Lovely ones, today we’re off to Tuscany for a riotously fun destination wedding at a beautiful, historic villa venue I’ve had the pleasure of writing about before on these pages.
Our happy couple had a very special secret, and over the course of the weekend, there was a pre-wedding pizza party and a post-wedding barbecue, not to mention the elegant wedding itself. It all culminated with the announcement that the couple were expecting their first child – how wonderful!
This is the wedding celebration of Kate and Seb Castang, who run their own interior design business together, Burrow & Hide. They were married on the 22 June 2019 at Borgo Stomennano, Monterioggioni, in the heart of Tuscany.
We absolutely love this magical collection of images by Lilly Sells Photography, a member of our Little Book Wedding Directory, who was assisted by her fiance, Richard Paris Wilson. Their work is honest and natural, whilst also being editorial and beautifully composed.
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“Along with excitement and anticipation of seeing our wedding photos, there were also a lot of nerves. What will they be like? Will the capture the day as we wanted and as we remember it?
“All we can honestly write is that we are lost for words as to how to properly express our feelings as we sat and looked through all the many, many incredible pictures they took of our wedding weekend. The joy, the unending happiness we felt, and the magic created by the venue, the guests and the styling have been captured so perfectly.”
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“There is so much life, movement and sincerity to them. We sat for hours poring through them; laughing, welling up and smiling from ear to ear. We relived our weekend through their lens and got to enjoy and learn about the moments we were not present for, too. What a wonderful job they did to capture our most precious memories with the people we treasure the most, and all that is left to say is the biggest and most heartfelt thank you to them.”
“They worked tirelessly all weekend, and stuck with us through each event with unwavering attention to detail and focus. We are so thrilled we chose them to be our wedding photography team, and will cherish the photos they’ve given us for the rest of our lives. They feel like the ultimate gift, and we cannot wait to show our family, friend,s and of course, our baby eventually too.”
“Lilly is incredibly professional and a real calming presence to have around. She has a fantastic eye, and allowed us to be ourselves without ever feeling uncomfortable or awkward. I’d highly recommend her for anyone looking for a wedding photographer, and will never fail to smile when I think of her, or view the images she captured for us.”
“We wanted a wedding where we could gather our most treasured friends and family to celebrate with us in the sunshine for a full weekend. We are all scattered far and wide, plus running our own business doesn’t leave us lillysellsphotography.comwith huge amounts of spare weekends, so taking our time to enjoy this chapter in our lives with everyone was so important.”
“What our videographer, Josh, managed to achieve as a single camera operator at such a huge venue, and with a complicated set up is nothing short of amazing. The production value of our wedding video is simply unbelievable, and he went above and beyond to make sure as many moments and details were captured as possible. He worked, quite literally, from sunrise to sunset (and beyond) over three days to really give us beautiful footage, and delivered the most incredible summary of our weekend.”
“He was a pleasure to have around over the weekend, listened to what we wanted in the edit, and did all that he could to create a highlights film we will treasure for years to come. We were confident in his abilities before we flew him out there, but the video surpassed all expectation.”
Supporting Kate and Seb in the planning and on-the-day coordination was Ben Singleton and the team at Italyweddings.
“Ultimately, we wanted it to be romantic, elegant and timeless. It was important our guest experience was worth the airfare (!) so we tried to make it as fun, relaxing and magical as we possibly could.”
“Although we wanted it to look great, we also really wanted to let our guests know we were thinking of them, and were so grateful they’d made it to Italy to be with us, so we personalised as much as we could, like spending hours creating our ‘Cork People’ and writing individual welcome letters to each guest.”
As thank you gifts, Kate and Seb presented each bridesmaid with a tennis bracelet from Ivory & Co., to wear with their dresses.
“The bridesmaids’ champagne sequin dresses were from Goddiva. I wanted something that would play with the Tuscan pink and golden sunset. These dresses just looked better and better as the day went on.”
Kate had a wonderful experience at Hampshire boutique Anna Bridal Couture, where she discovered her timelessly beautiful dress by Suzanne Neville, with its exquisitely structured bodice covered in pretty, floral embellishment, falling to a full skirt with an elegant train.
“Anna Bridal is a gorgeous, small, independent boutique just a short drive from us. I first met Anna when I was Maid of Honour for my oldest friend, and knew I wanted to head back for my own dress shopping when the time came.”
“She has such an incredible knowledge and really settled my nerves; working with my shape to help me find ‘the one’ without ever making me feel uncomfortable or uncertain.”
“I was 15 weeks pregnant on our wedding day, and Anna and her team did everything they could in the weeks leading up to the big day to make sure they kept on top of any and all body changes so that the dress was still a perfect fit.”
“I was so anxious about it before my first fitting, but Anna and Ali, her seamstress, took control and and all the stress away with weekly fittings and tummy-size-checks!”
“I absolutely adored the way the skirt moved and floated around me. Suzanne Neville is the queen of silhouettes, and her structured, hidden corset helped to show off my smallest parts whilst giving me confidence by hiding the largest!”
The lovely, classic bridal look was finished off with a long veil (sadly no details provided) as well as a fragrance shared by both Kate and Seb, to remind them of their day.
“We ended up sharing Tom Ford –Mandarino di Amalfi, as we were heading to the Amalfi Coast for our honeymoon, and a part from the fact that smell is divine, it seemed suitably evocative, too.”
Kate’s shoes were sparkly, colourful glitter peep toe heels by Jimmy Choo, and her jewellery was by Le Vian at Ernest Jones – opal (her birth stone) and strawberry gold earrings, a pendant necklace, and stacking ring, which Seb had given to her as a 30th birthday present.
Kate and Seb welcomed their loved ones to Italy, and to their wedding weekend by hosting a pizza party at their venue on the evening before the wedding, which was the perfect chance for everyone to catch up, and for guests who had never met before to introduce themselves and get to know each other.
By the way, didn’t Kate look incredible in her scarlet jumpsuit and crown of red roses?!
“Italy was a natural choice because it has the most fabulous food, is the home of prosecco and (almost) guaranteed sun-filled days in June. When we saw Borgo Stomennano, we instantly felt connected to it. It has an indescribable, magical atmosphere, is visually stunning and a family-run venue, which is close to our hearts.”
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The next morning brought beautiful sunshine, and the chance for Kate and her bridesmaids to enjoy some time in the pool before getting ready for the day. It looks like they had a brilliant time, as well as being groomed to perfection by Samantha Marchant, and Kate’s cousin and bridesmaid, Jorden Webb, who was in charge of hair styling duties.
I just love the story of how Kate and Seb first met and became a couple, and their engagement story is sweet and hilarious.
“Seb and I were cast as husband and wife in a TV pilot back in 2011. My first words to him were, ‘Hello I’m Kate and I’m your wife’. We often marvel at how accurate that statement turned out to be! Despite an unspeakable attraction between us, the pilot didn’t ever spark enough interest to be picked up into a series, so we didn’t see each other again.”
That was until Kate was asked to recommend actors she knew to fill a specific role, and she immediately thought of Seb and managed to track him down.
“After a very cheesy email (which makes me cringe just to think about) he jumped on a train to see me, and from that day, we were inseparable. During our 7 years together, we’ve evolved so much as individuals and together, eventually deciding actor-London-life wasn’t enough for us, and we wanted to take control of our destiny. After a move to the New Forest, we retrained as Interior Designers and started our business, which has been successfully trading for the last 4 years.”
“Seb proposed after a few false starts. Attempts to do it on our 5th anniversary were almost thwarted by bad weather and an ill-placed bachelor party at ‘our place’ on Mudeford Quay. So, thinking on his feet, he placed the ring on my cat Bear’s, collar who had recently been attacked and was very clingy, in the hopes he’d jump on my lap and I’d see it.”
“Of course he went straight out of the cat flap! Some mild panics from Seb and plenty of cat treats later, Bear fulfilled his role and I was stunned beyond words. As he proposed on our 5th anniversary in June, he was very keen we went for the hat trick, and get married on the same day, too. However, wedding venues get booked up fast, and by the time we figured out what we wanted to do and where, we had to wait the full two years until we said our ‘I Do’s’.”
Seb’s handsome navy blue three-piece suit was by Harry Brown, which he found at T.K. Maxx, paired with a white shirt and floral print tie, cat-shaped cufflinks and a silver engraved pocket watch that Kate found on eBay as a gift.
The bridal party walked through Stomennano’s enchanting gardens on their way to the ceremony; the flowergirls wearing pink and white dresses with applique flowers dotted across the skirts, by Monsoon, more flowers in their hair, and carrying petal filled baskets lined with greenery.
On the arm of her father, Kate carried an elegant waterfall bouquet filled with vibrant red peonies, scented sweet peas and lots of lovely, pastel-hued roses. Kate’s bouquet and all of the magical floral arrangements for the day were created by Le Petit Jardin.
“Marisa was our point of contact and made all my dreams come true. I really wanted to have hoops of flowers everywhere to mirror the symbolic eternal circle of our wedding rings. She listened to everything I hoped for.”
“I was also really keen on having an old fashioned bouquet (!) that was large and trailing. I actually cried when I saw it on the day, come to life. It was everything I could have hoped for and more.”
“She is truly talented, and I adored all the small touches she added to everything without my knowledge. I chose peonies as they are just so incredibly romantic, and June is their season in Italy. I also had sweet peas for scent, and roses because Seb always buys me roses.”
The couple held their ceremony in the gardens, standing in front of a beautiful floral arch and an ornamental pond filled with water lilies, and their celebrant was their friend, Ryan.
“He made it so personal, funny and incredibly sentimental. He truly did us proud and wrote a ceremony no-one will ever forget. We both wrote each other our own personal vows as well as exchanging the traditional ones.”
“No-one knew at the time that I was pregnant, but Seb included the line, ‘I vow to keep you and our future family safe, warm and smiling, with the extra promise of fresh, homemade food in your tummy’.”
“It was the line that tipped me over the edge, as he is my protector and takes care of me so well. I know he is going to be the most amazing dad. We are both children of divorce, and know that a happy marriage doesn’t just happen, and it requires work, so I made this vow to him: ‘I promise to always pursue you, to fight for you, and love you unconditionally and wholeheartedly for the rest of my life’.”
Kate’s engagement ring was from South African jewellers Pravins (a part of the world the couple hold dear) and Seb designed her wedding ring with Cape Town based Charles Greig, which is also where his own wedding ring came from.
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“We now both have a little piece of South Africa with us wherever we go. I wish I could claim I designed Seb’s gold band. but it is fairly standard!”
There were two pieces read by Kate and Seb’s friend Stuart Manning, including John Cooper Clarke’s brilliant poem, I Wanna Be Yours.
Stomennano’s gardens were transformed into a spectacular dining space, with a sweet table plan constructed of hoops tied with ribbon and decorated with asparagus fern and roses, to help guests find their seats. Once there, the theme continued with miniature floral hoops containing the table name as centrepieces.
The letters went with welcome packs for each guest containing vanity kits, sweets, Italian chocolates and balsamic vinegar decanters from their own label, Burrow & Hide. Stationery was designed by Kate’s sister-in-law, Lauren McIvor, who is an illustrator and image re-toucher.
“Lauren designed everything from our incredible postcard save the dates to our passport invites. We personalised the passport page for each guest, and every single person commented on how incredible they were!”
Across the tables there were posies of flowers, and everywhere dotted around, candles to light the sky as evening fell.
A delicious feast was served by Delizia Ricevimenti, who also made the couple’s traditional Italian wedding cake of millefoglie, too.
“It was created in front of our guests with a little help from Seb and I! Our catering company made a real show of it, and it was a highlight of the meal.”
“Lighting was a real wow for dinner, and made the garden feel completely magical. It was organised by our wedding planner – he truly made the place come alive.”
“As our first dance, we couldn’t resist That’s Amore by Dean Martin. We had a short little ‘routine’ for the first minute before inviting everyone onto the dancefloor, and it didn’t fail to make everyone laugh and smile.”
The next day, this most enchanting of wedding weekends concluded with a barbecue and pool party, complete with a guest award ceremony, and best of all, Kate and Seb’s joyful announcement that they were expecting their first child. What a way to end!
“It truly was magical from start to finish. I really struggle to pick out moments. Being declared Mr and Mrs Castang was incredible, and we both took a quiet moment at our dinner to look out across the lawn and take in just how incredible everything looked, but also how happy all our guests seemed to be. We both welled up and just felt like the luckiest, most loved people alive.”
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“Listen to what each other wants and make sure the day truly reflects you both. There were some ‘odd’ things Seb wanted that I thought would detract from my Insta-perfect wedding, but ran with because it was his day too, and almost all of them were picked out and noticed by our guests. They really made our wedding day ours, and at the end of the day, no one else’s opinion matters.”
“I also can’t recommend a 3 day affair enough. We took our time to celebrate and got to spend lots of time with everyone as well as each other. Everyone always says your wedding day whizzes by, and it does! However, because we had the days either side, we spent it together and not with separate guests at different sides of the venue. We held hands almost the entire day, and I can honestly say our wedding day was about us taking our moments together as a couple.”
“Have a secret signal – a hand squeeze, an inconspicuous sentence that tells the other you need a moment. We snuck off before dinner and watched our guests from the window above enjoying the canapé hour with our own secret tray of food. It was only 5 minutes, but it was our time alone, and we got to just observe our nearest and dearest enjoying all the hard work we’d put into creating the day. We also used it to stop, take a breath and take in each special moment. It kept us focused on us and in the moment.”
“Find a shared wedding scent. Two months on and each date night we use it, and it’s really become our scent, which is cheesy but lovely.”
“Get a wedding planner if it is a destination wedding, if you can – you’ll need one! However, don’t accept everything and always question the price. Always!”
Kate and Seb, thank you very much indeed, and also, many congratulations on the birth of your daughter. What wonderful news. Many thanks to Razor Blade Media, Lilly Sells and Richard Paris Wilson for the breathtaking way they captured this joyful wedding weekend.
With love,
Laura
Laura Callan
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Laura is a freelance writer and content creator who loves telling stories. She has keen eye for photography and art, and lives with her husband, cats, and huge amounts of books.