Your Names: Sophia Lee and Sarah Kendrick
Length of engagement: 2 years
Wedding Date: 2020-06-09
Wedding location: Castello di Montignano
Photographer: Andrea Cittadini
Videographer: Wedding Motion
This beautiful couple met in Rome and got engaged in Assisi, Umbria! It all started two years ago when Sophia moved to Rome and began living in a crowded dorm, filled with people from all over the world. “The day Sophia first arrived in the dorm I wasn’t there. I had gone to the theatre with a friend and when I came back that night, I saw her. She was eating in the kitchen by herself. It was very late…around 3 am. I remember thinking that I had never seen such a beauty before and from that moment I knew that she had to be mine. And of course, I was all over the moon when I found out that she felt the same way about
me.”
Sarah and Sophia spent the following year travelling around Italy and making amazing memories together. During their adventures they fell in love with a lovely Italian region called Umbria. They just knew they had to come back, so they did. For Christmas, they rented a little cottage on the Umbrian countryside and invited all of their Italian friends to celebrate the holidays with them. The group reserved a table at a famous restaurant in Assisi to spoil themselves the night before Christmas.
“When we arrived at the restaurant the whole place was empty. I remember looking at Sarah in disbelief. An empty restaurant?! At Christmas eve?! She noticed my astonishment but before I could say anything we entered the main room of the restaurant and our friends were all standing looking at us. The room was full of little lights and Christmas decorations and a big screen was directed at us. Shortly, “That’s Amore” from Dean Martin started playing in the background and pictures of me and Sarah began to fill the screen. Then Sarah started to describe what our life together meant for her, describing our happiest moments. Some of our friends started to tear up a little and so was I. Finally, at the end of the video,
Sarah asks me “will you marry me?”
And I was still looking at the screen when I heard the question, so I turned looking for her and there she was, on one knee, asking me to love her forever. Among a river of tears I said yes! Immediately, after my response, our friends ran to hug us both. I will always remember that day like one of the best days of my life. Right after the day of our wedding!”
“Our same-sex wedding was a living fairytale: In the morning I wanted to make the day even more special and together with Beatrice, we arranged a surprise breakfast for Sarah in the room Benedettoni. I left her a card in her room where I wrote “I cannot wait to marry you” asking her to come to the room to have breakfast together. For lunch we had a lovely picnic with our friends. By that time, the excitement was so overwhelming that I wasn’t able to eat anything of the many wonderful things that we brought with us. The only regret I have about that day! Later that day, Sarah got ready in room Chiaravalle with her bridesmaids while I got ready in room Benedettoni with the help of the amazing Pamela Sanchez as the makeup artist and the creative Alessio Leonardi, an incredible hairdresser working for the hair saloon Lauteri. I cannot thank them enough for having made me feel like a true princess. Me and Sarah, both dressed in white, walked down the aisle together, holding hands.”
“For our big day, we were looking for a location that cherished all the beauty and history that Umbria had to offer. Our main goal was to find a unique place that could suit our love for historical places together with our boho style. Castello di Montignano, which dates back to the Xth century, was the perfect venue to host our wedding: surrounded by the natural Monti Martani hills, we fell in love with the castle’s breathtaking view and the way we were welcomed by Beatrice, the wedding manager and Giuseppe, the owner. Beatrice worked wonderfully to fulfill our every request. She did an amazing job working as our wedding planner as well as our event designer.”
“We had an intimate ceremony with an English speaking officiant. We were surrounded by our closest friends and there was a homey feeling in the air.”
Sarah and Sophia’s wedding was hosted in the park area of the Castle, with a boho-chic style ceremony. “The best moment of the ceremony was when we shared our vows. I kept looking at Sarah hoping that we could stay like that forever. There was this decadent triangular floral decoration as an altar and beautiful Persian carpets to walk on. Mariana, the Castle’s Florist, did an outstanding job with all the decorations. Everything looked and smelled exactly how we pictured it in our minds.”
After the ceremony, they enjoyed an Italian wedding dinner under the stars followed by an incredible cutting of the cake adorned with sparklers and fireworks.
Sophia and Sarah planned a bohemian style wedding decorated with light linens, earthy details with sandy and burgundy nuances, and a variety of floral centrepieces and greenery installations. The bridesmaids’ and friends’ outfits complemented one another, along with the flowers.
The bohemian style extended into their beautiful bridal looks. Sophia opted for a two-piece lace wedding dress, paired with soft, loose curls and a delicate flower crown. “I was looking for a natural look that could match the bohemian dress and our makeup artist suggested a soft smokey eye that could add a more dramatic look. It was gorgeous!”
Sarah wore a lace and satin wedding dress paired with a side ponytail adorned with earthly flowers. Her makeup had pretty much the same features as Sophia’s, but her smokey eye was darker to enhance her stunning blue eyes.
“One of my favourite moments was when I was getting ready with my bridesmaids, who encouraged me to drink while making sure that I could still walk down the aisle later on. However, the best moment of the day had to be when we shared our vows: At that moment time stopped for a second and everything apart from Sophia disappeared from the earth.”
“I would suggest to all couples to have a person at the venue that can make sure that everything falls into place. Your wedding day shouldn’t be stressful, it should just be good fun from start to finish. Beatrice did the trick for us: she assisted us every step of the way and we will never thank her enough for this.”
“A celebration to remember, captured by the eye of the photographer Andrea Cittadini and filmed by Wedding Motion Italy. Each photo, a snapshot of love. Each video, a breath of happiness to keep forever. A special thanks to those amazing professionals that with their work helped us capturing all
the details of our perfect wedding day.”
Suppliers
Wedding venue: Castello di Montignano | Photographer: Andrea Cittadini | Videographer: Wedding Motion | Planner/coordinator: Beatrice Fuso | Hair: Lauteri / Hair Stylist: Alessio Leonardi | Makeup: Pamela Sánchez | Dresses: Alessia Sanzone – Alta moda Sposa | Cake: Elisa Giovannetti | Stationery: Plumacreativa | Jewellery: Sorbi Gioielli | Flowers: Mariana Scolastra for Castello di Montignano
