GET MARRIED IN TUSCANY : Diary of a wedding. When the dream becomes reality.

Getting married in Tuscany, and Chianti in particular, represents the crowning glory of the romantic dream for many foreigners who wish to savour "the sweet life with the desire to fully enjoy its beauty": The gentle summer hills with magenta sunsets, wine and food to love, Italian style and elegance.

For me it was different - I was born and raised in Chianti, I didn't really love weddings until I was thirty, but above all I didn't have the opportunity to participate, because in my circle of friends marriage wasn't too fashionable.

Then thanks to my work as a personal chef, I got involved in organizing some weddings and I found myself moved by the sweetness and love I saw in the eyes of my guests, I discovered that I love being part of the marriages of other people but above all that I could also enjoy the experience myself by choosing to marry my partner after 15 years of living together.

We chose a wedding like "we thought we were" as they would say in Tuscany. With just a few friends, we climbed the mountains, took refuge there and celebrated our love in the woods. Fire, music, children, old and young with their friends, dogs, games and jokes, sleeping together in a dormitory - all this with someone cooking for us.

Entrusting one of the most important days of life to a person you do not know requires a lot of trust and openness on the part of the guests; a willingness to listen and professionalism from those who organize it and mutual empathy.

I often know "my newlyweds" even one or two years before the event. We write for a few months, then we meet in Florence and together we visit the possible locations.

From here the real work begins: the estimates, the details to be defined, the thousand second thoughts, the insecurities that emerge, the emotions that alternate up to the last moment.

Villa Casavecchia in San Casciano Val di Pesa and Villa il Poggino in Buonconvento are two of my favorite villas.Here Chianti Cooking Experience has not only organised dinner but has also thought about flowers, decorations, staging, music and photographers. There are a team of professionals with whom we have also become friends.

Here are some suggestions for you for the bride and bridegroom:

listen to everyone but then do as you please;

in the days before the wedding delegate as much as possible: friends really want to help  in these moments;

for brides: always bring a pair of comfortable shoes to wear under the wedding dress. After the ceremony and the first photos, comfort pays off and shoes under the long dress are not seen;

for the bride and groom: take at least one dance lesson to surprise your darling;

treat yourself to a massage, better to do before the wedding as you will be splendid and rested;

Drink well and in moderation ..... remember the photos of your friends' weddings and learn something!!

We are waiting for you in Tuscany and in Chianti to fall in love a little more every day.