Amore Italy…incredible  sceneries, some of the best gastronomy in the world, art, history, architecture, style  and romance…the list goes on! Italy as a wedding destination has it all! In 2014 I decided to make my dream of visiting and working in Italy a reality!  My journey started in Venice -  I’ve always been drawn to this majestic city with its winding waterways, cobbled courtyards, beautiful architecture and tiny back streets, it truly is one of the most picturesque places in the world. I set about contacting the right people to make the dream of a styled wedding shoot happen. Thanks to the power of social media, I came across the very talented Irene Recupero of Dolce Vita Events  who was just starting up her wedding planning business. Between us, we managed to source a team of incredible talent to create something quite magical. We were incredibly lucky to be given access to the Ca Sagredo hotel  a 5 star private luxury 18th Century Palazzo overlooking the Venice Grand canal. The colour palette was quickly decided; the grand frescoes by Tiepolo that enrich the hotel, not to mention its opulent furniture, could only be gently accompanied, so we chose ivory, blush, accents of deep green and a hint of gold.

We were blessed with two fabulous gowns from the Zahavit Tshuba’s new collection and perfectly matching René Caovilla’s sandals, which our lovely Venetian student and model Flora Dalle Vacche wore with grace and attitude. She and her actual fiancé Carlo Pitter were the best possible candidates for our shoot, for they instilled their mutual love to it. Everything else, from the hand painted stationery to the glamorous and delicate dessert table to the elegant floral decorations and the glass artworks, topped off by a romantic gondola ride from the hotels very own gondola station were the perfect touches that helped make this timeless Venetian dream come to life.  

For a taster of the images see below and check out our feature on Style Me Pretty 

Following my trip to Venice, I quickly caught the destination bug and have since been lucky to photograph weddings in Turin, Lake Como, Sorrento, Sicily and most recently Ravello for Sophisticated Weddings in Italy. Victoria is a friend from my hometown in the UK who now lives in Italy and runs her luxury wedding planning business in Sorrento, Positano and Ravello. Victoria has over 7 years extensive knowledge on getting hitched in Italy and is native English as well as fluent in Italian which instantly takes the stress out of planning a wedding abroad.

Check out my  destination wedding galleries: 

Flora & Carlo - Venice 

Chloe & Aaron - Ravello 

Louise & Paul - Sorrento 

Shelley & Marco - Sicily

Nelly & Mark - Lake Como

Recommended Wedding Planners in Italy:

Victoria  - Sophisticated Weddings Italy 

Irene - Dolce Vita Events 

If you’re dreaming of making your wedding day come true in Italy, you can find out more about my pricing and packages I offer here. 

Ciao  

Lizzie & Adam travelled all the way from Australia to celebrate with friends and family at the Stunning Cripps Barn -  being based so far away meant that they weren’t able to see the venue prior to their big day but you don’t need to see Cripps Barn in the flesh to fall in love with it; the first time I googled Cripps and Co, I was instantly captivated. The plethora  of stunning images of their beautifully restored barn venues got me hooked and I was on a mission to shoot my first wedding their! As luck would have it, I made a booking shortly after and have been lucky enough to shoot many weddings there over the years and I can’t wait for the day that I can return to shoot a wedding! I hope these images show why it’s always such a joy to return time and time again. I have some great memories from Lizzie & Adam’s wedding day  - enjoy a few of my highlights below:

So that’s a wrap for 2019! What a year it has been. I took some time out at the beginning of the year before wedding season kicked off to visit the magical country of ‘Iceland’. It has been a life time dream of mine to visit this incredible destination and it didn’t disappoint - I’ll try and find some time to blog the photos very soon!  I also teamed up with Tilly Trotters Brides early on in the year to go state side for a styled bridal shoot featuring the exquisite Charlie Brear. I fell in love with New York the first time I went there to do a photography training  internship so it was great to be back in my own right as a self employed photographer.

I’ve continued to expand the international side of my business and it was amazing to finally get the chance to work with Victoria of Sophisticated Weddings  for Louise & Paul’s luxurious wedding in Sorrento, Italy at the stunning Villa Silvana - I hope to be back next year!! I was also lucky to get the opportunity to shoot at the incredible Cap Rocat a fortress in the bay of Palma, Mallorca. This venue is out of this world - I photographed Nichola’s sisters wedding the year before and I’m excited to be photographing her friends wedding in France for 2020 - I’ve been very lucky with the referrals :)

Thank you to all my couples, suppliers and everyone I have had the pleasure of working with in 2019 - I’ve had the opportunity to work at some of the most fabulous wedding venues and have met some awesome people. I’m looking forward to my first wedding of the year in January at The Ned - A private members club in the heart of London. 

I launched my new commercial website early on in the year and between weddings have managed to find the time to take on a few freelance contracts for local businesses and most recently Leamington Art Gallery & museum as official photographer for their ‘Humans of Leamington Campaign’ - a series of portraits of creative people living and working in Leamington Spa. You can see all 30 portraits here .

Here is a very small round up of my personal favourite images from 2019! Happy New Year and I hope you receive all you wish for in 2020 and over the next decade… 

Jo x