Katy and Jamie were married in June at Villa Gamberaia in Tuscany, a sixteenth-century Italian villa set above Florence with terraced gardens and a water parterre that has made it one of the most photographed historic estates in the country.

Katy wore a couture gown by Phillipa Lepley, flying back from the United States to London eight times for fittings on her gown and silk tulle veil, the latter embroidered with the couple’s initials. Jamie matched her in a bespoke tuxedo from Cad and the Dandy, tailored on Savile Row after five trips to New York.

This exquisite wedding ceremony was officiated by Jamie’s best friend Scott, a pastor who led a non-religious service that drew on the cultural heritage of both families. Katy’s mother read in Vietnamese, with her brother translating into English. Katy’s nine-year-old bridesmaid Emmeline also read.

The rings and Katy’s engagement ring were all made by British jewellery designer, Jessica McCormack – Katy’s gold bamboo wedding band was a deliberate nod to her Vietnamese heritage. The beautiful, vibrant florals were by styled by Marta Petrioli of Flowers Living, photography by Facibeni, and planning by VB Events. The talented groom painted a watercolour of the villa that became the basis for all the wedding stationery. Enjoy!

Villa Gamberaia

We immediately fell in love with Villa Gamberaia and the energy and light of the space, along with the history of all the love stories that the villa witnessed before ours.

We also loved the idea of most of our guests can stay at the villa for the whole weekend

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From The Planners, VB Events

The Night Before

The design was guided by a desire to create something timeless, romantic and deeply personal. The focus from the outset was on allowing the emotion, connection and the setting itself to take centre stage.

A muted, neutral palette was layered with warm tones and gentle textures throughout. Floral arrangements were intentionally loose and natural, while refined styling details were kept from ever feeling overdressed.

Particular care was taken with the personal touches: the handmade ceremony ribbons created by the bride, and individually written notes placed for each guest.

Every element was chosen to support a sense of ease and togetherness, deeply reflective of the couple themselves.

The Ceremony

Jamie’s two sons, Parker and Grady, accompanied me down the aisle, to the sound of Pachelbel’s Canon in D, one of Katy’s favourite pieces of music.

My mum did a reading in Vietnamese with her brother doing the translated version into English. The reading was an excerpt from Thich Nhat Hanh’s Introduction to‘Love’s Garden: A Guide to Mindful Relationships’, by Peggy Rowe Ward and Larry Ward.

Then my bridesmaid Emmeline who was nine years old, read an excerpt from‘All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten’, by Robert Fulghum.

These readings were chosen as a reminder that marriage requires work, work on yourself and on each other, but also requires fun and joy in the every day, not grand gestures. We each wrote their own vows. 

My engagement ring and both of our wedding bands were by Jessica McCormack, a designer I had admired for such a long time for her beautiful balance of vintage influence and timeless, modern design. On one of our trips to London, Jamie asked me to take him to my favourite jeweller. Unknown to me, he contacted them afterwards to begin designing the perfect ring.

For our wedding bands, Jamie chose a simple, traditional gold band, while mine was a slender gold bamboo design. It felt deeply personal, a quiet nod to my Vietnamese heritage, where bamboo represents both strength and softness, two things I think are essential in a good marriage.

Our favourite part of the day was our ceremony and exchanging vows in front of all our loved ones – we did love every minute of the day though.

How They Met

Jamie and I met online and very quickly found ourselves swept up in a bit of a whirlwind, bonding over our shared love of art, literature, travel and cooking. Our first date was almost a near miss, Jamie turned up to the wrong bar and my shower had broken earlier that day, but despite it all, we eventually found each other and spent the most charming evening together in St. Louis. By the end of the night, when we’d started our now tradition of being the last to leave the restaurant, we both knew there was something truly special between us.

Jamie proposed in New York City, a place that holds so much meaning for us, on a crisp December day in the Shakespeare Garden in Central Park, a sweet nod to my Britishness.

We were engaged for 18 months before getting married, as we had always dreamed of a summer wedding in Tuscany.

Photography

We chose Facibeni as our photographers as we love the natural style of their photography and how they capture the emotions and energy of the day.

Christian and Lara were utterly phenomenal to work with, professional and passionate, they knew exactly where and when the most perfect light and angles are and put the couple and the guest completely at ease. Could not recommend them enough.

The Reception

Decor was provided by Preludio. Jamie did a watercolour of the venue which was used as the basis for all stationary for the day. VB Events did most of the design/seating/menu etc 

I had long admired the work of Marta Petrioli at Flowers Living, so it felt like a real honour to work with her and see how she brought my vision to life.

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Marta doesn’t see flowers as an accessory to a space, but as something far more meaningful, a vital part of how we, and our guests, experienced the day.

Our wedding cake was a traditional Italian Millefoglie that was built live at the wedding, layer by layer. This also happens to be my all time favourite cake! Our supplier was Galateo.

Words of Wedded Wisdom

Make sure you carve out some time for just the two of you, away from all your guests, a moment to reflect on what you are doing and connect.

Also, spend as much time of the day together as possible, don’t separate into your own group of friends and family. The wedding day is a shared memory.

We ended up doubling our original wedding budget, but it was completely worth it and we would do it again!

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