I am proud to present this Villa Aurelia Wedding. I meet Gintare and Sam together with my wife Sabrina at the Edition Hotel in London in 2016. We immediately click as they are clients who know what they want. They have very defined specifications and standards, and don’t settle for average or seen before. We like that!
We decide to work all together to create something special and unique, with many custom designs thrown in the mix. I concentrate on photography and video, and my wife plans the event.
The wedding day is upon Rome and us, one of their favorite cities, delivers perfect temperatures and clear skies.
We have an unusual situation with accommodation. Sam is a lover of contemporary and sleek designs and is getting ready at the Fendi Suites. Meanwhile, Gintare enjoys some grand and romantic period features at the Residenza Napoleone III, just opposite. Photographically it is enjoyable for me to work in two such contrasting locations. Both very central locations they are also not far from Villa Aurelia and the church for the wedding ceremony.
One Amazing Wedding Dress
Gintare expresses to Sabrina her disappointment over the wedding dresses she tries in London at various ateliers. Sabrina suggests having her wedding dress designed by an upcoming designer. She is already well known between the young international elite: Francesca Piccini.
Francesca personally sources the lace for her dress in France at lace designer Sophie Hallette. Sophie has now been bought by Chanel!
The luxurious box arrives and contains as a present the drawing of the dress Francesca made for Gintare.
Beautiful Details and Accessories
The shoes are Renee Caovilla, and the rings are custom made in London by a personal friend of the groom Michael Condren. The earrings are Bucherer.
The beautiful handmade invitations are from Mount Street Printers in London.
While the ladies are getting ready, I photograph the groom with his sons, the atmosphere loving, and fun.
The groom is wearing a suit from Hackett, J.M. Weston shoes, Hackett shirt studs, and Montblanc cufflinks.
I use some of the ultra-chic spaces to take photos of them as they help each other get ready. To finish these photos, a couple of portraits of Sam.
We go downstairs to check out the vintage green Porsche and take some “street style” pictures before Sam leaves to go to the church of Santa Sabina. After the wedding, Sam and Ginatare will be driving this lovely car to Villa Aurelia.
Back at the Residenza Napoleone III, Gintare is ready, and we take some bridal portraits of the bride with the backdrop of the beautiful decor and architecture and some shots with her family.
Catholic Wedding Ceremony with some Gospel
Two black Mercedes take Gintare and her father, her mother, and sister to the church.
At the church, a Lithuanian priest who is a personal friend of the couple together with a Lithuanian Bishop performs the ceremony.
As a loving surprise to Gintare, Sam has engaged the services of X Factor UK singer Rebecca Ferguson to sing the Halleluja and Ave Maria at the ceremony.
After the ceremony, we take some group shots, and the couple makes their exit greeted by all their relatives throwing rice and petals.
We then make our way to a lovely venue next to the church for a drink, enjoying the full views of Rome.
While the relatives go back to their accommodation to rest and get ready for the second part of the day: the aperitifs and reception at Villa Aurelia, we drive off to take some pictures and shoot a video with the With Heart crew around Rome Dolce Vita style!
Back to the Fendi suites, Gintare changes her look and slips into a Jenny Packham for the evening ahead.
Villa Aurelia wedding reception
As I arrive at Villa Aurelia, I am curious to see how the villa has been transformed. We knew how exigent Gintare and Sam were about the decor for their wedding, their specific ideas have now come to life and it looks very impressive.
I start photographing some of the beautiful floral designs while we wait for the couple to arrive. Once they make their entrance, there is Cuban music and cocktails for everyone to enjoy. After a while, we grab a few couple shots around the villa, and then I leave them to enjoy great food and drinks meticulously prepared by California catering.
The guests make their way to the upper rooms. Here, two long tables with lavish quantities of flowers and candles greet the lucky guests. The bride and groom decide to sit for one course at the head of one table and at the other one for the second course. This way both ends of the room get to see them!
During dinner, Antonio Nasca plays a grand piano creating a magical atmosphere.
Villa Aurelia wedding with one awesome party!
At the end of the dinner, we all move into the party room on the ground floor. Here we find a large stage, a maxi projector, and an impressive bar. Rebecca Ferguson makes her entrance, and the couple performs their first dance while she is singing their favorite song. Some beautiful pictures of the bride and groom appear in the background. After the father and daughter dance, Rebecca gives us a high-energy performance. She blasts out her hits and covers some classics. It’s a memorable private concert that we all enjoy immensely!
Time to cut the delicious cake and enjoy a stunningly decorative buffet of desserts where each guest can take one of the boxes with a lovely present inside and all, of course, is custom made in Italy and Greece. The night ends with a super high energy DJ set by superstar DJ Giannis Sartzetakis that everyone loves as they party and dance into the night, a great way to end this unique Villa Aurelia wedding!