If you love wine and Italy, you may consider combining them by organizing a wedding in an actual Italian vineyard. There’s no place like Tuscany with the cypress lines, rolling hills and so many stunning colors to throw an unforgettable wedding ceremony and reception.
Here are 5 reasons to choose Tuscany wineries and vineyards for your destination wedding:
1. Amazing green Landscapes
The landscapes in Tuscany are nothing you’ve seen before. And it’s not a figure of speech. The land near Siena actually has a color named after it – Terra di Siena – I wrote more about it here.
If you love nature, and the romanticism of the countryside, the wedding at a vineyard is just what you need. Imagine your wedding reception with Italian hospitality, perfect wine-food pairings and wine barrels, floral and grapes decorations. The scenic greenery with pastel colors and elegant red-purple combinations will make your wedding refined and sophisticated.
Italy landscapes are usually green but for vineyard destination weddings the season does matter. In autumn the leaves become red and the contrast with the green and yellow hills is outstanding. During winter months the Italian vineyards don’t have any grapes or leaves. In my opinion, the best period to get married in a vineyard is from May to October.
2. Connect with Nature
You will be able to experience the real Italian “km 0” – genuine food and wine to be tasted and savored exactly where it was produced. You will have the opportunity to meet the owners of the vineyard and to be walked through the process.
For people living in big cities being in contact with nature may already sound relaxing. You and your guests will be able to have long walks in the vineyards and olive groves, maybe swim in a local lake or river or discover a wood nearby. Tuscany offers so many opportunities to reconnect with nature and enjoy the “slow life” this countryside is so fond of.
3. Be part of the Harvest
If you want to get married in September, you will be able to be part of the harvest. There are so many things you can do during harvest, from picnic in the vineyards with zero-miles wines and food to the iconic photos of you and your guests being part of the process.
You can get your hands dirty picking the grapes that will become some of the finest wines in the world (not in your wedding dress though!). You will learn a lot of wine vocabulary and processes too, from vendemmia – harvest in Italian and terroir – environmental factors that affect wine quality, to cellars, bottles and glasses used to make it perfect.
In this blog post I wrote about the wine box wedding ritual. Imagine it’s the wine you helped make yourself!
4. Authentic Italian Activities
The activities you can have at a vineyard are limited only by your fantasy. The experience usually begins with a tour of the cellars and a wine tasting: the guests are guided to try local food like cheese or ham accompanied by locally produced wines and olive oil.
From amazing food paired with the local wine, to aperitivos, picnics, wine tastings and truffle hunting in the nearby woods, you could spend months here and not get tired of the dolce vita lifestyle.
Tuscany offers so many amazing experiences from cooking and painting classes to hot balloons that will show you the scenery and the rolling hills as you have never seen them before. Here I mentioned some more authentic Italian things to do.
5. Outstanding Photos and Videos
The natural light and the saturated pastel colors of the rolling hills around the vineyard will make your wedding photos and videos truly amazing. Using the scenic backdrop and the lush greenery a vineyard offers will make your photos truly unique.
You will be able to use all the scenery of the place, from grapes and wine barrels to barrel rooms and iconic views. And what is more romantic than the photo of the newlyweds with a glass of the local wine kissing in a golden blanket of light during sunset?
You can also choose the vinery as a location for your welcome dinner or lunch the day after your wedding.
Many spouses think a wedding in a vineyard is necessarily rustic and simple but in Italy it can be very luxurious too. Many local castles and estates have their vineyards and you can have both luxury and nature under the same roof.
One thing you must know about the weddings is that the luxury atmosphere is created by the design. Something that works every time is an apparent mismatch: luxury decorations in a rustic location. In this way you can have both, a traditional Italian venue in the countryside and luxury details created by stationery, floral arrangements and mise-en-place. Your guests will be delighted by this perfect combination.
Here I wrote some more reasons to choose Tuscany as your wedding venue.
Arrivederci in Italia!