When Alexio first messaged Natasha on Facebook, she didn’t respond. He tried again and again. After a few months of what she generously describes as “patient and persistent” outreach, she finally replied, and they arranged to meet in Dallas. It was the beginning of something they’d eventually celebrate on an Umbrian hillside with 50 guests, a Zimbabwean welcome ceremony, and a sewing machine borrowed from their wedding planner.

Why They Chose a Destination Wedding in Italy

Natasha and Alexio had always wanted a wedding that felt “immersive, romantic, and transportive for both us and our guests,” as they put it. Their first plan centered on Half Moon Bay in California, but when their preferred date wasn’t available, they reframed the setback as an opening. Italy followed naturally: the architecture, the landscape, the atmosphere.

Finding Their Venue in Umbria

Their planner, Alice of Unique Events in Tuscany, discovered I Borghi Dell’Eremo during a site visit and brought it to the couple. The property sits outside Piegaro in the Umbrian countryside, secluded, contemporary in feel, and unusually flexible for full personalization. “It offered a rare balance,” Natasha says, “contemporary elegance set within the quiet beauty of the Umbrian countryside.” That balance between the sleek and the storied became the design philosophy for the entire wedding.

Planning a Destination Wedding from Abroad

Rather than making a preliminary site visit, the couple arrived a full week before the wedding to meet their vendors in person and finalize every detail on location. Alice coordinated the logistics, while Natasha and Alexio built a wedding website that doubled as a travel guide, curating nearby villas for guests and mapping out the three-hour drive from Rome. “Clear communication and thoughtful planning,” they say, “helped turn what could have been a challenge into part of the adventure.”

The Ceremony: Zimbabwean Tradition in the Italian Countryside

The ceremony was where the wedding announced itself most fully. As Natasha walked down the aisle, Alexio’s aunts and sisters preceded her progress with song, a Zimbabwean tradition in which the groom’s family formally welcomes the bride. With each step, they unfurled runner rugs on the path before her. The gesture is rooted in deep cultural significance, and in practice, it stopped the room. “It was important that our ceremony felt authentic,” Natasha says, “an elegant fusion of heritage and individuality.”

The Details and Décor

Natasha and Alexio designed their own stationery, introducing a modern graphic sensibility that played off the venue’s classical Italian bones. A custom photo mirror anchored one of the installations; elsewhere, bespoke styling touches were worked in throughout. One of the more unexpected details: Alice lent the couple her personal sewing machine, which ended up being used in constructing the striking cake display.

Their Advice for Other Couples

For couples considering a destination wedding in Italy (or anywhere abroad, really), Natasha and Alexio are clear on the priorities: invest in videography, build a detailed wedding website, and lock in your guest list early. But the throughline of everything they describe is intentionality. “Approach your wedding as a reflection of who you are,” they say. “The most memorable celebrations are the ones that feel both personal and unapologetically true to the couple at the center of it.”

Vendors: Planning & Design: Unique Events in Tuscany; Photographer: Zeal Photography; Venue: I Borghi Dell’Eremo; Videography: Forever Curious Films; Florist: Toscoana Flowers; Hair Stylist: Hetty’s Beauty Parlour; Makeup Artist: @isbeauty_makeup; Cake Designer: Sweetie Pie; Entertainment: Sogni della Fenice; Pianist: Sofia Proietti; DJ: Jerry Brown; Rentals: Preludio Divisione Noleggio