. So many of them made holidays out of it and they all fell in love with Assisi too. It’s such an overwhelming feeling and now it’s a special place we can all share.

Wedding Colours – why chosen?

We were incredibly lucky that our venue was so naturally beautiful, the grounds of the venue were very green and the backdrop of Assisi added so much colour and life. We therefore wanted a natural / muted colour theme so chose white and gold. It perfectly matched the feel of the venue and the Italian countryside.

James wanted to add some colour so went for a blue shiny suit to complement the Italian backdrop. He had been advised to wear a lighter blue waistcoat to break up the suit colours and be slightly different to my groomsmen and he’s glad he did! He also asked his Dad to wear the matching waistcoats to make him feel special! The suit was paired with a gold tie / pocket square to match the bridesmaids gold outfits.

The Story of the Pony

Joanna had always loved the idea of having alpacas at the wedding, ideally one dressed as a bride and one dressed as a groom. As the wedding drew closer, she decided to enquire with the venue about the possibility of making this happen as a surprise to James.

When she asked the venue, they said they weren’t aware of any local alpaca farms but that on site the has a Shetland Pony… how could she refuse!

She kept the pony as a surprise and then he made a grand entrance during the Aperitivo. James was certainly shocked to say the least!!! The guests loved it and he was such a talking point both during and after the wedding. It’s so important to inject your personality into the wedding and this sums us up quite nicely