Italian wedding cake, first dance and party
After the delicious Italian wedding reception, you have to cut the Italian wedding cake, do your first dance and PARTY!
Cutting the cake
Once dinner finishes it’s time to move to the party but before you can hit the dance floor you need to cut the cake. In Italy, the Italian wedding cake is traditionally a millefoglie or thousand layer cake. It consists of many layers of fine pastry with a Chantilly-style cream between them and on top they put fruits of the forest. If you prefer a more traditional wedding cake there are plenty of specialist cake makers that can make a cake with tiers and icing with your preference of style and design.
You can decorate the table or area where you cut the cake to make it even more beautiful, flowers and candles don’t cost much but make a huge difference to the aesthetics. It’s quite common at the moment for people to light sparklers during the cake cutting.
As well as having a wedding cake quite often there will also be a dessert buffet. This offers other delicious Italian desserts, mini cakes, chocolate fountains and crowd favorites like tiramisu! Often it is also accompanied by a coffee corner for those that would like an espresso before starting the party. A very elegant solution is to offer some sweet dessert wine which many haven’t tried but everyone likes.
The first dance or dances
The first dance traditionally takes place after you cut the cake but I see couples having their first dance whenever they want. I have seen it at the start of the reception and during it and even during the cocktails. However, most people still have it at the end of the evening before the party. For my American clients, it is also common for them to have the father-daughter dance and the mother-son dance. I love these dances as the parents are often so emotional!
If you need to bustle your dress before you dance so you can move more freely then make sure the people that are going to bustle it for you know how to do it. It’s worth practicing once or twice before the wedding as it’s not much fun having to go to your room and stay there for 20 minutes as someone figures out how to bustle the dress – you will be missing the party!
Some dresses bustle better than others and some don’t look very nice when they are bustled. So while you are choosing the dress you may want to check how your dress bustles.
The Party
My photography of the party is purely documentary. I am there to capture people having fun and the atmosphere. Earlier in the day, we did the group photos, these usually include the parents, relatives and bridal party, and often we don’t have time to include other people. However, later in the evening you can take more photos with your friends as you are having fun!
If you are having any surprises then make it a surprise for someone but not for the photographer! So if you have organized a surprise fireworks display let me in on the secret so I am ready for the photos.
Contact usMy photography of the party is purely documentary. I am there to capture people having fun and the atmosphere. Earlier in the day, we did the group photos, these usually include the parents, relatives and bridal party, and often we don’t have time to include other people. However, later in the evening you can take more photos with your friends as you are having fun!
Stunning Wedding Receptions
Here is a collection of images of Italian wedding reception themes, decor and ideas. I love photographing all sort of events and themes from the over the top extravagant, to rustic chic, modern, elegant and understated it doesn't matter what the mood I love to photograph the colors, textures and shiny twinkly stuff!
Portfolios & Advice For Each Part Of Your Wedding
Discover inspiration and expert tips to perfect every detail, from the "I do" to the final dance, in these comprehensive wedding photography portfolios.
Heartfelt Testimonials
Explore rave reviews from treasured clients. Find out why couples are over the moon about their wedding photography experience.
- Jules is not only a world class photographer but he is a born wedding / event planner with an innate sense of what works and doesn't work in any particular situation. He of all service providers had the best input in ........Matt Burlage
Jules is not only a world class photographer but he is a born wedding / event planner with an innate sense of what works and doesn’t work in any particular situation. He of all service providers had the best input in terms of order of events, location, timing, duration, etc. He was very easy to work with and was forceful yet witty enough to keep everyone (relatively) relaxed and focused.
The quality of his photos are excellent and were able to capture different moments over the course of the day and a half that we worked with Jules. He took the time to tour the grounds for the event to find the right spots for the different occasions. The sheer volume of photos is impressive and he did not pressure us to limit the number of photos, etc. like some photographers do. The turnaround time on the photos – fully finished – was also very impressive and far ahead of the videographer.
I can wholeheartedly recommend Jules for a major life event.
- Jules was the first thing I booked for my daughter's wedding based on the quality of his photos online. I was a little concerned that he might be more used to high end expensive weddings; this may be true, but he did ........Heather Walker
Jules was the first thing I booked for my daughter’s wedding based on the quality of his photos online. I was a little concerned that he might be more used to high end expensive weddings; this may be true, but he did the job exceptionally well and the photos are amazing. I am having difficulty choosing which ones to frame without the house looking like a shrine to the the wedding.
I particularly liked how quickly he did the standard group photos and got on with taking more candid shots. He even took in his stride the fact that we wanted our dog in the photos.
Highly recommended, thanks Jules. - Jules was great to work with - he was extremely focused and helpful and knew exactly what to do to get the right shots. The quality of the photos are fantastic and the turnaround time was exceptional - we had over 200 ........Claire Willcock
Jules was great to work with – he was extremely focused and helpful and knew exactly what to do to get the right shots.
The quality of the photos are fantastic and the turnaround time was exceptional – we had over 200 photos of the day within 4 days of the wedding and the remainder (about 2000) within a week.
Thank you Jules!!
- We picked Jules because we loved the way he captured light so perfectly in his work and we were not disappointed at all when we received our photographs. He captured exactly what we were after and they were even more ........Stephen Townsend
We picked Jules because we loved the way he captured light so perfectly in his work and we were not disappointed at all when we received our photographs.
He captured exactly what we were after and they were even more stunning than we could have hoped for!
We met him at our venue a few months before and him and his wife we a delight and made us feel at ease.
On the day, he cracked jokes yet orchestrated us professionally.
We were delighted to receive all of the photographs less than a month later, which is unusual as many photographers can take several months!
His invoicing and communication were always professional and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him if you want the perfect wedding pictures.
- Jules provided the most unbelievable experience of our lives! If I could provide a 10 star review, I would. Jules supported me in planning every aspect of our elopement abroad. I was lost as to what location would best ........Kaely Ferrara
Jules provided the most unbelievable experience of our lives! If I could provide a 10 star review, I would. Jules supported me in planning every aspect of our elopement abroad.
I was lost as to what location would best provide the vibe we were hoping to achieve, and I fully entrusted Jules in leading the way. We were blown away with how our event turned out. Friends and family have all shared that the photos from our special day are extraordinary and truly encapsulate the emotion we experienced that day.
To see our friends and family become emotional while viewing our photos gives evidence to how gifted Jules really is. Jules has challenged the notion that family and friends have to “be there to experience it”.
My husband and I were completely at ease and we were able to focus our attention on being present with one another. Jules kept the day fun and allowed us to bring our own personalities to the table, while also offering enough structure to ease our nerves. His recommendations around where to stay and who could style my hair were top notch recommendations.
I can not stress enough how much I would recommend Jules to others. If you are searching for unforgettable photos- Jules is your guy.
- We collaborated with Jules on various occasions and he always captured our products beautifully. He is extremely talented, meticulous and very professional and above all an artist! We strongly believe he helped our ........Tasselli Cashmere
We collaborated with Jules on various occasions and he always captured our products beautifully.
He is extremely talented, meticulous and very professional and above all an artist! We strongly believe he helped our brand and our cashmere to be appreciated worldwide and we thoroughly recommend him.
International Recognition
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