Elegant And Refined Wedding at Villa Arconati in Milan
Today we’re sharing a breathtaking wedding in Italy, captured by Peter & Veronika, that combines Italian and Jewish cultures and elegant style with a bit of fun. Their venue, Villa Arconati is the definition of a fairytale. Guests dined al fresco under a canopy of string lights at round tables decorated with elegant centerpieces from Valerio Grassi. The bride looked flawless in her beaded Atelier Pronovias gown. It’s safe to say White Emotion thought of absolutely everything when planning this dream of a wedding day!
From The Bride... When we began to plan our wedding, we set out to create something fun and inclusive for everyone – my American family, his (Northern and Southern) Italian family and friends, as well as our many international friends from Milan and around the world. We considered this important moment an opportunity not just to celebrate our love, but also introduce the most important people in our lives to our cultures.
Living in Milan for the past five years (and Alex since birth!), we wanted to share an authentic, yet magical, Milanese experience. The style we hoped to reflect was elegant and refined with a bit of fun thrown in. Our venue had all of this and so much more. Villa Arconati is a foundation and museum still under restoration. Part of its appeal is that it is not perfect, shiny, and new, but rather takes you back to a different era and is filled with history. Its gardens are immense, and there are countless indoor and outdoor spaces. During our first site visit, I found myself taking photos non-stop of all the details and painted interiors. These photos (taken with my phone!) I later integrated into the printed materials that I designed, with Alex's consulting and help, along with dictionary-style translations of titles for each piece.
The museum provided English and Italian guided tours so our guests could discover the history behind this enchanting estate. Our dear friend Davide was our officiant, along with help from the wonderful Cantor Evan Kent. Our friend's participation in the wedding began as a joke over beers. Soon after Alex and I got engaged, one night I told Davide he spoke English better than any other Italian I know, and he replied suggesting that he should marry us because he could speak to all our guests. At the time we laughed it off, but later on we decided it was a wonderful way to have a multilingual ceremony.
We used the details of the day to integrate our cultures, as well as remind us of our loved ones. The chuppah was my grandfather's tallit. We read our vows in each other's native language. During the dinner Alex's groomsmen took part in the old Italian custom of cutting up his tie as souvenirs. We then danced the Hora, or, as our Italian friends called it "il ballo con le sedie" (the chair dance). I borrowed my earrings from Pérola, the jewelry line of a close friend unable to travel to Italy. I got my dream shoes via a friend working on the shoe design team at Prada. A week or so before the wedding I still hadn't figured out my hair accessories, and a bridesmaid came to the rescue – the beautiful hair comb was custom made by Vera Wang for her wedding on the same day 6 years earlier. She actually never wore it, but it matched my look perfectly! After visiting an embarrassing number of bridal salons in which I said I didn't want tons of lace, clouds of tulle or beading, I finally went to the Milan flagship store of Pronovias and ended up with exactly that. The saleswoman insisted she had "my dress" and that it was not any of the dresses I showed to her at the beginning of the appointment. I never thought I would "just know" when I had "the dress," but she knew it! I fell in love with an unusual style from Atelier Pronovias that seemed to have a little bit of everything I had on my no list–a mermaid lace silhouette and a tulle, beaded overskirt and long tulle "wings" that provided just enough drama for our outdoor ceremony.
Our planner Alessia Santa from White Emotion is nothing less of a force of nature. She pulled together a dream event in just 2 months after we unfortunately had to let go our initial planner. Alessia knew so much about how to make every minute of the event flow smoothly, as well as how to mix our multi-cultural backgrounds.
Photography: Peter & Veronika | Event Planning: White Emotion | Floral Design: Valerio Grassi | Wedding Dress: Pronovias | Cake: T'a Milano | Shoes: Prada | Makeup & Hair: Paola Bianchera | Wedding Venue: Villa Arconati | Earrings: Pérola | Hair Accessories: Vera Wang | Scans: Richard Photo Lab