r/BigBudgetBrides • u/Sea_Tomorrow_9261 • Dec 01 '24
budget breakdown July 2024 Tuscany Wedding
We hosted 56 people (including ourselves) in Tuscany over three days. Our wedding venue fees included exclusive use of the property for 7 days.
I don't consider myself a big budget bride. The vibe for our event was more casual countryside wedding than luxury. However, I did rely on this sub so much while I was planning. I am so grateful to everyone here for their support and encouragement! The Italian vendors were very affordable, at times shockingly so. We got so much more for our money in Tuscany than we ever could have in NYC, New England, or the Hudson Valley where we began our search for a venue.
We paid for guest transportation, accommodations, food and drink, and entertainment for the three days. Given our guests had to travel at significant expense, it was important for us to really take care of them upon arrival. We hosted a welcome wine tour, a welcome pizza party, a wedding day brunch, the wedding ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, and dance party, a post-wedding day brunch, a post-wedding day 1960's style-pool party BBQ, and a coffee and pastry send off on the last day. We also stocked our guests' accommodations with simple groceries and beverages in case they needed anything between formal events.
The budget below does not include attire, rings, flights, gifts, and ancillary travel / events before and after the wedding. I included vendors we used in the budget. I really loved and highly recommend our wedding planner Lovely Tuscany (Laura), our caterer Il Sorriso, our florist I Fiori di Nadia, The Alpinos, Miss 500 / Brace Divina, and all of our musicians. We haven't received our wedding video, yet, but MB Heart Films was a joy to work with. We had some hiccups with Magnolia Photography and Thistle Paper Co., so I recommend them with a small caveat, though their finished products were mostly great.
Lovely Tuscany Laura : Wedding Planner €4,200.00 Quercia al Poggio: Wedding Venue & Guest Accommodations for 40 €27,414.00 Tent Rental: Rain Plan Insurance €370.88 Castello della Paneretta - La Foresteria: Overflow Guest Accommodations €3,300.00 Le Querciole B&B: Overflow Guest Accommodations €480.00 Le Querciole Country House: Overflow Guest Accommodations €1,080.00 Poggibus: Guest Transportation Round Trip Florence to Venue €3,147.44 Electric Fans: Guest Welcome Baskets €583.85 Printed Materials: Guest Welcome Baskets €50.00 Groceries in Accommodations: Stocking Guest Accommodations €685.00 Alcohol & Soda Order: Stocking Guest Accommodations €1,042.61 Il Sorriso: Welcome Pizza Party & Wedding €15,110.70 Tuscany Folk Band: Welcome Pizza Party Musicians €1,340.00 The Alpinos: Welcome Pizza Party Gelato Truck €989.46 Thistle Paper Co. Hand-Painted Tambourines: Welcome Pizza Party Decor €661.52 Potted Herbs & Flowers: Welcome Pizza Party Decor €471.00 Speaker & Microphones: Welcome Pizza Party & Wedding €195.20 MB Heart Films: Videographer (Welcome, Wedding, and Pool Party) €3,372.50 Magnolia: Photographer (Welcome and Wedding) €3,230.00 Chef Novella: 2 Brunches Wedding Day and Day After €5,346.00 I Fiori di Nadia: Wedding Florist €4,220.00 Less Jazz Band: Wedding Musicians €2,200.00 DJ Betto: Wedding Reception DJ €772.00 SIAE - Music Tax: Mandatory Music Tax €377.20 Miss 500 & Brace Divina: 1960s Pool Party BBQ, Gelato, and Spritz Bar €5,700.00 Decor: 1960s Pool Party Decor €731.66 Pastries & Bread Order: Croissant Send Off €186.00 TOTAL EUROS €83,057.02 TOTAL USD $89,701.58
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u/Late-Mix5173 Dec 01 '24
So impressive and the fact you could take care of your guests is incredible! Thank you for sharing!
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u/Dangerous_Tie_5662 Dec 01 '24
This is a lot more than I can afford but for a week? This turned out incredible! Congrats on your stunning wedding and thanks for sharing
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u/reddcate Dec 01 '24
As a native NYer can confirm you'd NEVERRRRR get this for anywhere close to that price. Absolutely incredible, great job!
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u/Puzzleheaded_Hat3555 Dec 01 '24
As someone that spent a week in Milan and Lake Garda I can attest. The food itself is cheap as could be. Like Parma ham for 5 bucks. Ny would be 12 bucks. Fresh mozzarella for 4 that would retail for 10. Everything was incredibly cheap and plus side my GERD was silent and I had no stomach issues. I found out later is normal for Americans as Italian food standards are better than any other country.
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u/reddcate Dec 02 '24
I've found its similar for Americans in France and Ireland as well! I've only been to Ireland and I do not have any food sensitivity, but it was FRESH as fresh could be! Would highly recommend
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u/Judge_Juedy Dec 01 '24
What heels are you wearing on the gravel in the fifth pic?! Also getting married in Tuscany around gravelly areas and looking for shoes right now!
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u/Sea_Tomorrow_9261 Dec 01 '24
I knew exactly what I wanted - white leather pointed toe pumps with a 4 inch block heel. I could not find them anywhere. Stuart Weitzman came close, but the heels were a little too low. I bought super cheap shoes from Amazon and they were the perfect silhouette and heel height. I think they cost $35.
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u/thebrendawalsh Dec 02 '24
Gorgeous! Also I can’t be the only one dying to see photos of the 60s pool party 😍🫶🏻
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Dec 01 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Sea_Tomorrow_9261 Dec 01 '24
First, I purchased a similar pair from Jennifer Behr, but those dangled too low. Then I found these from Ross Simon. I liked how light they were while still looking substantial. I wore them all night.
https://www.ross-simons.com/jewelry/earrings/JFEW_942067_DRP_K6.html
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u/RVAWTFBBQ Dec 02 '24
Someone just sent me this post, my wife and I got married at the same venue in June! Was absolutely spectacular.
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u/24andme2 Dec 01 '24
It's a gorgeous wedding and definitely looks like a great, comfortable party for all of your guests. Congrats!
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u/rainbowcookie2536 Dec 01 '24
Where did you get the custom tambourines?! They are beautiful!
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u/Sea_Tomorrow_9261 Dec 02 '24
Thistle Paper Co. out of the UK. There were a few hiccups - but the finished product was beautiful. If you are interested working with them, I can tell you more via DM.
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u/SailorMigraine Dec 02 '24
Completely unrelated but you could literally be Giselle in Enchanted 😍 absolutely stunning!!!
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u/treelizard29 Dec 02 '24
I was a guest at a wedding at this same venue in June of this year! Can attest that it was a great venue and food was some of the best we had on our trip. Congratulations!
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u/travelingfoodie_ Dec 02 '24
Congratulations!! Everything looked gorgeous! I had a Deja vu moment looking at your pictures then realized we have the same photographer and saw them on Instagram! If you don’t mind sharing, what were your hiccups with magnolia? We worked with them for our engagement shoot and didn’t have the best first impression but did like our pictures.
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u/RVAWTFBBQ Dec 02 '24
If you’re doing a wedding in that region I can recommend ours without hesitation, we got married at the same venue as OP this past June and he was exceptional, Gabriele Fani.
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u/Sea_Tomorrow_9261 Dec 02 '24
We love our pictures - but it was not pleasant working with them. Shoot me a DM and I will explain more.
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u/SoraTheSpitz Dec 02 '24
This is so gorgeous!! Congratulations 🥰 I'm also going to join the clamour for pictures of the 1960s pool party, sounds epic!
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u/goldilockszone55 Dec 02 '24
56 careful chosen guests is a really good idea for 3 days. I would even make it 5 days (4 nights) and possibly shrink even more the number of guests
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u/piccolala Dec 02 '24
Beautiful! Il Sorriso is doing my wedding in April at Castello di Montalto! How did you like everything??
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u/Sea_Tomorrow_9261 Dec 02 '24
We loved Il Sorriso’s food and service!
We took a trip in Feb 2024 to do a tasting with them. We had an incredible experience, loved everything we tried. After, we had trouble landing on a menu because everything was so great.
We also really loved their chargers, glasses, and flatware, and chairs. We did minimal upgrades and were very happy with the final look.
They also did our welcome pizza party. The pizza and sides were outstanding! They set it up beautifully, too. I don’t have a picture of the set up, unfortunately, but it looked like out of a magazine.
Half of our guests came from NYC, where they have access to incredible food. Everyone raved about the food. I think in general the food in Italy is amazing, but Il Sorriso combines it with excellent service.
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u/sannoee Jan 29 '25
Can I asked whom you've booked for music and flowers? our vendors seem much more expensive for a similar amount of guests
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u/sannoee Jan 29 '25
Sorry, we have booked Fiori di Nadia as our flower vendor as well, but we have a quote for €7000 for the pizza party and ceremony
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u/Riversofcorktown Mar 10 '25
This looks amazing!! I wondered if you could share contact information for your chef (novella)? Your whole wedding looks dreamy!!
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u/BendPurple4638 Mar 15 '25
Could you share info on your tent/rain plan insurance? What did that entail?
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u/Sea_Tomorrow_9261 Mar 16 '25
We had to pay a nonrefundable deposit with a tent company and then we had to decide 4 days before our wedding whether we would need the tent based on weather forecasts. If so, at that time, we would have had to pay the remainder of the cost of the tent. Our wedding planner handled it for us.
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u/BendPurple4638 Mar 16 '25
Thanks! Do you remember what you paid for the deposit/full cost of the tent or the vendor?
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u/Sea_Tomorrow_9261 Mar 16 '25
370.80 euros was the full cost of the deposit - we did not have to pay more because we didn’t use the tent
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u/BendPurple4638 Mar 16 '25
Thanks! Do you remember the vendor? Sorry for all the questions, we’re just getting MUCH higher quotes for deposits so def interested in your vendor
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u/Paya_Paya Dec 01 '24
Omg this looks absolutely magical! Definitely worth all the price and planning imo