Lera and Nick hail from Manchester but chose to celebrate with friends and family from around the world in Tuscany at the gorgeous Poggio Piglia. The villa, with its breathtaking views of olive groves and the Tuscan hills, provided a perfect setting. The ceremony was held overlooking the countryside and officiated by one of the couple’s close friends, and the poolside reception featured lovely olive leaf details in the natural florals created by Stiatti Fiori. As they were planning from a distance, the couple worked with Nazym Kombarova of Bianco Weddings who allowed them to sit back and relax and enjoy their special day with nary a worry or care! Prepare to transport yourself to Italy with the dreamy images from Fabrizio Viganò Photography!
In their own words
How did you meet?
We should probably make up a more romantic version of the event but we met a couple of days before starting our first professional jobs at the same company. We then quickly realized that we had a lot of common interests (mainly wine, poker, and cats). After a slightly disastrous first date we became inseparable, and within a few months we moved in together and celebrated it by opening a bottle of wine, hosting a game of poker and… getting a cat. The rest is history.
What is your proposal story?
In Nick’s words, the proposal required meticulous planning, including several visits to inspect rings before finding the one. We went for a weekend away in Stratford-upon-Avon for Lera’s birthday, and in the shadow of Shakespeare, Nick slightly nervously got down on one knee and delivered a (mostly) textbook proposal. In case you were wondering, she said yes.
What was the most important to the two of you while planning? Was there anything that you chose to splurge on or skip?
At the start, we made an attempt to choose things that are most important to us and ended up with flowers, photography, music, food, and wine. Not much to save on – but we only had 70 guests at the wedding, so ultimately the damage was limited. We also decided to engage a wedding planner and were lucky enough to come across wonderful Nazym Kombarova. We did get a few odd looks when mentioning it to friends as it is viewed as somewhat extravagant, but Nazym was fantastic – she took a lot of stress off us and we simply would not have been able to enjoy the wedding if she was not there ensuring every detail is taken care of.
What were your favorite parts of the day?
Although the day went very quickly, our favorite moments included the ceremony led by our close friend Matt (you couldn’t tell it was not his day job), having a coffee together early in the morning before it all started, and of course the wonderful speeches which very nearly made both of us cry. Overall, having all our friends and family around at the same time felt great, and the atmosphere of the day was fantastic.
Did you include any family heirlooms or special traditions?
Lera had a golden cross with sapphires attached to the inside of her dress – something blue and a present from her father, the cross was bought on their trip to Israel in Lera’s early teens, and although fashions change and it is not something she would choose to wear today, it served as a reminder of special relationships Lera had with her father.
Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?
If you have a full-time job, get a wedding planner – chances are things will be going wrong, and having someone credible and experienced dealing with it goes a long way. Another piece of advice would be not stressing over small things – as long as there is food, wine and music, the guests are likely to enjoy the event, so you might as well relax and look forward to the day. Oh, and get a second dress just in case – we once read a horror story of someone spilling a glass of red wine over the bride’s dress, so Lera had another dress in the suitcase (which had to come out in the evening as it got colder and dancing started).