Charlotte in Jesus Peiro 236 for a relaxed, rustic wedding in Tuscany

Charlotte and Stephen's stunning wedding took place at Borgo Di Pietrafitta, an idyllic exclusive use farmhouse located in Castellina, Chianti, Tuscany. The day was a small and intimate, with natural rustic details, alfresco dining, music and dancing against the beautiful Tuscan landscape.

Charlotte wore Jesus Peiro's 236 two piece top and skirt for the wedding, combining a striking cropped lace top with bold shoulders above a chic wrap skirt with split front. This combination was just perfect for the laid-back vibe of the day, allowing Charlotte to feel comfortable and relaxed. TO style her dress, Charlotte added blue heels, her favourite bracelet and a gorgeous personalised leather jacket. Charlotte also wore the 206 trousers the night before for the pre-wedding celebrations.

Read on to find out more about the day, and Charlotte's dress shopping experience.

Dress Shopping

Unfortunately it was during Covid so I was limited on who I could take and I had to move quickly as things kept opening up and closing again shortly after. My best friend and bridesmaid Ally came with me as she knew Miss Bush and knew Emma would be just the lady to help me out after a few bad experiences in London boutiques! My Mum and Sister came to another appointment so I could show them the dress I had fallen in love with.

I had been to a couple of bridal shops prior to Miss Bush and I really wanted help and guidance. Having never tried a wedding dress on in my life I had no idea what I wanted and what would suit me, I was super open minded and happy to try on anything but I also wanted expert guidance, which I had not received up until Miss Bush. I was anxious that I wanted to feel like me and I didn't want a traditional dress, I wanted to feel like a bride but still keep the essence of me. Emma understood this immediately and made me feel relaxed and I totally enjoyed the day and actually ended up with several dresses I loved. It became apparent very quickly Jesus Peiro was a favourite!

As it was during covid the whole experience was a little different to the norm with some places not allowing anyone to come in with me, to wearing masks and only being able to try on a limited number of dresses. Miss Bush did their absolute best to make the whole process as special as possible, they had even set up a TV screen so my other bridesmaids could facetime in on the appointment as though they were there in real life. I never felt rushed or as though I couldn't try anything on, I was simply encouraged by everyone at Miss Bush to enjoy the time and moment.The team at Miss Bush also helped me navigate getting my dress abroad and on to an aircraft safely and securely, which I had no clue how to do!

Styling

I have short hair so what I was going to do with my hair was a real sticking point for a while. I had a look at a number of different accessories and clips etc. but nothing felt right. Emma encouraged me to think outside the wedding world and this really helped as I didn't want anything twee/traditional wedding energy. In the end however Emma and I decided not to over complicate the outfit and just have my hair as it was because it made enough of a statement on its own.Again my jewellery was the bracelets I wear everyday (mixture of silver and gold) and I had Star stud earrings that climbed my earlobe. I felt like me just a little more glammed up and that was important to me. The morning of our wedding my husband gave me a silver bangle and he had a matching one and on the inside were the co-ordinates of where we got married, so I wore this too. On my feet I wore bright, petrol blue heels. They were my something blue. I knew exactly the tone of blue I wanted and I knew I wanted them in suede so I scoured the internet for hours and actually ended up finding the exact pair I wanted on the preloved site Depop! They had never been worn and were perfect. I had to stretch them out a little bit first before the big day so I was comfy. I brought some spray to stretch the leather and wore them with thick socks around the house whilst my husband was out to make sure they didn't pinch on the day and it worked a treat! I also got my own leather jacket personalised by an incredible illustrator called Bee Davies (@beedaviesillustration). I often wear a leather jacket and to be able to wear one on my wedding day when the sun went in and it got a little cooler again helped me feel more like me. She did a fantastic job and even designed it with the flowers we were having on our actual wedding day. It said 'Mrs P' in gold and also had our wedding date painted on it. I also had a pair of white, leather, high top Converse trainers to change in to for dancing in the evening and she hand painted our wedding date on the back of those too. Those little touches really made it feel special.

A rustic farmhouse wedding in Tuscany

Being half Italian it felt right to head back to my roots. We wanted a small and intimate wedding and of course the sunshine, great food and great views were all an added bonus. We didn't want the venue to feel corporate like a hotel but instead wanted a rustic, homely, family energy and having the wedding at the Borgo certainly gave us that. It was small enough to have exclusive hire so it felt like our our own private retreat in the Tuscan hills where we could laugh, dance and be merry with all our loved ones and after lockdown everyone was excited to travel and be a little bit freer again.Growing up my memories of Italy would be dining outside on one big long table at various family members houses, eating and drinking until we were fit to burst and sitting out until the stars appeared overhead. We wanted to recreate this for our special day to give a sense of togetherness and love. We consider our friends very much family and so having this beautiful long table outside overlooking the Tuscan hills and being all together as 1 table was everything we could have hoped for.We had a humanist ceremony and Steve's Dad conducted the ceremony. He was the perfect man for the job putting together the most touching ceremony that told our love story, where it all began and our journey through 12 years together. We had two readings, one from our friend (who is the reason we are together) who wrote his own words about us two and Steve's sister did the other reading, creating her very own poem that made us all laugh and cry. We also chose to sing 'Stand By Me' by Ben E King as a musical interlude and the string duo that played me down the aisle played it live for us all to join in. It made us both grin from ear to ear as we all sang together and I remember just looking around at everyone's happy faces and feeling so elated, it was a really special moment. My Mum also walked me down the aisle, she has been so influential in my life and it was important to me that she was the one by my side on the big day. Everything about our day we wanted personal to us and our story. We had no real colour scheme or theme but we wanted the venue and landscape to do the talking so kept things very simple and sympathetic to venue. We had lots of greenery and the flowers used were all white, the only real colour was the pop of yellow from the lemons on the table.We wanted our day to not be over complicated relaxed and one big party and most of all reflect who we are as a couple. We created our very own rave cave in the wine cellar for partying the night away into the early hours and spent many hours throughout lockdown curating our perfect play list to keep the energy going as this was very important to us. Optimising quality time all together was a priority to us too, so we also hosted welcome drinks at the wine bar at the foot of the long driveway up to the Borgo the night before the wedding and we also had a pool party the day after the wedding with our very own pizza van where everyone could relax and continue the fun in the sun. It was truly special.

The best bits

It is so hard to choose one particular moment from our day that stands out as my most favourite part, everything was so special from start to finish but certain highlights would definitely have to be all sat round the table together and hearing the touching speeches for the first time. We both felt very overwhelmed by the love from our nearest and dearest. Being able to spend a week out in Tuscany after 2 years of lockdown and Covid with everyone reunited in person will be a feeling we will treasure forever.