Wedding | Mimi & Anthony

Tell us a little about yourselves! 

We’re Mimi and Anthony, and our story started one evening on a street corner in Seattle, where we were both in the right place at the right time. 

Mimi was out with a friend when a very creepy guy started bothering them. After her friend tried unsuccessfully to get rid of him, Mimi made up a story about how we were ‘with the two guys standing over there.’ Enter Anthony and his friend Josh, the unsuspecting heroes. Anthony claims Mimi gave him 

a ‘come hither’ look, and that was all the invitation he needed. After some quick acting to get the creepy guy to leave us alone, we all went out to grab a bite. Anthony calls this our ‘first date’, even though Mimi was pretty sure this wasn’t the real first date (that came later). We sat on the same side of the booth and immediately hit it off. We spent the entire evening laughing. Anthony even bet Mimi that he could get Josh to say ‘baked brie’ seven times during the meal. He succeeded, and got Josh to say it over and over again. The prize? A second dinner date (which Mimi considered the first) at a local Italian restaurant, and then a lakeside walk in the moonlight. 

During our relationship, Mimi started her own wedding planning business as a creative outlet whenever she wasn’t working as a paediatric nurse. After Mimi planned countless weddings and both of us stood in more wedding parties than we can count, we realized we wanted everything except a traditional wedding for ourselves. 

We chose to have a tiny ceremony with just our immediate family in Seattle, WA, and then eloped to Tuscany, Italy. We did it entirely our way: no rules, no expectations, no pressure to create anyone else’s version of a ‘perfect day.’ It was simply about love, beginning the next chapter of our lives together, and staying true to who we are.

Why did you decide to get married where you did? 

Tuscany, Italy had always been at the top of our bucket list because of the food, wine, beauty, and Anthony’s Italian roots. So getting to experience it together at that point in our relationship felt incredibly special. It was the kind of place that already felt romantic to us long before we ever got there. 

We wanted our Seattle ceremony and our Italy elopement to feel connected, almost as if one naturally rolled into the other. To bridge the two, we incorporated subtle Italian elements into our Seattle celebration. We hosted a small reception with our families in a grove of trees on the college campus Mimi attended, and then later shared our vows in an olive tree grove in the backyard of our villa in Tuscany. It truly felt like one continuous, meaningful experience. 

Our villa in Tuscany felt like stepping into our own romance film. It was quiet, beautiful, and intimate. The property even made its own wine, which our hosts gifted us and we enjoyed on our elopement day. Driving there through the rolling Tuscan hills, everything felt timeless and peaceful. The town itself was so small and charming that the server from the pizza place we visited at the end of our elopement day turned out to be the same woman who hosted us at the villa. It was all so perfect for us, exactly the kind of magic we hoped for.

How many guests did you have? 

For our Italy elopement, it was just the two of us.

What was your budget? 

We didn’t set a strict budget. We focused more on how we wanted the day to feel: intimate, intentional, and completely authentic to us. We kept things simple and small enough that we never felt stressed about tracking numbers or managing a long list of expenses. 

A big part of our decision-making was rooted in the life we were building together. We wanted to save our money for the next chapter, buying our first home, growing our family, and investing in our future. We hoped our wedding choices would feel meaningful, beautiful, and full of heart, without overshadowing the bigger life we were excited to create.

Tell us about your outfits. 

My dress was from Meshki. It was simple, yet modern, and the perfect touch of elegance. My veil was my ‘something borrowed,’ lovingly shared by my sister-in-law. 

My wedding rings were one of the most meaningful parts of the day. We designed them with Julia from Juwels and Co. My wedding set includes a six-diamond band and a second pave band with a single large diamond. This design symbolized the seven years we dated with the last year highlighting our most significant one that changed the course of our future and marked the beginning of our journey toward building a family together. 

Anthony wore a classic tuxedo from Boss, paired with engraved cuff links gifted by my late great-aunt. A personal detail that made my outfit feel truly special. My wedding ring, made by Element Ring Company, is crafted from carbon fibre. The same primary material used in the aircraft I’ve dedicated my aerospace engineering career to. It’s incredibly durable yet lightweight, exactly what I wanted in something I’ll wear every day.

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

The most important aspect for us was ensuring that our wedding felt relaxed, intentional, and authentic to who we are. Whenever we found ourselves getting swept up in the stress of planning, we grounded ourselves by returning to our values. That mindset kept us focused on what truly mattered and helped us navigate the whirlwind of planning a micro-wedding and an international elopement in just two months. 

For our elopement in Italy, the focus was about the two of us and the life we were stepping into together. We sat side by side the morning of the elopement and wrote our vows, reflecting on the defining moments of our relationship, our hopes for the future, and the promises we wanted to make in marriage. 

It was also especially important to Anthony to create a moment of proposal. Because we had decided so quickly that we were ready to get married, we didn’t get engaged with a traditional diamond ring. We simply made the decision together. We exchanged silicone rings during our Seattle ceremony while our real rings were being made. Our rings arrived just in time for our elopement in Italy, where Anthony surprised Mimi by asking her to ‘marry him again.’ We exchanged our vows and our permanent rings, making it feel like our story had come full circle.

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

For our elopement in Italy, we wanted to find a way to bring our community into the day, even from afar. We asked our family and friends to send short video clips, and we watched them together while toasting with a bottle of champagne. It was the sweetest way to feel their presence, like they were celebrating right beside us, even though they were oceans away.

Any tips for couples getting married? 

Schedule intentional, private moments for just the two of you throughout your wedding day. The day moves so quickly, and you’re pulled in so many directions. It’s grounding to have pockets of time set aside to breathe together and really take it all in. One of our favorite moments was our private last dance. To this day, we still get choked up thinking about it.

And above all, make sure your wedding is a true reflection of the two of you. When your day feels authentic to who you are, everything else naturally falls into place.

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

Working with Alesia from Alesia Films was absolutely serendipitous. She had previously filmed the branding video for Mimi’s wedding planning business. So when we decided to elope she was the very first person we reached out to.The stars couldn’t have aligned more perfectly. Alesia just happened to be traveling to Italy during the exact dates and in the same region where we hoped to elope. 

Her work tells a story in the most intimate, emotional way. Watching our films brings back every warm, fluttery feeling from our day. Beyond her talent, she is genuinely one of the sweetest, most grounding people to have around. She instantly made us feel at ease in front of the camera. Our experience and memories would not have been the same without her. 

Julia from Juwels and Co was also an absolute dream to work with. She is so kind, warm, and genuinely invested in creating something meaningful. Our wedding rings turned out even more beautiful than we imagined. We still find ourselves obsessing over them!

Photographer & Videographer: Alesia Films @alesiafilms | Planning: Gather with Mimi @gatherwithmimi | Ceremony Location: Il Villino Farmhouse @ilvillinofarmhouse | Reception Location: Le Tre Porte - Castellina in Chianti @letreporte.ristorante_pizzeria | Dress: Meshki @meshki | Suit: Boss @boss | Veil: Borrowed | Mimi’s Engagement & Wedding Ring: Juwels and Co @juwelsandco_official | Anthony's Wedding Ring: Element Ring Company @elementringco | Shoes: (Mimi) Steve Madden @stevemadden & (Anthony) Salvatore Ferragamo @ferragamo