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 was very professional and took amazing photos of our destination wedding in Italy. He was not shy in telling people where to stand or staff how to arrange items so he could get a perfect shot. His attention to ........Rebecca Ponzio
Jules was very professional and took amazing photos of our destination wedding in Italy.
He was not shy in telling people where to stand or staff how to arrange items so he could get a perfect shot.
His attention to detail was much appreciated. We’re very glad we chose him as our wedding photographer. Our family and friends were very impressed with our photos, too.
- Jules Bower is the quintessential wedding photographer! He put us at immediate ease with his hawkish attention to detail and depth of knowledge and experience. He is a perfectionist (like me) so nothing less will do. As ........Erin O’Connor
Jules Bower is the quintessential wedding photographer! He put us at immediate ease with his hawkish attention to detail and depth of knowledge and experience. He is a perfectionist (like me) so nothing less will do.
As a professional in the creative industries, I worried that I might have to direct or make suggestions. Not so with Jules! He has laser focus and a superb eye, finding the best light, the perfect locations and the right moments.
We were able to completely relax and enjoy each other while he and his top-notch team took care of every last detail. The result? A collection of photos that literally made us gasp. Friends and family can’t stop gushing. I consider our wedding day photos important enough to last a lifetime, so I’m so ecstatic we put them in his talented hands.
Incredibly fast turnaround time, seamless communication and customer service and professionalism. Even though Jules is highly sought-after around the world, he made time to fly in from another country to capture our special day.
And the results could not be more spectacular. Trust Jules with your photos, and let him lead… you’ll be so happy you did.
- Wow, I cannot put into words how exceedingly talented Jules is. His skills and abilities are outstanding, his willingness to flexible with the schedule and weather conditions MADE my wedding photo dreams come true. He ........Jillian Moodt
Wow, I cannot put into words how exceedingly talented Jules is. His skills and abilities are outstanding, his willingness to flexible with the schedule and weather conditions MADE my wedding photo dreams come true.
He captured the emotions and the key points of our rehearsal dinner and our wedding to a T. These photos are perfection and I cant stop scrolling through them smiling. I will be looking for reasons to go to Europe and book him again! 🙂
- We honestly couldn't recommend Jules more. From the moment we contacted him to book in a consultation call, he was professional, friendly and clearly an expert. We found him on Instagram and loved his style of ........Katie Whittington
We honestly couldn’t recommend Jules more. From the moment we contacted him to book in a consultation call, he was professional, friendly and clearly an expert. We found him on Instagram and loved his style of photography.
As for a lot of people, we hadn’t planned a wedding before and he was very helpful explaining the process. We quickly signed an agreement with Jules and had him locked in for our wedding! We booked him very early, as we knew photographers can get booked up in advance, and throughout the lead up to our wedding Jules couldn’t have been more helpful. He told us exactly what he needed from us – things like a list of photo’s we’d like etc. He also helped us find a number of other vendors including hair and make up, and even a videographer two weeks before – as we had a last minute need for one! As we got closer to the event, we had lots of questions (probably nerves), but he was always on hand to help us out! On the big day, Jules was a superstar.
There is no other way to describe it! He was organised and made sure everyone was where they needed to be, so that we got the most beautiful wedding photos. There were small things we hadn’t thought of (like someone introducing us to the wedding dinner) and he made sure everything was perfect! He delivered the photos to us via an online portal really quickly, and they are all just gorgeous. We honestly wouldn’t have had such an incredible day without Jules there to help. We hope our paths cross again!
- While the mind-blowing skill and quality of Jules’ work speaks for itself, I think it is important to recognize what an amazing all-around process it is to work with him. He is a consummate professional from beginning ........Sam Stoviak
While the mind-blowing skill and quality of Jules’ work speaks for itself, I think it is important to recognize what an amazing all-around process it is to work with him. He is a consummate professional from beginning to end, and his finished product is beyond incredible. The suite of pictures we received is perfectly representative of us as a couple, and I believe that is in large part because of the time he spent prior to the event getting to know us.
Since we were an international wedding, Jules was always available for video calls and emails, to ensure that he fully understood our vision, the event, and what we hoped to walk away with. He also studied our wedding site and event location to give expert artistic input and ideas around what would photograph best and at what time.
We actually moved around our ceremony, cocktails and dinner location due to his lighting suggestions, and the end result of the photography was simply breathtaking.
Jules also goes above and beyond the call of duty as a photographer; he is happy to lend a helping hand the day of the wedding and has zero pretention around what fits the job description of photographer. He is also just a relaxed, cool and smart guy.
Jules is a person you want to hangout with outside of wedding day interaction. My now husband is not exceptionally photogenic and clams up in front of cameras. Jules figured out how to make him look natural and comfortable, and that is in large part due to his personable and chill demeanor. That said, if Jules needs someone to get into or out of a shot, he smoothly makes sure it gets done – he is very capable of grabbing the attention of a large group.
Upon his recommendation, Jules also took us on a short sunset photo shoot away from our guests during the cocktail hour; it was a welcome and fun time to get away from the crowd, loosen up and get back into the moment of why we were there – to get married! These are some of my favorite photos, and we would have never taken them if not for Jules! In addition, I am sitting here typing after just getting back from my honeymoon and am in complete shock that I have already received ALL of my photos (even the edited highlights) in a few weeks time post event.
There is something truly magical about just getting home, with the wedding glow still fresh, and being able to keep it going with thousands of stellar photos that capture the entire event in a way that is even more beautiful than you remembered. I am blown away and grateful for the fast turnaround.
Finally, and most importantly, the quality of Jules’ work can’t be matched. I spent countless hours seeking out and reviewing international professional photographers, pouring through innumerable pictures.
What sets Jules apart, in my opinion, is his ability to capture not only his subjects in a relaxed and stunning manner, but also to incorporate the setting and majesty of the event all in the same photo. Every photo is a nod to not only us, but also the beautiful surroundings that we worked so hard to create for our wedding day.
When you look at our pictures, you would think that it was a team capturing everything – but it was all Jules! Also, his use and understanding of light is like no other photographer I have seen. Some of his techniques he used on the dance floor with lighting would lend you to believe that they were heavily edited, but they were originals!
That said, his photo editing skills are also top notch. He made me look like an absolute model in many photos, yet nothing looked over produced or unrealistic. He is a true genius.
There are not enough words to express how thankful I am to Jules, and I highly recommend having him capture any special event. If you don’t believe me, just look at any of his work, it stands out in a talented crowd and is breathtakingly unique.
- 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.
International Recognition
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