Wedding | Tatiana & Maxim

Tell us a little about yourselves!

We met the old fashioned way — through a mutual friend. We bonded over a shared love of food, humour and our Russian heritage. Tatiana’s family fled during the Revolution, while Maxim was born in Siberia and moved to London as a child. We like to think that despite centuries of living in different worlds, perhaps our ancestors are giving a little smile to our match.

Interestingly, when we first met we dated for a few months before realising it wasn’t the right time. We both secretly held onto the hope that we would cross paths again, and thankfully a few years later we decided to give it another shot. Although we wouldn’t endorse this message for all those toxic exes that should live in the past (!) sometimes it is a case of the right person at the wrong time.

We’ve been together for over 7 years since — living in London with our spoilt rotten Italian Greyhound, Caspian.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

We wanted to get married in Italy as we felt it had the key ingredients to a great wedding: excellent food, good wine and sunny skies.

We decided on Tuscany as a region and meticulously combed through all the potential locations, filtered by budget, capacity, travel time and scope to make it our own. We put together a comprehensive agenda for a full week of site visits. Family friends of Tatiana’s recommended Fattoria

 Mansi Bernardini to us — feeling exhausted after the week, we reluctantly squeezed it into the final day of visits and we were not disappointed.

Understated, rustic and romantic, FMB sits in the hills above Lucca with panoramic views of the city. Lucca has always had a special place in our hearts from previous trips to Italy so we knew it was the perfect place to share with guests. The property itself is a collection of four impressive villas — with pools, tennis courts, olive groves and a micro-pig called Romeo — with enough room to accommodate over 50 guests. The main reason we chose FMB over other venues was the potential it presented for curating and designing something that was entirely ours.

How many guests did you have?

We had 80 guests — a mix of close family and friends, creating an intimate but lively atmosphere.

What was your budget?

Let’s just say we went over budget.

Going into the budgeting exercise we made a point of picking key areas where we didn’t want to compromise on quality — outside of these we took a measured approach.

Tell us about your outfits.

Tatiana: I entertained a few different designs but I really knew exactly what I wanted for my wedding dress and spent no time fooling myself otherwise. For me this was square neck, basque waist and full skirt for a look that I felt was timeless. I worked closely with the stellar (and incredibly patient) seamstress Mariola at the boutique at The Wedding Dress Shop in London who brought my vision to life. Rather last minute I decided to opt for a lace trim veil to sit at the crown of my head, similar to a mantilla style and on theme with a La Dolce Vita Fellini-esque style. My shoes were Manolos, which was non-negotiable. I couldn’t resist having not one, but two outfit changes. A slinky halterneck was the perfect number for our al fresco dinner under the stars, followed by a Rachel Gilbert embellished dress for our dancing into the early hours, paired with an incredibly comfortable pair of Amina Muaddi shoes aptly named the Glass Slippers.

Maxim: I chose to wear a cream suit for the ceremony as it felt right for the setting. I then changed into black-tie for the first dance opting for a velvet forest green dinner jacket. My shoes for the day were burgundy loafers by Church’s. Huge shoutout to Suitsupply for styling me. For any grooms-to-be can only recommend Kameel Shah in the London Vigo Street store.

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

The most important thing for us was to create a day that balanced an incredible experience for guests whilst keeping it authentic to us. We spent much of the planning imagining ourselves in our guests’ shoes — thinking about what would make them feel welcome, relaxed, energised, and fully immersed in the experience. Looking back, keeping all wedding events at the Fattoria gave a sense of continuity and positive momentum to the atmosphere. Our favourite part of the planning was working on the seating plan, thoughtfully pairing people to try kindle new friendships.

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

We wanted to have a non-religious ceremony that was special, intimate and interactive, whilst incorporating symbols of union from across our root cultures. We wanted to have someone we loved and cherished to marry us, so it was no second thought to have our dear friend Nani hosting the ceremony.

Tatiana has an old soul and a deep love for classic rock, so weaving in a subtle nod to that part of her identity felt essential. The band played an acoustic version of Led Zeppelin’s Thank You whilst she walked with her father down the aisle. Her mother read Bob Dylan’s Wedding Song during the ceremony — not a dry eye. Tatiana also felt strongly about wearing jewellery with history, choosing pieces passed down from women in her family who lived long, happy lives.

We felt it would be too much for our dog Caspian to join our special day — mostly for fear he might steal the show or the more realistic fear, that if there were any loud sounds he would be lost to the Tuscan countryside forever. We tried to integrate him into our day where we could, with custom tote bags, matchboxes, schedules and naming the FMB wine cellar turned afterhours dancefloor “Club Caspi” in his honour.

Any tips for couples getting married?

Unpopular opinion but being stressed means that you care — it’s ok to feel stressed about a day you’re pouring your heart and soul into! Encourage your family and friends to support you and be there for you. We would caveat that to maintain a degree of sanity only allow space for stress about things within your control and let go of whatever sits outside of it. On the latter this also means that if something is going wrong on the day (which it inevitably does), designate practical people you trust on the day to sort it out — your peace should be protected and respected.

Ultimately we’d encourage you to be unapologetically yourselves and do whatever makes you happy.

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

We had Dream On Wedding as our planners who were excellent at bringing the vision to life. They are set designers by training so the foundation of their work involves a meticulous attention to detail and an ability for couples to lean into the process as much as they like, which we couldn’t resist.

Photographs last a lifetime, and many more, so we really wanted to ensure one of the first bookings for our wedding was a photographer who could marry a nostalgic and timeless essence with modernity. As such, landing the dream incarnate Samantha Rivieccio was one of the best decisions we made. She was assisted by the lovely Antonio who also captured our wedding on an old school VHS through Tapes of Us. The intimate behind the scenes footage from every corner of the party was a blessing to simultaneously relive and experience through the eyes of our guests.

Photographer: Samantha Rivieccio @samantharivieccio | Planning: Dream On Wedding @dreamon_

wedding | Videographer: Tapes by Us @tapes_of_us @pileggiantonio | Ceremony Location: Fattoria

Mansi Bernardini @fattoriamansibernardini | Celebrant: Tatiana’s close friend | Hire: Dream On Wedding 

@dreamon_wedding | Makeup Artist: Ruslana at Beauty on Fleek @konstantinovabeauty_pmu @beautyonfleek.it | Catering & Cake: Ristorante Tonino Cortona @ristorante_tonino_cortona |Stationery: 

Ten Story Stationery  @tenstorystationery | Entertainment: Mashup Kings @mashupkingsband | Wedding

Dress & Veil: Made to Measure by Mariola B at The Wedding Dress Shop | Dinner Dress: NBD at Revolve | Party Dress: Rachel Gilbert @rachelgilbertau | Suits: Suitsupply @suitsupply | Rings: Tiffany & Co @tiffanyandco; Simon Wright Bespoke Jeweller @sw_jewellery | Shoes: Manolo Blahnik @manolo blahnik; Amina Muaddi @aminamuaddi | Earrings: Laurence Coste @laurence_coste & Justine Clenquet 

@justineclenquet | Bracelets & Necklace: Bride’s own