A Sophisticated Three-Day Wedding in Puglia, Italy

Location: Masseria Potenti, Manduria, Puglia, Italy
Setting: Hotel
Wedding season: Late Spring
Amount of guests: 150
How long did the couple plan the event: 1 year
Wedding theme/style: Italian Dolce Vita, Italian Chic, Apulian Chic, Modern Romantic.

A beautiful venue, good genuine food, delicious drinks, live music, and a great DJ for the party, beautiful flower decorations and design objects, personalized wedding stationery, well thought through looks for both of us, the mix of every single detail has created the magical atmosphere of these three days of Francesco and Elena’s wedding celebration. But the most important component of the celebration had been the love and the energy of their guests. Read on to feel these vibes.

Elena is a fashion designer, RTW Head of Design of Golden Goose and Francesco is working in Finance. Elena is a great creative mind, always looking for new ways to express her aesthetic and in constant research for beauty.

Francesco is way more precise, extremely organized with a great scientific mind.

They met seven years ago during a party in Milano along the Fashion Week but despite their great distinct personalities these two have coupled and got stronger together since then until they got married.

“We have both studied, lived, and worked for a long time abroad, curious to know different cultures around the world and with a big passion for traveling, but both of us are very proud of our Italian heritage and background so we were definitely looking for a place that could embody all of these characteristics together.”

The couple wanted to find a place that could host and gather together all the people they love and that could recall their Italian roots and traditions in the most genuine and romantic way. Some very good friends of theirs went to the Masseria Potenti the year before Francesco proposed to Elena and suggested they go and check it out for their wedding when these two started the phase of looking for possible locations, as they thought it could have been the best place to celebrate their love.

“By the moment we entered it and we got to meet the owners, the charismatic couple of Maria Grazia and Paolo and her daughter, Chiara, we realized that it really was the perfect place for us. Every corner was reflecting the effortless chic attitude of the owners that have built this place as a second home with passion, care, dedication, and exquisite research for beautiful objects, vintage pieces, and rustic-modern interiors rooted in their Apulian Arts and Crafts.”

“It was love at first sight so we canceled all of the other appointments. We were sitting under the big terrace at the entrance, shaded by floaty white curtains blowing in the breeze and a total sense of peace and calm made us feel at home. There was a real spiritual energy to this place and we felt incredibly connected with it.”

On top of this, the very first trip that Francesco and Elena did together was precisely in Puglia, in a place not so far from the Masseria Potenti, and the wonderful memory of those beautiful days of Summer was surely crucial in their decision of picking Puglia as the final stage for their marriage.

Elena started with the creation of an ideal color palette, made of desaturated tones, whites, nude/sandy colors enriched with touches of pastel nuances. She was collecting an incredible amount of inspirational images and was creating loads of moodboards for every occasion. She wanted everything to fit perfectly with the natural surroundings of the Masseria, with its beautiful and blooming fig trees and flowers that frame the huge courtyard and to the same structure of the farmhouse made of the typical white washed travertine stone.

For Elena has not been an easy thing finding the perfect looks for all of the three days. Being a fashion designer, everyone was asking her if she would have designed everything by herself and was placing loads of expectations on what she would have picked for such an incredible occasion. She just knew she would not compromise on the quality of the fabrics and on the manufacture of the garments. She deeply wanted her looks to express her passion for craftsmanship yet to translate her modern and clean approach to design.

The bride surely wanted to design part of her looks too but she enjoyed looking around and discovering new exciting realities inside the bridal fashion world. As for us, she had three incredibly interesting and astonishing looks!

Friday: White Apulian Dinner

For Friday White Welcome Dinner the couple wanted everyone dressed in all the shades of white and beige.

Francesco wanted his look for Saturday’s celebration to be a total surprise but he asked Elena to design his suit for Friday’s white welcome dinner and she thought it would have been a lot of fun. They picked the perfect fabric together in a great menswear textile shop in Milano, an off-white silk fabric from Loro Piana and then the rest came along.

Golden Goose custom made designed by colleague and friend Marco Neroni (Sneakers/Accessories Head of Design from Golden Goose).

Elena chose a gathered raw silk sheath gown with hand embroidered leaf details, micro-pleating, and ruffles on long sleeves by Chana Marelus. Its delicacy and refined details immediately caught her attention when she saw this dress on the brand’s Instagram page. The delicate yet very intricate beadwork representing flowers and leaves really seemed to suggest the dreamy setting among the trees of the welcome dinner that she has dreamt about.

It was still Covid time so she had to take all the measurements from home and send them to the Chana Marelus team all the way to Tel-Aviv. The result, even if she never got the chance to try the dress until it was finished and delivered to her, was impeccable and definitely made to measure until the very last detail.

Crystals earrings and sandals both Miu Miu completed her look for Welcome Dinner.

Smooth big weaves, parted on the side, were completing the look.

The bride wanted the styling to be very elegant and romantic but at the same time looking effortlessly chic not to clash with the naturally elegant but also laid back surrounding or the Masseria. Smooth big weaves, parted on the side by Irene Greco were completing the look.

The focus for this makeup was surely on the eyes that were enriched with two lines of micro Swarovski as an eyeliner designed and meticulously placed on Elena’s eyes by Cristian Concas. Modern clean and glowing makeup for the skin and lipstick.

Cristian is one of the closest and dearest friends of Elena so when she started to think about her wedding glam looks there was no question that he would be the best partner to make her feel and look the best. It has been lots of fun to create all the looks for the three days together also withIrene, the hair stylist, and extremely fulfilling during the days of the celebration to have such a good friend by her side.

All their guests were seated on one long table set between two rows of luxuriant olive trees and covered up with an endless roof of small lights that was running on top of the whole length of the table creating a magical atmosphere.

Delicate orange and yellow tones thanks to the wild poppy flowers, ranunculus, oranges, and lemons, were decorating the table in a very sophisticated yet effortlessly chic way.

Traditional plates and ceramics from the nearby Grottaglie colored in teal green, silk chiffon napkins in champagne color from Allegoria Textiles, raffia fringed placemats, vintage brass chandeliers, and personalized menus paired with handwritten seating tags from Toscolano Paper were giving altogether a charming look to the table.

From the food, loads of garden-fresh regional dishes, to the music and settings, everything has been carefully selected and designed for the guests. Francesco and Elena wanted to create a since the very first day a joyful atmosphere and allow everyone, that was coming from everywhere in the world, to have the best possible time and really enjoy for three days.

At the end of the dinner, everyone danced until the late night the traditional Apulian Pizzica Dance, enjoying every single tune of the live and vibrant Terraross Band, spinning around and embracing each other with great excitement.

Handwritten and decorated tambourines with various sentences were placed next to the table to encourage the guests to follow the rhythm and start to dance.

Saturday: Raw Sophisticated

Elena wanted something very clean and tidy for the ceremony. Irene Greco, hair stylist, decided to go for chignons with the line in the middle, with a braided bun in order to give a bit of texture.

Cristian Concas, Elena’s makeup artist, opted for natural make up – make up no makeup. She wanted to create a clean and elegant look to fit the dress and formal ceremony. Cristian placed a lot of attention on creating perfect, natural and glowing skin.

As accessories for the Church Elena opted for INBILICO diamonds (ethical, sustainable, and cultivated) and Aquazzurra slingback (Love Link Sling 105) white gros grain with crystal back detail.

Sheath asymmetric gown in silk crepe with single wide cape sleeve and draped detail at the waist matched for the Church Ceremony to a long-sleeved and high necked body fully hand beaded and embroidered with threads.

Elena always knew that she wanted a veil to complete her dress. She was looking for a veil that could become a precious memory from her wedding and a loving object to pass it on to her future kids one day as the tradition wants.

She was with her mom and as soon as she sat down in the main room of the Peter Lagner Showroom in Milan she saw The Dress. It was the first one of the raw, hanging elegantly in its pure and clean silhouette. The gentle and wide cape was draping down and a bright precious body was standing out from the white pure silk of the dress.

Elena went there to see a veil but she totally forgot about it. She was completely captured by the dress so she asked if she could try on ‘Diletta’. After doing that, she felt a strong and deep connection with it and she knew it was the Right one.

It seemed it was designed for her with its modern cut yet enriched by the body underneath. It was gently touching her body and enhancing her silhouette and at the same time made her feel so elegant.

Francesco was in Tom Ford total look – formal suit, shirting, tie and shoes.

The couple wanted to keep everything very clean and minimal yet very chic. All shades of whites and greens to match both the church that we chose for the religious ceremony in a modest, austere Romanesque style (in Maruggio, a small town nearby the Masseria Potenti) and the Masseria itself for the following reception dinner and party.

To travel from the Church to the Masseria the sweethearts rented an Alfa Romeo Spider white cabriolet vintage car and, as the bride said, it has definitely been one of the best drives of their lives. “All the way along a street surrounded by olive trees and a sunrise light that seemed to be made out of Gold and our hearts full of love.”

“At the entrance, Zagor Band with all the traditional instruments like trumpets and trombones was waiting for us for the big entrance. We entered the huge courtyard surrounded by the rhythm of the band and the great excitement of all of our guests and families that could not wait to start celebrating with us.”

“We were dreaming of the wedding table exactly how it ended up being thanks to the collaboration of our talented florist Sofia from Il Profumo Dei Fiori, our wonderful wedding planner La Iaia with her entire team and the owners of the Masseria that worked all together accurately turned all of our dreams into reality. The cooperation between the Masseria and the suppliers was very crucial for the successful outcome of the entire weekend.”

Thousands of candles of different heights and sizes, white ornated ceramics, a soft delicate silk runner, crystal glasses, and linen napkins with a hand embroidered ribbon with the newlyweds’ names in contrast black, were all filling the long horseshoe-shaped tables.

“No flowers directly on the table, this was our vision, we wanted all the green of the leaves and the white of the small roses and bell-shaped flowers to descend from the top of the table structure all the way down as a sort of flourishing vineyard, creating a beautiful and dreamy frame to the whole table setting.”

“The Masseria then was doing all the rest. Traditional intertwined baskets, old vintage scales in different colors, silver and ceramic objects, and treasures of all kinds were crowding the room all the way around the table.

We wanted to change the original furniture and setting of the room we chose for the reception dinner as little as possible. We remembered that when we entered that place for the very first time the year before we felt surrounded by so much love and tenderness so we wanted to keep that magical feeling alive and to make our guests experience it fully as well.”

Big Apulian traditional lighting were completing the atmosphere of the room by giving a festive touch to the setting.

Note that Elena changed from the earrings that she was wearing in the church to a more scenographic piece – custom-made earrings by Gold Circle and Natural pendant pearls. She also took off the chignon leaving the natural textured weaves created by it falling down the shoulders and enriching the figure as she took off the embroidered body so the hair was filling the figure and deep neckline.

The couple entered the room with the live music entertainment of The Knights Club live band that was making everyone dance and enjoy the dinner.

A great talented Graziano della Nebbia, the DJ we chose for the party made everyone dance until the morning after with his great selection of tracks.

Elena’s After Party Dress was custom made designed by her, one shoulder, backless clean shape with a long scarf motif turning around the neck and falling all the way to the floor. “I looked back at the sleek and clean seventies silhouettes of Halston and some of my favorite glamour dresses from the Hollywood costume designer Adrian Adolph Greenberg from the thirties.

This dress was cut in a double silk fabric in off-white colors, fully hand embroidered with transparent glass beads and Swarovski stones to give it a shining effect (more than 150 hours of hand work for completing the embroidery). This is the reason why, despite its beauty it turned out to be also incredibly heavy, no one knew in fact that it ended up being 10 kg of dress to wear!”

Nevertheless, Elena danced all night with it not caring about the weight at all.

Irene Greco decided to create a low ponytail for the last change keeping the line in the middle as for the rest of the day. Very clean, sharp, and elegant as the bride wanted to be able to dance without worrying about the hair.

Every summer the lovebirds spend part of their holiday in Francesco’s seaside villa in Scario, Campania. One of the best things they love to do at night is to go with Francesco’s family to this local street festival with sweet trucks and stands in the little square of the seaside town.

“Caramelized nuts, candies, chocolates of all sorts and cotton candy have always delighted our summer nights and walks. This is the reason why when we were thinking what to do for the after party before the dancing floor would have been very crowded, the idea of recreating our beloved stree festival or the so called ‘Festa di Paese’ immediately came to our minds.

We wanted everyone to have a glimpse of our Summer loving traditions and this is exactly what we ended up recreating. Several stands filled with delicacies of all kinds and colored luminarie all around.”

For the cake, the couple chose a clean sophisticated five layers naked cake covered by a light textured cream and decorated with the same flowers from the table setting. They cut their first slice while The Knights Club live band was playing incredible tunes and was making everyone dance on the roof terrace that was decorated at the top with another huge traditional Apulian luminaria, a wooden arch embellished with multi-colored lights.

To finish a great fireworks show closed up the moment with a great glamourous sparkling touch.

Sunday: Resort Chic

On Sunday the newlyweds set a Resort Chic themed Brunch around the pool with picnic setups on the grassy ground embellished with white beach umbrellas, overlapped rugs in different shapes and textures, big pillows to comfortably lay down, and extra large handmade straw hats coming directly from Mexico – a place that they explored and deeply loved during one of their recent trips.

The music of The Knights Club delighted everyone also on Sunday with a more ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ vibe and tunes.

Freshly baked pizzas and stuffed focaccias were prepared in the wood-fired oven set nearby the pool, and at the same time, fresh salads and ice creams were delighting the ones who wanted to keep the heat away.

Francesco and Elena did not want to waste all the flowers that were used for days before, so the couple asked their florist to think about a beautiful way to make the most of them for Sunday and the result was incredibly satisfying.

With the flowers from Friday and Saturday, the team set new elegant compositions on the long table that was running under the porch next to the pool to make people enjoy their lunch. Both groom and bride feel greatly connected with Nature and for the entire length of the weekend, we wanted to keep as much as possible a sustainable approach. The first thing above all, no plastic allowed anywhere for the three days.

For Sunday Elena opted for Dior knitwear handmade crochet dress from the Apulian Resort 2021 carefully knitted with the traditional tombolo embroidery old technique from the Apulian Crafts, in cream color. Short sleeved, gently tighter at the waist and then wide with a long round pleated skirt down to the floor.

When Puglia was selected as the final destination for the wedding, Elena, being a designer and completely passionate about Dior, suddenly thought about its incredibly fascinating Resort Show set in Lecce in 2021, the year before. She remembered that when it was literally shown for the first time, she literally thought that she could have possibly worn any of the designs shown for an imaginary future wedding!

This is why when Francesco proposed to her the year after, the thinking went back to that day and she started to look for the possibility to find one of the beautiful dresses from the Dior show in Puglia. One day her wedding planner La Iaia called her to tell her she found one and that it was perfect for the occasion. So you can just imagine the bride’s excitement.

Irene Greco, Elena’s hair stylist, wanted to create a wet effect for Sunday hairstyling with a tiny half ponytail to allow the placing of the jewel detail in the middle. It was a Dior Gold coated butterfly hair jewel from Apulian Resort 2021. With Cristian, Elena has chosen Sunkissed makeup with gold/bronze warm shades to fit the sunny day by the pool.

Francesco wore linen trousers and ribbed stitch knit polo shirt byBrunello Cucinelli addedManebi Espadrilles in off white/beige tone.

Some advice from the couple

• Take your time to plan every single thing. The love and care you place in all the details will be appreciated by your guests and they will make a difference during the event.

For example, we placed a welcome bag in every room for our guests composed by a hand knitted bag with a linen towel for sunday brunch, a welcome package with a silk scarf personalized for the couple with a brightly colored illustration and welcome note, traditional Apulian snack, a welcome drink a glass bottle of water and a little linen pouch with E and F embroidered on top containing a recovery kit with some first aid and gadgets to face the weekend.

Also, the bridesmaids had personalized and made to measure looks. Giulia, Elena’s sister and Lucia, Elena’s best friend were wearing two ethereal light blue chiffon dresses brilliantly designed and crafted by Francesca Piccini, a talented young italian designer based in Milano and Napoli, who specialized in ceremony clothing and wedding dresses.

• Choose a good wedding planner you trust and that you are sure will be helpful especially when the event is taking place. Having a professional team by our side allowed us to fully enjoy the long weekend of celebration without worrying about anything but celebrating.

La Iaia team has been the best support before, during, and also after the wedding has taken place. They know all the best suppliers and they took good care of the organization in a very precise and professional way. They helped us even at the last minute with unpredictable surprises and tirelessly worked to fulfill our every wish.

We established a very strong relationship and sincere bond and this is the best part of it, having found new good friends to keep in our lives.

• Choose carefully a good photographer and video maker that could represent in the best possible way the atmosphere of the event and that is aligned with your style and taste. The photos and videos will remain with you forever and they have to reflect the couple as much as possible and infuse the vibe of the wedding in the most genuine and natural way.

• Design the entire project as a whole. Think about the colors and concept before starting the real organization of the event. The wedding stationery and website is playing a fundamental role to set the tone of the event, so it is important not to leave it at the end of the to-do list.

We mixed up the modern and minimalistic mood of Paper/Paper together with whom we designed our Wedding Invitation and the Italian paper factory Toscolano Paper for all the rest of our set Stationery.

We wanted to keep the entire concept with a minimalistic approach yet still rich with delicate textures. We wanted to place our love for Craftsmanship at the core of the project, therefore we chose a hand made paper to create the envelope for our invitations and all the notes and tags we used for the entire weekend.

All the envelopes have been handwritten by a talented calligraphist that helped us also to write the letter we left into the welcome bags, and to write all the seating cards for the Friday and Saturday dinners.