Elena + Steve

Part two of who knows how many blog posts about Elena and Steve’s amazing destination wedding I was privileged to photograph in the hills outside of Tuscany, Italy. Please check out my blog post about the Tuscany destination wedding and reception.

In Italy, you only have two choices to legally get married… in a church or at city hall. Elena + Steve chose to get married at the city hall in the closest town to the villa La Sorgente di Francesca. And I have to say the charming little Italian town of Pontassieve was the perfect choice. I think Elena + Steve just figured this civil ceremony was something they just had to do to make things legal but in my opinion it was actually one of the most charming parts of the entire trip!

Elena + Steve got ready at the vila and then we all piled into vehicles for the drive into town (Steve bravely driving the mini bus himself!). To say I enjoyed my 4 days driving around the hills of Tuscany in my little VW Polo stick shift would be an understatement…. of course, on this drive I got twisted around and lost Steve. I panicked and parked to ask for directions when I realized I had accidentally parked right at city hall and was in the right spot. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. :)

City hall wedding ceremony’s in North America, while usually heartfelt, tend to be a little on the drab side… usually in small, dimly lit rooms. Of course, this being Italy, city hall was a beautiful old building in the heart of town and the ceremony room itself was massive with soaring ceilings and windows!

Steve and Elena exchanged vows in front of about 20 of their guests in a wedding ceremony conducted by a city official in Italian. Elena + Steve hired a translator but honestly this guy did such an amazing job and it was really nice to hear the ceremony officiated in Italian. One of the best moments was when Elena and Steve were surprised when the city official presented them with a beautiful etching by a local Artis to commemorate their wedding day!

After the ceremony we hung around for a few quick portraits in the town square (it was SOOOO hot out) we all headed back to the villa for a nice champagne toast in the courtyard followed by a nice little siesta before the rest of the days festivities got started.

Check out some of my favourite images from the ceremony and come back soon for the next post for Elena + Steve’s wedding!