Real Wedding - Italy

ABC Member Planner: Sarah-Jane Bennett, All Events Perfect, LLC, Tyrone, Ga., sjb@alleventsperfect.com, www.alleventsperfect.com.

Non-member businesses: Inku Photography, Consuelo Briday Beauty (hair and makeup), Venice Events (floral), and DJ Willy (music).The couple: Shelley and Chris were married in Venice, Italy on July 7, 2011. They wanted four days of festivities to celebrate their wedding with friends and family. The celebrations consisted of a meet-and-greet cocktail kick off, rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception, and day-after brunch. Each event was at very different and distinct locations around Venice to really give guests a true Venetian experience.Wedding planning/style inspiration: Classic and clean.Inspiration: The couple truly loved the history and authenticity of Venice. They felt the architecture in this city of water was a dream and wanted to build their festivities using the uniqueness of Venice as the backdrop.Most unique design element: We wanted to keep the décor and style traditional to Italy as opposed to having an American wedding in Italy. The table numbers were in Italian. Guests were served a traditional 11-course meal, which meant the tables could not be overdone with décor. The linens were classic, crisp white, which contrasted nicely with the blue water goblets. Small centerpieces were made for each table to give a vibrant kick.Color palette: Navy, red, and yellow.Guest count: 35.Approximate budget: $25,000.Biggest challenges: The language barrier and 
figuring out the water taxi system.Hindsight: In the future, I’d make sure guests were completely informed about how the euro works. Many guests were confused about the currency exchange and the surcharges attached to using a United States’ credit card.   I’d also provide guests with an emergency international phone number they can use to place calls, since many United States-based cell phones may not work.[nggallery id=18]