“Lisa,
The moment my father led me into the chapel and I saw the bright little circular room filled with my loved ones, candlelight, old-fashioned roses and gentle harp music, I realized with a bit of a shock that I was about to have the wedding of my dreams. In a little village we barely knew, with a language we could not speak, so far away from our daily life in Shanghai, somebody had understood what kind of mood and style Tor and I wanted for our wedding, and had clearly worked very hard to make it a reality. We owe so much of the success of our wedding day to you.
I will not pretend that it isn’t a bit nerve-wracking to plan one’s wedding abroad, or that one can possibly hold on to the same level of control one might (pretend to) have at home.
It is difficult to explain one’s vision over e-mails and phone, and it is certainly a risk to meet the florist, hairdresser and baker barely a week before the wedding as we did, and choosing a venue from old memories and websites. (We actually ended up changing our venue only a week before the wedding from a restaurant we had stubbornly been sticking to, to the one you had recommended all along, and we are so glad we listened to you in the end!).
Once we had arrived in Tuscany, however, and tasted our (new) menu, seen our little chapel – not to mention when the florist delivered my stunning bridal bouquet on the morning of the wedding while the hair dresser and makeup artist where blowing me away with their skill and creativity – I literally felt all my worries wash away, all my lists of things to check suddenly seemed unimportant, and I breathed out and relaxed into their capable hands and accepted the fact that our wedding was going to be incredible. The suppliers you recommended were very high quality, and we would never have found them without your help and guidance. We loved our deliciously dark chocolate wedding cake and my hair has never looked so fairy-tale beautiful ever!
The reactions from our friends and family were a joy to behold, as talented musicians and beautiful Tuscan sunlight set the scene for our private and quiet little ceremony, and we knew already then that a wedding like this would be impossible to achieve back in our native Norway for anything like this budget. Italy is clearly packed with hard-working and skilled artists and craftsmen available to the brave travelling bride and groom for very reasonable prices. Our guests couldn’t believe that we’d been able to organize a wedding from so far away that was so clearly ‘us’, and we want to thank you for helping us achieve it.
With much love,
Solveig and Tor Aleksander”