A Tuscany, ITALY Wedding {Castello di Vincigliata + Florence}
I met Jenn & Ben in San Francisco, CA over a cup of tea to talk about their wedding. Two hours later, we felt as if we’ve known each other for years! 8 months later, I am in Italy capturing their aahh-mazing, story-book, destination wedding. They truly made my dream come true — to shoot a wedding at a CASTLE and in ITALY! I mean, woah — doesn’t get much better then this. Their families graciously welcomed me as one of their own. I even went on a day of wine tasting in the hills of Tuscany with them and they invited me to their fun rehearsal dinner as a guest!
Jenn & Ben happily said their I-do’s on October 10, 2010 — this day, I will never forget (for that matter, my entire Italy trip). I was with them for 12 some hours capturing every fleeting moment. Beverly Hills – based Cinematographer, Ari Perilstein with Custom Made Production, and I ran around Florence prior to their ceremony getting shots of Jenn & Ben that I have always dreamed of. It was an exciting spectacle. I overheard plenty of English speaking folks thinking it was for a movie or big commercial shoot. We all felt famous! Ari and I had an entourage of friends/guests helping us with our gear. It was awesome.
And, then there’s Castillo Di Vincigliata, (aka Villa Vorno) a 1000AD- dated castle where 45 of their closest friends & family gathered to watch them wed in a beautiful garden with a fountain, blue skies, and ear-to-ear smiles, all officiated by the charming Benjamin Singleton with Italy weddings. The ceremony was extremely heartfelt. I have to admit, my eyes got teary eyed!
I’ll stop my babbling, so you can enjoy Jenn & Ben’s highlights. Please make sure to check out their webgallery I created for them –> www.nicolegoddard.com/ben_jennifer.
But, before I stop, I would like to extend a very warm thank you to my new friends, Jenn & Ben; their incredible, supportive family; all their guests who flew across the world to be with us; the incredibly talelented, Ari Perilstein, who helped with artistic direction and who created a stunning short film (<— make sure to click and watch!); Benjamin Singelton who not only coordinated the entire wedding, but also beautifully officiated the ceremony; and finally, thank you to my two sweet friends who traveled with me for 2 weeks and who helped me during the wedding, Carrie Valatka & Kenda Todaro. I feel so fortunate to have given the opportunity to capture unforgettable Italy-based wedding. Get ready Italy, I’ll be back in August 2011 to shoot yet another dreamy wedding at Hotel Villa Cipressi in Lake Como.
So, without further adieu, please sit back, drink glass of Italian Chianti (or something tasty of your choice) & enjoy. Thanks!
8 Comments
Sally
January 8, 2011Aaaahhhh!! These are so amazing!! Such a beautiful couple and perfect light – and Florence! Really lovely. 🙂
Kara
January 10, 2011Wow! These are incredible!!!!!!!!!
Kara Snider
January 10, 2011Wow! These photos are incredible!!!!!!!!!
Amy Kiel
January 10, 2011Gosh this is an EPIC blog post! Amazingly fantastic Nicole. You nailed it. So beautiful. xoxo -amy.
Amy Kiel
January 10, 2011Gosh this is one EPIC blog post! Amazingly fantastic, Nicole. You nailed it! So gorgeous. xoxo
John Sabenorio
January 17, 2011Nicole Goddard was our wedding photographer on October 8th, 2010. She traveled all the way from the West Coast of the USA, to Florence, Italy for this assignment.
Her energy was boundless. Her photographic eye for beauty, her subtle demeanor, to make you comfortable, and inspired, came out in her work!
My wife Lynnette and I are eternally grateful that Nicole came in to our lives, for the joyous occasion of our daughter Jennifer’s wedding.
For anyone considering hiring Nicole, I have a label warning which you must read: If hired, she will kill you with her patience,skill, professionalism, kindness, and love!
Bravo Nicole, and thank you for capturing and telling the story through your work which will live forever!
John Sabenorio, Father Of The Bride
Jennifer Kalman
January 26, 2011When we first met Nicole, we were in the early stages of planning our destination wedding and were just being exposed to the myriad of choices when looking into hiring a photographer. We can say from experience, the process can definitely be an arduous one. Luckily for us, Nicole came highly recommended from close family and friends that knew her and the outstanding work she produces. Nicole, though frequently traveling up and down the west coast, made it a point to come meet us between trips so that we could get to know her and see more of her work in person. As Nicole said so perfectly, after a couple hours the three of us felt like we were longtime friends catching up over tea and cappuccinos! She had a great personality and charm about her and we knew that we had found someone that we would be completely comfortable and thrilled to shoot photos with.
The first work we did with Nicole was when she shot our engagement photos during the summer. Prior to meeting up with her in LA, we were brainstorming on a location where we could take some early evening photos. Nicole brilliantly suggested that we shoot at the Venice Canals, a little known treasure right in Venice Beach. The location was certainly impressive! Not only was it fitting that we were being photographed in a beautiful Venice-like location prior to our wedding in Florence, Italy, it was symbolically special for us since one of our first dates was on a gondola ride. Nicole scored double points on that!
In all seriousness though, the photos that Nicole produced from the engagement session were marvelous! She truly has an artistic ability to capture special moments, and the colors and perspective that are present in the photos were outstanding! That’s when we absolutely knew the wedding would be spectacular and the excitement definitely kicked in! Not only that, but throughout the entire session of shooting with Nicole, she made us feel relaxed and at ease while having the time of our lives!
Then came the big day, our wedding in Florence, Italy! We began shooting around 11am and Nicole didn’t put the camera down well after the sun went down – she gave an unimaginable amount of effort (alongside our spectacular cinematographer Ari Perilstein from Custom Made Productions)! Saying that Nicole worked hard and hustled would be selling her short; she worked with purpose, professionalism, but most importantly, passion. That’s the Nicole Goddard that we will always think of when we see our wedding photos. It wouldn’t seem as though there were enough minutes in the day to capture all the angles and variations of lighting in each location; but what came out in Nicole’s final work was perfection! The photos Nicole produced for us have beyond exceeded what we could have ever imagined…
And while we think our photos speak for themselves, we’d like to offer our deepest gratitude to the multi talented artist behind the camera lens. Nicole, thank you so much for all the time, energy and precision you put into our wedding – you truly captured the spirit and joy of the most special day of our lives. We absolutely love the photos that you took and will always look back at them with complete happiness and remember every detail during the most extraordinary day, our lovely wedding.
We know that we found a lifelong friend in Nicole and look forward to many years of photographing our special events with her in the future! We would highly recommend Nicole Goddard Photography to anyone looking for an amazing photographer and artist whose passion is only exceeded by the incredible work she produces. Cheers! Jenn & Ben
Les Abeyta
February 1, 2011Brilliant images. Florence is one of my favorite cities in the world and it was magic seeing the streets from your vantage point. great captures of a handsome groom and beautiful bride! Bravo!