Averil and Asia mixed their Italian and Polish heritages in picturesque Puglia
Photos: Les Amis Photo Words: Averil Curci
Being half Italian and having lived there with Asia, we knew it was the perfect place for our wedding. After three days of driving around Puglia, we discovered Masseria Potenti and pretty much booked it there and then. We set the date for Friday 13 June 2014. I know what you’re thinking, but 17 is Italy’s unlucky number.
It was unconventional. We didn’t get engaged, and we had already had an official marriage at Chelsea Town Hall. This was meant to be more of a celebration of the 15 years that we had been together – we just wanted to throw a big party for family and friends to celebrate us, our journey, and create a marker for the next chapter of our lives. With this in mind, our big day was a pretty relaxed affair. We even ended up getting ready together, which was a fun start to the proceedings. With the venue being very clean and white, we went for deep pinks and purples, choosing peonies for our bouquets. We had our friends pick wild flowers beforehand for the ceremonial circle – it looked really striking.
The decor for the rest of the day was purposefully pared back. We commissioned an illustrator friend Helen Bullock to do our centrepieces. They added a contemporary element, working well alongside local ceramics, which Puglia is famous for.
Being in Italy, a big focus of our wedding breakfast was antipasti, followed by traditional pasta dishes and local beef braised with wine from the region. Italian meals can be up to nine courses long, but we wanted to focus more on the party afterwards. Our DJ, Teneil, was fantastic when it came to helping us put together our dream playlist for the evening. We knew we definitely wanted to serve Aperol spritz – we both used to drink it when we lived in Italy. Also, as Asia is Polish, it was important for us to incorporate that into the day, so her dad brought two cases of Zoladkowa Gorzka vodka. Yeah, that took the party to the next level.
Highlight of the day...
Averil: ‘The moment we walked out hand in hand and saw all of our friends together in one place.’ Asia: ‘Saying “I do” and the massive eruption of cheering that followed it.’
Suppliers:
Ceremony Masseria Potenti, Italy
Averil’s Dress Rembo Styling
Asia’s Dress Catherine Deane
Catering Masseria Potenti
Flowers & Hair Marriage & Glamour
Photography Les Amis Photo
Entertainment DJ Teneil Throssell
More photos:
This article was first published in Square Meal Weddings, 2015