Tell us a little about yourselves!
We met when we were teenagers and remained friends after a brief romance. We both live in Los Angeles and work in Entertainment Marketing. After dating for six years, we married almost exactly 20 years after meeting each other. We are generally unserious people and like to cut loose and have fun.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
We never thought we’d do a destination wedding until on a whim started exploring villas in Italy. Mackenzie’s grandmother immigrated from Italy so we had roots there. More than anything we wanted to share a roof with our entire party to strengthen bonds and to revel. Villa Ravano proved to be the perfect place. A truly remarkable estate with enormous grounds, pool, tennis court, football pitch and room for everyone. We were charmed the entire time. Also the Villa arranged a firework show for us on the roof, that kinda sold us (or at least Chad).
How many guests did you have?
38.
What was your budget?
50k.
Tell us about your outfits.
Mackenzie wore a custom gown done by a small atelier in downtown Los Angeles. Her shoes were Prada and her head crown was her grandmother’s worn at her wedding in 1942. Her afterparty look was a top by local Los Angeles designer, Chelsea Mak. Her pants were Destree and shoes were Maison Margiela tabi heels. After party jewellery was mostly Faris.
Chad wore Dries Van Noten suit (his last collection before he retired from the brand!) Chad also custom designed both of our rings.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
Comfort primarily, we wanted to keep things chill and provide not only a memorable wedding but a vacation for everyone. We spent a total of 5 nights at the villa and really used up every second of it.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
We’re in marketing so we wanted everything “on-brand.” The groom designed the website as well as the napkins, invitations, and all the signage for the event itself. We flew from Los Angeles to Tuscany with printed materials in our luggage!
Any tips for couples getting married?
In our case spending the extra days with everyone was ideal. It didn’t feel like we had to pack all the excitement in one day. If that’s not the case, just try and savour it. Anomalies will inevitably happen and things won’t go to plan. Let it roll, you’ll laugh about it later.
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Fabio Petrucci at Villa Ravano had us covered on all fronts. He’s a magic man. Our photographers, We.Wedding Photography, were saints. Just blended in with the party and felt like extensions of our family. We used a lot of friends and family for the other elements which gave us more time to bond and feel totally comfortable!
Photographer: We.Wedding Photography @We.weddingphotography | Planning & Styling: by the couple | Flora: Fabio Petrucci @a_fab_journey @Villa_ravano | Videographer: friend Sean Mackey | Ceremony & Reception Location: Villa Ravano @Villa_ravano | Celebrant: friend Henry Fraley | Makeup: friend Katie Crandall | Hair: friend Valerie Thomas @valerieesperanza | Catering + Beverages: Fabio Petrucci @a_fab_journey @Villa_ravano | Stationery: by Chad | Entertainment: friend Jens Peterson | Dress: Custom | Second Look: Chelsea Mak @chelseamsk_ top, Destree @destree pants & Maison Margiela @maisonmagiela Tabi heels | Suit: Dries Van Noten @driesvannoten | Veil: Custom | Crown: Mackenzie's Grandmothers from her wedding | Engagement & Weddings Rings: Custom (desgined Chad) | Shoes: Prada @prada