Jessie + Ben’s Italian Inspired Wedding From Beginning to End

~ A slice of Italy in Florida for a rustic Italian inspired wedding to remember ~

As a wedding coordinator, Jessie saw so much inspiration planning and designing numerous wedding for her clients. So when it came time to planning her own, she had a pretty good idea at what her dream vision looked like. More importantly though, she and Ben wanted to bring a feeling of comfort to their special day for their family and friends. They did this by touching on Italian family roots and gathering their closest family and friends together around the table to enjoy good meals and great drinks all weekend long. Something they love to do often (just on a smaller scale!)

How it all started . . .

One of Ben + Jessie’s first dates was in the New Smyrna beach area. It was a place they enjoyed spending time together throughout their relationship; they went to the beach, enjoyed nights on town with friends, and stayed over for family trips every year.

New Smyrna was the ideal location for their wedding to take place, and Jessie just so happened to fall in love with a venue in the area that she has worked at quite often! When the couple got engaged it didn’t take long for them to book The Mulberry, a Napa Valley inspired modern barn in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. From that point on their dream of a rustic Italian inspired wedding began to take shape.

Just like any true Italian event though, the wedding celebrations didn’t just last for a night, Jessie and Ben celebrated all weekend long with family and friends. From the Rehearsal dinner at The Grille at Riverview, to the welcome cocktail reception outside that restaurant on the water, to a post wedding brunch the morning after, their wedding weekend will be something they remember forever.

The Cozy Ceremony

In the planning process, Jessie and Ben decided to keep the wedding ceremony setting simple with just two olive branch bunches on both sides at the beginning of the aisle. The Mulberry's beautiful tree acted as the couple’s altar and backdrop, allowing for the beauty of the venue to illuminate them. This simplicity created an environment of a true rustic Italian inspired wedding. Being there, you felt transported to the southern countryside of Italy on a classic wine vineyard.

Jessie and Ben each had very important friends and family by their sides supporting them at the altar including their sweet nephew who was the ring bearer. They utilized the wooden benches provided by the venue as their ceremony seating and it made their ceremony very cozy, as if one big family was celebrating all close together. Ben's Uncle officiated them with a very personal and heartfelt wedding ceremony, and Jessie's older cousin also said some special words during the ceremony which had everyone in tears, but also added sentimental value to their special day.

The Reception Details + Formalities

The ceremony elicited a rustic Italian inspired wedding feel in a soft manner, allowing the bride and groom’s precious moments to shine, but the reception did so in a way that truly WOWed everyone.

To begin, each table had a tall olive tree in a rustic woven basket as the centerpiece. We always love recommending a tall centerpiece on your reception tables if you want to draw the attention of the eyes upward. This allows more space to be created.

The wooden farmhouse reception tables were covered with a cream cheesecloth runner, fresh long stemmed greenery, and a multitude of candles. Some were in small lightly colored votives while others were tall tapers. Rustic white baskets full of different kinds of bread were also scattered throughout the long designed tablescapes.

Bold black cutlery options were chosen to be set at each place along with a custom white menu to contrast with the wooden tables. In addition there was a knotted napkin placed in the top left corner of the setting to ‘frame’ the menu. Wine glasses were set at each place setting emphasizing Jessie and Ben’s love for good quality wine, which a variety was served during dinner based on what food each guest was having. The decor beautifully showcased the rustic Italian inspired wedding they always dreamed of.

To start the reception off, Jessie, Ben and their wedding party did their grand entrances through the barn doors which had they entire crowd standing. Following, Jessie and Ben did their First Dance to a special song "Lady May' by an artist the both love, Tyler Childers. Jessie also danced with her dad to "Vienna" By Billy Joel and Ben danced with his mom to "Forever Young" by Rod Stuart.

A Toast to Monumental Speeches

Ben and Jessie’s wedding wasn’t just about a sentimental ceremony or a picture perfect reception, but most importantly their wedding was about experiencing their special day with the people in their lives that meant so much to them. It was shown that they were loved by all those invited, but truly touched the lives of those that gave speeches during the night.

Each guest’s table numbers were provided via a beautiful rented champagne wall from Ocean Hawks Rentals. This ensured that each guest had champagne to toast with for each of the speeches that were to be delivered during the evening. See for yourself below how absolutely stunning this added feature was in contributing to the overall rustic Italian wedding.

Speeches aren’t usually a part of a wedding that is touched on a lot because they typically are a special message specifically to the bride and groom exemplifying how they have impacted the person delivering the messages’ life. The honorary speeches at Jessie and Ben’s rustic Italian inspired wedding though, were like none other. Every single one of their guests could truly feel the love encapsulated in the room and it showed by their engagement and emotion throughout each speech. The familial essence of Jessie and Ben’s wedding was achieved through so many ways and it’s what made their day so special.

The Sweets

Their dessert options for the evening were exactly what a rustic Italian inspired wedding event would typically end with. They had mini individual sized cannolis, cupcakes, decadent dessert bites, a buttercream cake and others that were so scrumptious.

To end the evening off with a BANG, Jessie and Ben were sent off by family and friends holding brightly lit sparklers after embracing in a final solo dance. All of the weddings we get to plan and coordinate are special to us but facilitating such a special day for someone on our team is extra special.

We loved working with all the vendors listed below on this wonderful day and we hope this was the root of inspiration for you in creating your own dream rustic Italian wedding like Jessie and Ben. Enjoy these fun photos taken when the lights went low!

All Fun on the Dance Floor

After all the wedding formalities and the big family style reception, the party began. All of their vendors were hand selected and they made sure their DJ knew how to throw a great party. Jessie, Ben and their guests were out on that dance floor all night long. The started the dancing off with the Anniversary dance - to which Ben's grandparents were the last ones dancing.

To end the evening off with a BANG, Jessie and Ben were sent off by family and friends holding sparklers after embracing in a final solo dance. All of the weddings we get to plan and coordinate are special to us but facilitating such a special day for someone on our team is extra special.