Kelsey + Louie // Villa Mangiacane, Tuscany

Luxury Florence Wedding - Tuscany Wedding Videographer

WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE YOUR VENUE FOR YOUR WEDDING?

When we first decided on Italy as our destination, it was important to me that the venue captured the true beauty of the Italian countryside. We wanted our guests to immediately feel all the things we love about Italy - amazing food, beautiful views, rich historical roots, and the most welcoming people. Villa Mangiacane was the perfect setting. Comprised of the former estate of the Machiavelli family, Villa Mangiacane produces their own wine and the two villas are surrounded by acres of luscious vineyards with the city of Florence in the distance. It felt like a dream the whole weekend we were there and it was the perfect backdrop for one of the best weekends of our lives.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE JUNO WEDDING FILMS TO DOCUMENT YOUR WEDDING?

I loved the documentary style of filming - it was important to me that the video footage of our wedding allowed us to actually translate the feeling of the weekend. Dan captured all of the beautiful moments of our wedding that we want to remember for years to come and he even threw in moments that in passing may not seem important, but truly capture the essence of our wedding weekend.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS DO FOR A LIVING, WHATS IMPORTANT IN LIFE TO YOU, HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR DAYS?

My husband is a corporate attorney and I'm a Broadway performer currently in Moulin Rouge The Musical. We both have had ups and downs in our respective careers but one of the things that have truly brought us together is our unwavering determination in pursuing our dreams - we're each other's biggest supporters which is an absolute must in such demanding industries. When our schedules fatefully align, we love traveling all over the world, going out to dinner, and experiencing live music. We're really into live music, so it was essential that we had a live band for our wedding - which our wedding planner delivered on! One of the best parts about our wedding!

THE PROPOSAL, HOW DID IT HAPPEN, THE DETAILS?

Louie and I met in university and ended up studying abroad together in Florence. That's why we chose Italy, because it plays such a big part in our love story. We spent every day in Italian class together that semester and it's some of the best memories of our relationship - getting to know each other, walking to class together, and getting to explore such a beautiful city together. We went back to Florence 8 years later and visited the Villa where we attended class. In the beautiful gardens outside, he proposed all in Italian (which I admit, I was a bit rusty at the time) - but in any case, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this man so of course I said yes. Afterwards, we walked around the gardens, took some pictures by the fountain and later that evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at La Giostra. It was the perfect day!

WHAT EXPERIENCE DID YOU WANT YOUR GUESTS TO HAVE FROM YOUR WEDDING DAY?

We wanted our guests to see and experience Italy in the way we always have - with an emphasis on food, music, history, and culture. We knew most of our guests were traveling from the states and because of the pandemic, most of them hadn't travelled like this in a year and a half. Given that, we wanted to create the most perfect Italian weekend highlighting all things Florence and Tuscany has to offer. We kicked off our weekend with a rehearsal dinner at Locale Firenze, which is the former Medici palace renovated now to be an award winning cocktail bar and restaurant. The following day, once most of our guests arrived we took them to Tenuta Torciano, one of our favourite wineries in San Gimignano for a wine and food tasting featuring some of the best dishes of the region. We held a BBQ Welcome Party that night so everyone could get to know one another under the Tuscan sun with lawn games, porchetta, and free flowing Chianti. Our wedding day was the highlight of the weekend, with our reception being held outside under a full moon. It was the most perfect weekend.

Venue: Villa Mangiacane

Planning & Design: Ema Giangreco Weddings

Photographer: Brooke Johnson Photography

Video: Juno Wedding Films

Flowers: Artemisia Fioristi Rentals:

Preludio Music & Lights: Alma Project

Catering: Matteo Saraceni

Makeup: Makeup Florence

Dress: Lihi Hod

Suit: Brunello Cucinelli

Bridesmaids: Fame + Partners Groomsmen:

Black Tux