Sarina & Henry: A Wedding at Palazzo Corsini, Florence

When I think about our vision for the wedding, I think a lot about the atmosphere and feeling we wanted to create. Henry and I really wanted the night to be fun and feel more like a party than a wedding. We focused on ensuring great food and good music, and I think we were able to do both.

We broke a few rules of tradition for one reason: if it did not feel authentic to us, we didn't do it. For example, no speeches, just a few thank yous to our guests at the end. We did not have groomsmen or bridesmaids, no MC and no videographer. Even in terms of the photography, it was minimal and we made sure that enjoying the moment was priority over getting the perfect photo. We also didn't have a first dance, mother/son or father/daughter dance. We only had a few hours on the dance floor and just wanted everyone to enjoy it together.

We had a Catholic ceremony at La Chiesa di San Salvatore in Ognissanti, right along the Arno River in a beautiful historic piazza, Piazza Ognissanti. When we were working with Giuditta, she showed Henry and I a few options and we both fell in love with Ognissanti and were praying that it would be available for our Sunday ceremony. The church itself was originally built in the 13th century and then redone in Baroque style in the 1600s. It takes your breath away when you walk inside and is a piece of art history, with an altarpiece by Giotto and being the burial place of Sandro Botticelli. Among the options for our reception, we chose Palazzo Corsini, just a short walk away from Ognissanti. Many elements of our wedding planning process just felt "right" in this way, and Henry and I really trusted our gut with our choices.

On the day of the wedding, we were overwhelmed with joy to see all of our family and friends fill the pews. Henry and I chose all of our songs intentionally for the ceremony, like Clair de Lune, La Vie en Rose and Nessun Dorma, and these were played beautifully by a string quartet. We felt really comfortable in Ognissanti. Don Nicola allowed us to customize the ceremony in certain ways that made it feel special and personal. After the ceremony he actually joined us for the aperitivo part of the reception.

I really appreciated that our wedding ceremony started late in the afternoon, which was nice to be able to take our time getting ready, enjoy the morning and make our way to the church in the afternoon. It was also important for our guests: we did not want them to feel like they could not enjoy Florence the night before because they had to be up early for our ceremony.

Alessandra from Fluida Design did a wonderful job executing our vision for flowers (and lack thereof) in the church. We wanted it to be different from the reception florals, with mostly green and just small touches of white. True to Alessandra's style, the arrangements were sculptural and editorial. Up at the altar, she used greenery accented with white calla lilies woven together, creating an airy, cloud-like effect. Outside the church she styled her antique pots and urns to create a dramatic entrance in the same style.

When we discussed florists, I insisted on having Alessandra from Fluida Design. Alessandra was super busy and we had a hard time linking up with her at first, but Giuditta made everything happen and our flowers turned out absolutely perfect.

The reception had so many special touches and I could go on forever, but if I had to choose I really loved our Ginori dishware. It's a historic Florentine brand that I collect at home in the Oriente Italiano Malachite colour. When we were choosing dishware for the wedding I didn't want the same green shades that we have at home: the Castagna colour had recently come out and I fell in love with it. It's a deep shade of brown and burgundy with a gold trim and the signature Oriente Italiano details in a light grey. The colour was so new our caterers purchased the set specifically for our wedding. And the centerpieces, with a different arrangement on every table paired with candelabras, were beyond my expectations.

Our pianist, Daniel Mandelman, carried the mood during dinner and did such an amazing job with our requests. Henry and I met him at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles a few years back, where he was playing at their bar. He seamlessly blended (with no sheet music) Aphex Twin, Radiohead, The Weeknd, Coltrane and more. We really didn't want a wedding band at dinner but still wanted live music. Henry and I have memories of guests looking at us during dinner and pointing to Daniel in awe that he was playing deep cuts.

One of my favourite special touches was the photo booth we had for guests to use. If you've been to Florence you may know the iconic vintage photo booths around the city. When Henry and I discussed having a photo booth we knew it had to be the Florentine photo booths, because we have a bunch of these photo booth photos from our past trips to Florence.

We insisted that it must be from the company who supplies the iconic photo booths around Florence, which had never been used at a wedding before. It seemed an impossible feat, but Giuditta did her due diligence and made it happen. It was such a special part of our reception and our guests have those memories forever.

Another really meaningful part of the process for me was all of our stationery. I enjoy graphic design in general and really enjoyed being able to work on it first-hand. I spent hours making references to show Jenna at Polka Dot Paper, and gravitated mostly towards 1700s and 1800s Italian or French motifs.

We selected decorative elements pulled directly from the archives, and with the help of Giuditta and her amazing team, every element was custom made with a truly unique touch. Our guests especially loved the custom matchboxes and the menus printed on fabric with a lace trim.

The after-party was truly the best part of the night. After the fireworks, our after-party started immediately with gorgeous custom red curtains opening up to reveal the mirrored DJ desk and mirrored bars. We had custom upholstered red couches for guests to sit and relax or join us on the dance floor.

If we had to pick one thing, it would probably be our DJ: Martina, as Gimmemar. She is one of only two vendors we flew to Florence for our wedding and she absolutely killed it. We had seen her play a few friends' weddings and events in Toronto and, as we were super picky looking for a DJ, we kept comparing our options to her and both felt that no one would do it better. She has such a vast music library, completely got the vibe of what we wanted and understood our very long list of songs not to play.

We loved being able to surprise my grandmother Ida, who means a lot to both of us. Funnily enough, it was her birthday on our wedding day and we celebrated with a surprise cake and everyone singing Happy Birthday.

Another magical moment was our fireworks over the Arno. After dinner, Henry and I changed into our second looks and cut our cake just the two of us. Then we invited our guests to join us on the terrace, which they didn't know existed as they were in the Salone del Trono for dinner. We had a champagne tower set up, a beautiful big millefoglie cake and this absolutely gorgeous view over the river. We enjoyed the fireworks with all of our guests and were in awe of how they just kept going. It was a touch we decided on last minute, but a great way to kick off the party part of the night.

The planning process for us actually started out slow. We got engaged in July 2022 and didn't really start planning anything until September 2024. We had been together for many years and didn't feel any pressure to get married right away, but after we decided Florence felt right for us, we found Blanc Weddings and got to planning all of the details.

We were extremely grateful to have met and worked with Giuditta Ticci from Blanc Weddings. She took the time to get to know us and was so kind and thoughtful throughout the entire process. Even with the time difference between Toronto and Florence, she made the time for meetings and virtual checkpoints, and was always positive, empathetic, organized and on top of it. She really supported us by making us feel like anything was possible.

With Sarina and Henry, the starting point was understanding what they wanted to experience with the people closest to them, without feeling bound by wedding conventions. Clear choices followed from there. Our task was to give every element coherence, respecting who they are and letting the beauty of the setting carry the day. Coordinating suppliers, almost all Tuscan and rooted in the area, alongside international vendors such as the DJ, required careful organisation and alignment. Sarina knew exactly what she wanted, and our role was to turn her vision into a real day, looking after every detail and letting each element work naturally with the others.

Imagining your own wedding? Blanc Weddings can help you turn your wishes into a project that reflects who you are, drawing on the setting and the people who will make your day special. Get in touch to start planning your wedding with us.