After a year of pandemic planning, our mask-free, stress-free coastal Italian-inspired wedding was a welcome event. With the crazy heat we had, we were concerned about the weather but the day was so perfect. On July 31st it was in the 70s and sunny and our crowd was smiling ear to ear.
In this blog, I am going into all of the details from our wedding day. We were so happy with our vendors who were all, with the exception of our dresses, from Boston’s Northshore (our favorite shore). Each individual was so easy to work with and interpreted our style perfectly on our big day.
Everything came together with The Hellenic Center, our gorgeous wedding venue in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Every photo was perfect and they had so many places to film and shoot in. I cannot speak highly enough about our wedding day experience with their team.
Coastal Italian Wedding Theme Details
Having been together for 10 years (high school sweethearts!), Paul and I were ready for this wedding. Wanting it to feel like us, my sights were set on a theme that was bright, welcoming, and refreshingly Italian. Paul looked at several ideas and we both landed on a coastal Italian wedding theme inclusive of lemons, Meditteranean tile, and lots of yellow and blue, two of our favorite colors.
The styled Italian wedding invitations were created with a template I found on Etsy, the only place I could find what I was envisioning. I wanted them to be both formal and seasonal. These came out gorgeous and they were highly customizable! The designer even sent the tile file so I could use it in other design elements for the wedding. We ordered them from Basic Invite where they were also pre-addressed so they were ready to send upon arrival and they were of great quality!
The limoncello says ‘Handmade with love’ because we really did make it all from scratch! Nella, from Paul’s family, taught us how to make the limoncello from start to finish (she makes it every year for Christmas Eve). The recipe is directly from Sicily so it’s a bit stronger than the limoncello you might find at the store. That said, it was absolutely delightful to drink and looked gorgeous on the tables. My mom used crates to put the limoncello favors out at the entrance for all of our guests to take home. Plus, what better than limoncello for an Italian wedding favor?
From the mantel garlands to the ceremony trees and vases, my mom handmade all of our decorations. She is insanely talented and always knows how to create what I’m looking for. Everything had our theme colors, the tiles, and lemons (including faux lemon trees!). Thanks to all of her handiwork, the photos from Combrinck Photography looked incredible! All of those little details you have in the background of your pictures really stand out when you are looking back.
I have always felt that white wedding cakes are unexciting. Most of the cakes I see now are very plain and very simple. In my mind, a cake should be on theme and reflective of an event. We kept our cake simple but pulled in the tile and lemon elements so it was eye-catching in presentation. The cake itself was actually a lemon flavor with a rich buttercream frosting and it was absolutely delicious, thanks to Cakes by Erin and her baking prowess.
Our flowers from Garden Designs by Kristen were breathtakingly beautiful, even better than I could have imagined. I know next to nothing about plants and flowers so my expectations were teetering on none. Kristen knew exactly what I wanted and what flowers to use for the season since hydrangeas weren’t a reliable option for the summer heat. These yellow bulbs and the blue accents looked perfect with our wedding venue and design.
Dressed to the Nines
THIS DRESS. Our wedding would not have been the same without the incredible women in my life. My wedding dress was my nana’s original from her wedding in the 60s and the veil was my grandma’s from her wedding which my mom also wore. Much like me and Paul, they are all married to their high school sweethearts. I can’t even describe how meaningful this was for me.
We restored the dress at Julia’s Alterations in Northborough because it needed a bit of love. We made new sleeves but used the original lace embroidering as an overlay, we took the giant petticoat and lining out, and I dropped the back and neckline so they were more comfortable and reflective of my style. The dress looks much like it did when it was first worn! Though I did not get the formal dress shopping experience, this was so much more.
Thanks to David’s Bridal and their vast collections, our bridal party was looking stunning. The Maid of Honor and Bridesmaids were all wearing canary yellow dresses with one-shoulder, and a beautiful drop hem. We added white open-toe heels and a rhinestone belt to give the dress an extra pop. I get more and more obsessed with our Italian wedding color palette as I look through these photos.
Our getting-ready robes were also from David’s Bridal. We chose a champagne color for the girls and white for me. We all wore the cutest Keds which I had gotten for the bachelorette party.
These beautiful ladies were dolled up by Hair by Ashalina and Makeup Jules. This rockstar team took my Pinterest photos and made them come to life. My hair was bigger than life on our wedding day and I had all of the bridesmaids in half-up styles. My sister had hers pulled back in a gorgeous braid.
Our venue had both bride and groom’s suites so we each had a place to get together and get ready (a big selling point for Paul). We loved that they had both and took advantage by getting there early. We had a bottle of champagne chilling for us and the gents had a bucket of Bud Light.
This handsome crew was put together by the one-and-only Peter Russo at Main Event Tuxedo in Burlington. He helped me and Paul put together looks with our colors that were classic and fitting. The guys then sent measurements and made a day of going back to try everything on and get fitted as necessary. They had nothing but good things to say about their experience!
We had all of the groomsmen wear a yellow vest to compliment the bridesmaids and Paul stuck to an elegant all-navy tux. The dads and our officiant (Paul’s godfather & uncle) also went all navy but without a vest. They all looked so good and I was impressed with the final outcome from their fitting.
Paul snuck some fun socks into the mix
Entertainment
DJ Brian from All-Star Entertainment did a great job with rounding us up for introductions, setting up mics for speeches, mixing our dance floor music, and making our first dances memorable.
Sal Patania (also known as “Sal From Ideal”) is Paul’s Godfather and Uncle. He is always there for us and we have been so thankful to have him in our lives. Paul knew he wanted him to officiate our wedding and we were blown away by his reading. Everything he read during our ceremony was personal and so thoughtful, but also characteristically funny. There were many times we teared up from the joy and love in those words!
Keith Palumbo, my Godfather and Uncle, kicked off the ceremony with a welcoming speech. He kept it short and sweet and I was so happy to have him as a part of our wedding. We are so lucky to have so many memories of our family from our wedding day and to have had these personal touches.
First dances? We bring those to another level.
Karen’s Ballroom Dancing had us all ready for that dance floor. Karen walked Paul and I through our dance to Endless Love by Lionel Richie in four separate sessions before the wedding. We enjoyed learning how to “really” slow dance and will definitely be using these steps in the future. Karen also did a lesson with our parents so they felt comfortable during their dances.
Paul’s mother-son dance was to Have I Told You Lately That I Love You by Van Morrison. This song was special to them and it was a very sweet song to watch them dance too.
My dad? Well… that’s another story. He channeled his linoleum days and suggested we do a breakout dance. My dad choreographed our entire dance from start to finish and it was such a blast! We had a full minute of slow dancing to Dance With My Daughter by Jason Blaine before diving into a mix of classics and ending with the one-and-only Frank Sinatra. We were all smiles during our breakout dance and there is no question we shocked the crowd!
Only my mom and sister knew about our plan beforehand since they judged us ahead of time. Paul and my brother looked baffled. But, if you know me and my dad then you know this is right in line with our rather goofy personalities. Whether we’re home, in the grocery store, or at a party, we’re also dancing around like a couple of goons. In our opinion, this Italian wedding needed some pizzaz!
You can watch our full dance on YouTube HERE.
Unsurprisingly for our families, the dance floor got really busy. We had us lifted up in chairs (absolutely petrifying), handstands, splits, the limbo, dance-offs, and more than I probably even remember. What I do know is everyone looked so happy and like they had an absolute blast. My family loves to dance and we have some very fun friends who knew how to shake up that dance floor! Paul and I seriously had so much fun.
I smile every time I flip through these photos
In Reflection
It was one for the books. Everyone tells you it flies by and it really does! I made sure to really soak it all in and memory-capture all of the moments that made our big day special.
I’m biased but this was the most fun I have ever had at an event in my life. We have a hilarious, exciting, and wildly entertaining group of family and friends. There were many details that went into our Italian wedding but it was the people who really made it all come together.
Here’s to the future of life, love, and more magical memories.
Swingin’ Rat Pack Wedding Shower & I Dos, Brews & Barbecue Rehearsal Dinner
