A love of travel inspired this happy couple to plan an Italian wedding in a delightful villa surrounded by green Umbrian hills…

Annabel and Harvey met on Tinder and hit it off straight away. “I knew Harvey was going to be not just my best friend but my soul mate for life,” says Annabel. “Our first date was at a cute restaurant on the sea, where we shared our first meal together. And that was the beginning of our very own perfect love story.”

Harvey later proposed on a surprise trip to Santorini for Annabel’s birthday. “The proposal was perfect,” she says. “He took me to the famous Red Beach, found someone to film the whole thing and got down on one knee with the most beautiful backdrop. Of course, I had to say yes to the most thoughtful man to ever walk this planet!”

Shopping for the dress

Annabel found her dream dress at wed2b’s Ashford store. “I found wed2b through social media and recommendations,” says Annabel. She chose Jasmina, an ultra-luxurious Viva Bride ball gown with sparkling layers of glitter tulle and a richly beaded bodice. 

“When I tried on Jasmina, the sparkle from head to toe had me in a trance,” says Annabel. “What a beautiful dress. It made me feel like a princess and I never wanted to take it off. My smile lit up the room when I tried it on. There was no doubt that it was ‘The One’. I also bought all the accessories - belt, veil and hair accessory - to go with it.”

A sunny Italian wedding

“We got married in the Italian countryside in the most stunning villa in Umbria,” says Annabel. “It was large enough to host all of our friends and family and we spent the whole weekend celebrating our love. The scenery was out of this world, like nothing we had ever experienced before. There was so much history in the building too, and it had been in the same family for hundreds of years. We love to travel, so we knew a wedding abroad was perfect for us.”

The big day

The couple got married on the 5th October. “I got ready with my mum and two bridesmaids in my bridal suite, which overlooked the area where we would get married,” says Annabel. “It was raining while we were getting ready but it completely changed and the glorious sunshine came out three hours before our ceremony.”

“My brother walked me down the aisle and it was so special,” says Annabel. “We had a violinist play for the ceremony, which really added a meaningful touch. I walked in to ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran and during our personal vows we had ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ by Elvis Presley.”

Great food and dancing

After the ceremony the couple had a private first look at their dining table before all the guests arrived. “This was a really nice touch and meant we had 10 minutes as newlyweds to calm our nerves,” says Annabel. “We had aperitifs straight after for our guests. Then, for our wedding breakfast, we had a typical Italian meal, four courses full of flavour. The first course was arancini, second course pasta Al a Norci, third course was roasted porchetta and our dessert was tiramisu.”

“Later, our first dance song was ‘Perfect For Me’ by Bradley Marshall. We relate to every single word in that song, as we’re perfect for each other in every way.”

A stylish monochrome theme

“Our colour scheme was classic black and white,” says Annabel. “The countryside was so beautiful we didn’t want to take anything away from that. We had menu cards at our dining table and ribbons tied to the stem of a wine glass with people’s names on, instead of name cards. For entertainment, there was a saxophone player in the evening plus personalised sunglasses and glow sticks. We also had a Prosecco tower with sparkler fountains while we were cutting our cake, which was a berry mille-feuille. Everyone loved all the little touches and said it felt like being at a celebrity wedding!”

The best bits…

“The most memorable moment of the whole day was walking down the aisle and seeing my husband standing there waiting for me,” says Annabel. “It was the happiest moment of my life. I will never forget it.”

My top tips… 

“Stay calm, enjoy every second of planning and remember the true reason you're doing this; marrying your best friend,” says Annabel. 

Annabel and Harvey’s Dream Team 

Photographer: Domrose Photography

Italian Wedding Venue: Villamena Assisi

Wedding dress: wed2b

Accessories: wed2b

Makeup: Olivia Jane Makeup

If you would like us to feature your big day, like this Italian wedding, then please click here to share your story and photos with us and we’ll be in touch. Your nearest wed2bis closer than you think, click here for your nearest store and here for what to expect when you visit.