Claire and Michael's Coastal Monopoli Wedding in Italy

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Italy is easily one of the most romantic countries in Europe, if not the world so it's hardly surprising that it's our most searched for destination wedding location. The Amalfi Coast, Florence and the lakes easily top the charts when it comes to popular regions and we absolutely adore each equally... but it certainly is refreshing to get to share and experience destination weddings in localities that are perhaps less travelled but just as stunning, such as todays Monopoli wedding on the Adriatic coast. Claire and Michael kept things simple by booking out a boutique hotel for their close family and friends but by no means did they lose out on any of the pretty with beautiful details such as that white peony bouquet (made by Claire's mothers friend!) and a wonderfully Italian table setting. With Benjamin Stuart Photography behind the lens, this stylish duo completely lucked out. See for yourself!

From the bride, Claire

"Michael and I met in the local pub through mutual friends, got chatting and never stopped. We had been together for 8 years before we got engaged, which came as a surprise! We had gone on a long weekend for his birthday in a shepherds hut in Monmouth with Maisy - the dog (The Humble Hideaway) and we had gone out for dinner in a local pub to celebrate Michael's birthday. When we got back the pathway was covered in petals, the gate had fairy lights all over it and the tree had candles in little glass baubles all over it. Unfortunately due to the rather large glasses of red wine we had at dinner, I didn't even twig and said to Michael it was so nice of the staff to decorate the place for his birthday!! And then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him - of course I said yes and followed up with a couple of glasses of our favourite champagne.

We chose to have a destination wedding as we wanted the wedding to be really relaxed and small so thought the best way to achieve that would be to have it abroad. We wanted a hotel that we could hire out in its entirety and have a small intimate wedding so we were looking at places with 10-12 rooms. We came across Don Ferrante, we
chose it as it had the most amazing view, laid back feel and meant that we could hire the whole place for all our guests to stay so no one had to travel anywhere.

Our biggest challenge was getting everybody there on time! We checked flights prior to booking the wedding date to ensure all our guests could at least get there the night before and settle in before the wedding. We planned most of the wedding ourselves but used a wedding planner to help with the legal side of things but because we kept things simple, it worked out really well. The best decision we made was probably to go to Italy and in particular, Monopoli. Italy is an amazing country. Our photographer, Benjamin & his wife Zoe were amazing through the whole process. Their photos tell a true story of our wedding day and we couldn't be happier with them. Also keeping it so intimate. It would be the best advice I could give, to pick your photographer with care as those pictures are what everyone will see and remember the day by so it's important that you love their style and we were just so happy with ours. For me, the most memorable moment was walking to the ceremony venue with my dad. It was perfect, with all the locals congratulating both my Dad and I on the way to venue. Not only in passing but down from their balconies, the feeling of happiness was infectious and soon got rid of any nerves I had."

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Claire and Michael's Coastal Monopoli Wedding in Italy

Claire and Michael's Coastal Monopoli Wedding in Italy

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