Castello Farnese sits at the centre of the medieval village Isola Farnese, perched on a porous rock offering natural protection to the inhabitants. The original structure dates back to the medieval period, even if the appearance of the actual noble palace is due to the Farnese family, who owned the castle from the XVI century. Some defensive structures are still noticeable today, including the circular tower and access point, which was originally defended by a drawbridge. The well is at the courtyard's centre and is still operational today.
Castello Farnese
Where your special day becomes a fairytail
Lou & Lorenzo chose to get married at the stunning Castello Isola Farnese, not only an enchanting wedding venue and castle, but Lorenzo's family home!
Lou and Lorenzo met at Loughborough Uni while doing their PhDs. "We were at lunch one day with mutual friends, and I started talking about England's performance in the Six Nation's and like a meerkat Lorenzo's head popped up. We were dating by dinner."
We have asked Lou and Lorenzo to share there wedding story bellow,
Who proposed to who?
My best friend had bought us a photoshoot at the Colosseum for my birthday and Lorenzo had thought to propose during it but when we got there it was packed with tourists and too cheesy. So he waited until the next day, when were at home hanging out and even got our dog to help him open the box. It was perfect.
What drew you to Castello Farnese
It's Lorenzo's family home, it was the easiest choice of all.
What was your colour and theme at Castello Farnese?
Our wedding colours were yellow and blue because they're the colours of our Pokémon Go teams. Yellow was also the colour of both my mum's bridesmaid dresses and Lorenzo's mum's wedding flowers. It was a nice was to carry that over.
We had daises, yellow roses and blue thistles (which was a nice way to honour my Scottish grandad who is no longer with us) in our flowers.
What drew you to your suits and dress?
Before the rain ruined our original ceremony plan, we were going to get married in a field next to a duck pond so while I was trying on dresses I kept saying "is it ducks?" I always knew I wanted a satin dress but in addition to that the dress I ended up picking out has lace applique leaves as the straps and they looked so much like the leaves of the olive trees the outdoor ceremony was going to be under that it was perfect. Leaves ended up being a really big part of our wedding decorations.
Lorenzo here for the suit part! We went to a couple of tailors in and around Rome, settling on a little shop run by a man who clearly knew his stuff, as he nailed all the sizes on sight (and even suggested stepping outside to test the colours out of the artificial lighting). The somewhat lighter shade of blue I chose was the one that made me the happiest, and I even ended up finding blue shoes and belt that actually worked really well as a whole!
Lorenzo's best man has been his best friend since they were teenagers. My bridesmaids were my two oldest friends and Lorenzo's three sisters.
What was the most memorable moment from your day?
For me it was walking through the door for the ceremony and seeing all the people we love in one room ready to celebrate with us. I don't think I will ever forget that feeling of love and warmth.
Lollo again, for me it was definitely taking a break from all the action to go walk our dogs, Rufus and Orson, under the drizzle. It was nice to have a moment to ourselves during all the chaos.
What was your favourite moment?
My favourite moment were the speeches. We had one from my parents, the combined bride/groom speech and then one from the best man and one from the maid of honour. They were absolute highlights from me, even our own speech because they really captured the humour which is so important in our lives. Good speeches make a wedding day for me
What, if anything, would you change?
I would have bought the bridesmaids yellow shawls! It was a late in the day suggestion when it became clear the weather was going to turn bad and by that point the budget was thin and it just didn't feel like it was important but when I look at the photos and see some of the bridesmaids in different coloured scarves it makes me regret not seeing the theme through to the end.
Lollo here, the best man and both fathers had a matching tie, in hindsight I wish we'd done the same for my grandfather.
What advice would you share with a couple planning their wedding?
Go easy on yourself and each other! Organising events can be tough and organising people is always the worst so make sure you always stay friends with each other when everyone you know is driving you nuts.
Also based on our answers to what we regret, brace yourselves because everything won't be perfect and there will be a corner you cut that you regret (for my mother it was getting a single tier cake to save pennies) but you have to draw the line somewhere so don't fixate on those things that fall through the gaps. At the end of the day, we danced, laughed and ate with our favourite people in the world while we got to celebrate saying I Do that's the only thing that matters.
Mat and Julia's presence at our wedding and the photos they gave us remain a top ten highlight of the day and we cannot thank them enough for capturing everything so beautifully.
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