Dear Ben, Marisa and Luce
What can we say, it's been just over a month since our magical wedding in Tuscany and we are still on cloud nine. Never in a million years did we imagine our day to be as wonderful as it was. What we achieved would never have been possible without you and for that we will be eternally grateful.
Our Tuscan Fairytale ....
We first met the man who would help us to plan our big day in June 2008 when we came to Tuscany to find a venue for our dream wedding. Chewing casually on his pipe and sporting a fine Italian suit Ben Singleton was calmness personified from that very first meeting. He was happy to listen to our ideas and make suggestions based on his vast knowledge and experience in the industry.
We weren't the easiest people to please when it came to finding the perfect venue for our big day, some places were too small, others too big ... but it was Ben's connections that led us to Villa Cristina, a beautifully restored property nestled in the Tuscan Hills just half an hour from the medieval town of San Gimignano. The ideal place to host a small and intimate wedding and holiday with friends and family.
With the venue secured and life awaiting us back in the UK we left Ben with a list of requirements and told him to expect plenty of emails.
Over the next few months Ben and his team planned everything from the official documentation, to the food and music. Ben and Luce responded promptly to all emails (some sent daily) and phone calls and provided reassurance every step of the way. As a bride you worry about so many little things and having someone there as a constant sounding board offering ideas and solutions takes away so much of the stress that planning a wedding can bring.
There were also numerous occasions when Ben performed duties that far outweighed his job description. I recall asking him to measure a table in San Gimignano Town Hall at least three times more than I should have done to ensure the cloth I was having made fit perfectly. On another occasion Wes asked him to do a spot of window shopping in Florence pricing up a designer suit he'd seen online. Nothing was ever too much trouble.
We returned to San Gimignano three months prior to the wedding, to dot the i's and cross the t's (another excuse to sample the culinary delights and fine wine that Tuscany has to offer!) It was during this trip, over a cappuccino under of the shadow of Florence's famous Duomo that we met the talented Marisa, of inflower.it to discuss our flowers. We'd seen the pictures on Ben's website of Marisa's work and were keen to talk through our ideas for a contemporary theme based upon our love of orchids. Like Ben says 'flowers can make or break the perfect wedding' and ours definitely made it. Even now one of the first things people say to me when they see the pictures is 'gosh your flowers were fabulous'. Marisa did such a wonderful job, what met us in the town hall that day, were the most beautiful and unusual wedding flowers I've ever seen. Delicate and stylish they complimented the room wonderfully. The bouquet was stunning, I was so sad to leave it behind when we returned home at the end of the holiday. As for the table compositions and individual vases, we couldn't have asked for more.
The night before the wedding Ben co-ordinated a rehearsal dinner for out guests at the villa. It was a delicious feast made from fresh local produce. The staff were wonderful, we didn't even know they were there, they cooked, served and cleaned with little fuss and left with a reassurance that the food planned for the following day would be even better than what we'd just sampled, which was hard to believe. But they were right. What a wedding feast, if only we could eat it again! From the delicious canapes which were served by the pool to the apple and vodka sorbets we devoured in-between the fillet steak and lemon torte .... the food was devine.
The flowers and the cuisine were only a small part of what made our wedding day the best day of our lives. The beautiful backdrop of San Gimignano created a wonderful talking point for our family and friends and the well wishes from tourists keen to take our picture in the square were truly overwhelming, I doubt we would ever have received that type of reception here in the UK.
As the Tuscan sun set on that perfect September day and we sat down to enjoy our meal the band (recommended by Ben) struck up with a collection of swing classics to create a charming ambience. The musicians were brilliant performing numbers from Frank Sinatra to Stevie Wonder. Within moments of the meal finishing the dance floor was full and remained that way until they played their final tune in the wee small hours.
These are just a few of the memories Ben and his team helped to create for us on that special day .... An event as fabulous and memorable as our day was would never have been possible without their expertise.
Finally....
Thank you Ben, Marisa and Luce from the bottom of our hearts for listening to our wishes and executing our plans to perfection. Few people touch your lives in the way that you did ours. We will never forget you.
We wish you much luck with your business in the years to come and will be sure to recommend your services to anyone and everyone who ever questions us about getting married abroad.
Regards
Rebekah and Wes.
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