Wedding | Annika & Elias

Tell us a little about yourselves!

Hi! We are Annika and Elias from Munich, South of Germany. Our first contact was not as romantic as you might imagined, as we are a Tinder couple.

We both lived outside of Munich but commuted 2-3 hours there daily and basically spent every available minute together on the train on the commute to work and university.

After a year we finally found a place together in Munich where we’ve been living since!

Elias is a freelance photographer, mainly working in fashion, sports and personal branding, while Annika works in the automotive industry, managing exciting projects for BMW.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

We love Italy and have spent many vacations together all across the country. When we visited Tuscany in 2020 for a holiday we fell in love again with the atmosphere, landscape and local food. Also, we love summer and good weather – so Italy is the place to be for this.

How many guests did you have?

40. We intentionally wanted to keep a very tight circle of direct family and our best friends. We wanted a relaxed atmosphere and wanted the guests to enjoy themselves. Basically, a nice weekend with our tightest friends and family.

What was your budget? 

Originally, we calculated around $25'000 for everything however, we quickly realized that we won’t manage that! In the end we landed at around $37'000 but we also paid for the hotel costs of all our guests.

Tell us about your outfits.

Annika: The dress I ultimately chose was the first dress I tried on at the first bridal shop I went to. I wanted something classy and timeless but with a twist. The subtle floral brocade was exactly what I was looking for – I ended up trying on a few more dresses but couldn’t get the first one out of my head. I paired it with a floral embroidered veil and Prada heels. Diamond earrings with the same cut as my engagement ring completed my look.

For my party outfit I opted for a sparkly two piece set by Vietnam-based label Huong Boutique. 

Elias: For the ceremony I wore a beautiful Casablanca Silk tuxedo. The straight cut pants were exactly what I wanted, since I do not like my clothes too tight.

I had the tuxedo fitted and altered in Munich, where I also got a custom shirt with a concealed button placked, cut from lightweight Italian cotton. The “Napoli” Loafer by the Munich-based brand A Kind Of Guise rounded up the look. The finishing touch was the vintage Omega watch, that matched the pearl buttons of the tuxedo perfectly. I opted against too many accessories, only a clean black bow tie that matches the silky-shiny lapel of the suit, and the Terebellum II shades by Japanese Eyewear brand Sato that have been an eye-catcher on the wedding day. 

After dinner I got changed into an amazing Suit by Jil Sander, very reminiscent of Japanese fashion. The double-pleated pants flowed nicely around my legs. I paired the suit with Clarks Originals Sandals, a Japan-exclusive silhouette I found in Tokyo a couple of weeks earlier. The classic Cartier Tank Must with a burgundy-colored leather strap, matched the platinum wedding band perfectly, while the Devaux glasses by LA-based eyewear brand Jacques Marie Mage finished off the look nicely.

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

Our main goal was to have a fun day with our friends and family and really be in the moment. We intentionally skipped a few traditions that didn’t feel like "us” and tried to keep the schedule light, so we wouldn’t feel rushed. We also opted to stick to Spotify playlists instead of hiring a band or a DJ to save money. Instead we spent a lot of time creating playlists for each chapter of the day which was an amazing activity for date nights at home leading up to the wedding.

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

One of the first things we thought of when starting to plan our wedding was that we wanted to incorporate Annika’s family dog Indy somehow – he ended up being our ring bearer!

Any tips for couples getting married?

Make sure to plan the day for yourselves and not for others, don’t do things or invite people just because you feel like you “should”. And on the wedding day itself, be in the moment! Maybe take a few minutes alone with your spouse to really soak up everything, the day goes by so quickly.

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

Martina Boggian, our photographer. With Elias being a photographer himself we were quite particular about the photos and Martina truly understood our vision. Not only did she capture candid moments as well as some more editorial style shots in both digital and film, but she was also so great to be around. In the end, we didn’t even feel like she was one of our vendors but rather one of our friends.

Photographer: Martina Boggian @martinaboggianph | Planning: Stephanie Kloos @Toscanafesta.nl | Flora: Federica Vanozzi @apemaiafv | Ceremony Location: La Torre Alle Tolfe @latorrealletolfe | Stationery: Gino Kellner @studiokellner | Entertainment: Firenze Classica @firenze_classica | Ice Cream Cart: Aldo Baroncino @Baroncini.gelateria | Dress: Justin Alexander @justinalexander | Suit: Casablanca Paris @casablancabrand | Veil: Happy Brautmoden @happybrautmoden | Shoes: (Bride) Prada @prada & (Groom) A Kind Of Guise @akindofguise | Groom's Accessories: Felice Ort @feliceort  | Groom's Watches: Omega @omega & Cartier @cartier | Party Attire: (Bride) Huong Boutique @houng.boutique & (Groom) Jil Sander @jilsander, Clarks @clarksoriginals