Elegant destination wedding in a 6th-Century Italian Abbey

Frazer and Chelsea’s wedding at La Badia was a breathtaking twist of old and new, with a 12th-century Abbey built on the site of a spectacular 6th-century building and a young modern couple.

The couple met 10 years ago through mutual friends and fell in love with Italy after their first holiday together.

Their love was influenced by the heavenly food, the laidback lifestyle and family-orientated communities and the historic architecture. As soon as the couple were engaged, they instantly knew they wanted a destination wedding in Italy!

The couple’s wedding vision from the very beginning was simple, romantic elegance with a fun atmosphere. We made sure to find the couple a mind-blowing venue surrounded by lush rolling hills, although this was the sixth venue we toured, Frazer knew that La Badia was ‘’the one’’ when he saw a tear roll down Chelsea’s cheek.

The couple decided on an ivory, light shades of green and sporadic hints of light and dark blush pink tones for their colour pallet. It was very important to the bride that the design did not take away the sheer beauty of the venue itself but to compliment it.

The couple invited 100 of their closest friends and family to join them at their wedding, predominantly from London but guests also travelled from Spain and Portugal.

The ceremony was a Catholic Mass in the 12th-century Church, with original tiles and an abundance of flowers.

The wedding breakfast was a five-course wonder held in the garden ruins, the couple went one step further with the senses and sprayed the table linen with Jo Malone perfume, ensuring all five senses were experienced.

The wedding day concluded with ‘Soul Supreme’, a six-piece live band playing soul and jazz under the stars.

Personalisation was very important to the couple, they wanted their guests to remember their wedding for years to come. Their initials were used to design their wedding logo, which was used from the beginning of their journey with their wedding stationery to the guests gifting. The wedding day gifting included fans, pashmina’s for the evening and lighters for the cigar bar.

Following on with the personalisation the groomsmen and bridesmaids were presented with cardholders with their initials on as a thank you present.

The bride wanted to incorporate loved ones that had passed, she created a DIY project of a memory tree in the courtyard of the grounds encompassing glass baubles with tea lights, displaying black and white pictures hung from the branches.

On the morning of the wedding, the mother of the groom gave Frazer his wedding present, a Breitling watch which had an orange diamond of his late father's ashes embedded into the side. Reminding Frazer that his father was always with him, especially on the first day of his new life.

The majority of the suppliers were sourced in Italy, except for Catherine Bradley (photographer) and Soul Supreme (6 piece band) being flown in from the UK.

Brides advice for brides to be:

Remember the most important thing is about the two of you getting married, entering the ceremony as two individuals and leaving as a united couple, everything else being a bonus.

The ceremony was Chelsea’s favourite moment: ‘ Our favourite moment of the day was just after the wedding ceremony. All of our guests had left the chapel and for a moment, Frazer and I were left watching all of our guests collect their confetti cones and gather outside the chapel doors. It was one of the only moments we had alone all day.’

Wedding Planner and Event Designer - ARW Events

Photographer - Catherine BradleyWedding Planner & Event Design

Videographer - David Lee

Cake - We cook for you italia

Florist - Alessandro Piacenza

Band - Soul Supreme

Sound Engineer and backline - RSS

Wedding Dress - Mark Lesley

Bridal Shoes - LK Bennett

Wedding Bands - Blue Nile

Printed Materials - Spectrum Graphics

Engagement Ring - Blue Nile

Wedding Scent - Jo Malone

Wedding Venue - La Badia

Card Holders - Aspinal of London

Watch - Breitling