Italian- Inspired Wedding Registry
Every year,
I dream of having a languorous, European summer. It hasn’t happened (yet), but still I dream of sun-drenched days on the Italian Riviera-- in Portovenere, Portofino, Amalfi.
I imagine taking gentle strolls, drinking in the beauty of the village, the flowers, the sea. Some days are devoted to spectacular outings—a boat ride, a sea bathe—while others are blessed with the Italian art of far niente. Evenings draw me out for beautiful dinners with a beautiful, possibly professorial, gentleman (this is a honeymoon, after all), to a table where daytime gingham tablecloths are traded for exquisite floral prints and Ginori china.
And because I always dream of playing Juliet in some capacity (though neither the theater nor the ballet called my name), my hotel balcony will fulfill my deepest longings. A hanging garden, characteristic of the gardening style of the Ligurian Rivieria, adorns the balcony, and even columns are covered with lush green plants. I’ll come spend much time here, in a silk robe and nightgown, looking out on the moon and the sea. The clean scent of pine is perfumed with something more exotic—a night-blooming jasmine, coaxed open by the light of the moon. Naturally. :)
Every year, I feel a little crestfallen when, come mid-July, it becomes abundantly clear that this isn’t the European summer year, after all. The year is still young enough, however, that I am holding out hope…
And that hope is particularly potent on gray winter days— days that send me spinning into reveries of sun-drenched Italian vistas. Oftentimes, my dreams are drawn north, to the countryside; to Tuscany, of course, and especially Florence. I dream of frescoes and building walls painted peach and pink. Of places where angels grace ceilings and even the most common, plastered wall is a work of art. How natural it would be to have a personal renaissance here, or at least a reacquaintance with life’s simplest, most essential ingredients.
The perfect Amalfi pinks and peaches. From top left to bottom right: Andrea Pansa and peony images via Pinterest; fresco-filled, Florentine apartment via Mansion Global; bridal gown via Monique Lhullier.
In my dreams, there are alfresco dinners at long feasting tables dressed in exquisitely patterned cloths, and accentuated with arrangements of simple herbs— rosemary, olive, just-plucked from the garden or foraged from the countryside. The food is local, and is a revelation. I imagine walking a garden which, in the words of a favorite garden designer, would be “a garden for the senses, where the sun primed plants release their aromatic scent as you meander through the terraces.” What a luxury, just to wear a sundress and a pair of sandals, and walk in such a place. To see and be touched by light that renders everyday scenes a painting. All of these feelings and intangibles led to my next registry post: an ode to Italy, to its sensuous beauty, its awakening qualities. For many of us feel far, in our everyday lives, from this kind of unapproachable beauty. Yet surely there is a way to tap into some of those qualities, to coax them and experience them in part; even here, even now, in the midst of life’s demands and doldrums.
Florence, captured by Greg Finck
“Imagine taking morning coffee in a Ginori 1735 cup with Oriente Italiano pattern…”
When it came to building an Italian-inspired registry, it was all right there, for me. My dreams guided everything, from the tableware to the coffee accoutrements. When crafting a registry, pragmatism is of course important. But so, I’d argue, is a bit of poetry. Imagine taking morning coffee (…and possibly an afternoon coffee and biscotti) in a Ginori 1735 cup with an Oriente Italiano pattern, allowing the floral designs and swirling coffee clouds to lull you into a bit of a reverie-- a moment of beauty, coming to you unbidden, in an otherwise rushed day.
The aged apricot color of a favorite Italian storefront inspired my registry table— a color seemingly warmed by the sun, ripened, mellowed. Peach-colored drinking glasses inspire a similar feeling of warmth and act as the perfect vessel for an even more perfect pinot grigio, and even the dinner napkins, with their blush-y, apricot color, feel considered. A D’Ascoli tablecloth would enliven both everyday and occasion tables, encouraging a guest to get lost in the watercolor renderings of lotus flowers, the quilt-like borders, and bohemian colors. The star of the table, however, is the Ginori porcelain: a collection with Florentine roots, perfected over centuries of craftsmanship. For an Italian-inspired registry should be an ode to fine art: to the discipline of technique and the wonder of the artistic experience. Imagine eating a dinner salad off of this plate. No one would ever want to disgrace it with anything less than the finest, seasonal produce. Visions of deep purple, jeweled figs— or fragrant, white Cilento figs, flavored with wild fennel, coated in citrus— carry one away. One can almost detect the fragrance of just-plucked rosemary, can sense how the aroma opens and changes when it is picked from the garden, then crushed by the hands, and worked into a dish— a plate of gorgeous pasta, a loaf of bread that basically induces tears. At last, a handblown glass carafe, while practical enough to use daily, looks like a little piece of art for the table. Its playful, green dot design recalls— ever-so-subtly— the rolling hills of an Italian landscape. Altogether, a table like this could not help but lighten the conversation among guests, allowing laughter to come a little more freely, and happiness— however fleeting— to perhaps pay a visit.
Two gardens, both alike in dignity. The stately, formal gardens of Villa Sola Cabiati captured by Greg Finck; “Tuscan Jewel” created by Arne Maynard.
A place where angels grace even the ceilings. Photography by Monique Lhullier.
Any Italian-inspired registry should ennoble life’s everyday moments: should encourage one to eat and drink well, to laugh and linger over conversations. But this celebration of the table would ideally extend to include the garden. A Tuscan garden bench, hand-painted in the palette of the countryside— shades of sun-warmed apricot and soothing sage— would provide a respite from the sun. Imagine perching here at the start or close of the day; what a peaceful place to dwell in prayer, unburden the mind, and revel in the glory of God’s creation. One immediately envisions a formal garden of topiaries, pleached trees, and stately cypress; a garden that, with its Classical virtues of structure, harmony, and serenity, acts like a portal to the past. It may be that your ideal Italian garden is more romantic, casual: a countryside-inspired green space with plants grown in indolent, meadow-like groupings. Salvias and lavender create a path to a little cutting garden, where a late summer flush of dahlias brightens the earth with a honeyed, apricot color. Perhaps one’s gardening dreams are more modest: a simple potager, or a small collection of windowsill herbs— just a bit of green and fragrance to slip into the evening meal. If one is not naturally drawn to cooking or gardening, surely these registry items would inspire an effort— maybe the start of a lifelong love affair— with these domestic rhythms of tending, caring, and communing.
This is a registry bursting with colors, flowers, patterns, and porcelain treasures.
“It’s a registry that encourages you to bring the exotic beauty, vivacity, and romance of your travels back home.”
It is rooted in craft and in fine art, and yet it is so not studious—but rather vibrant, sensual. Like Italy itself, this registry offers a treasure trove of cultural riches and traditions… and it’s also just beautiful, dare I say sexy. It’s a registry that encourages you to bring the exotic beauty, vivacity, and romance of your travels back home. I imagine these pieces infusing tables and surfaces with a burst color and passion. And I am so drawn to the Amalfi pinks and peaches (the very color, the essence that inspired my Chapel venue painting). May a hunger for beauty—in its natural and artistic forms—guide your selections. If you cannot be in Italy, on balcony or boat, then may you fill your home with its sensuous beauties.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links.
Click here to shop our Italian-Inspired Registry Pinterest Board, or click the individual images below:
