Destination wedding planner fascinated by connection & people. This blog is the home for some of my favorite things — from weddings, engagement sessions & more personal things.
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Planning a wedding abroad can feel overwhelming before you’ve even chosen a location.
If you’re looking for a calm, structured way to understand the process, this guide explains how to plan a wedding abroad without stress — from first decisions to feeling confident moving forward.
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This post is inspired by one of our most-saved weddings on Pinterest and a story rooted in meaning, history, and intentional connection.
How Corrin & Alec Found Their Wedding Planner
The Importance of Architecture and History
Corrin reached out with clarity and conviction. She wasn’t looking for trends or spectacle. Instead, she was searching for a feeling. From our very first conversation, it was clear that this wedding needed to hold depth, history, and emotional weight, his Tonnara di Scopello wedding, felt grounded and deeply personal that felt grounded and deeply personal.
Architecture and heritage mattered deeply to her. She shared a Pinterest board filled with Lake Como, the Amalfi Coast, and Rome, the places where historic walls speak quietly, but powerfully. What she wanted wasn’t a destination wedding for the sake of location. She wanted a place that could hold memory, symbolism, and the people closest to them.
“Mari spent endless hours on WhatsApp and Zoom calls listening to my wild ideas and piecing the more tame ones together to bring my wedding vision to life.” — Corrin
Choosing a Historic Wedding Venue in Sicily
Why This Tonnara di Scopello Wedding Was the Perfect Choice
This Tonnara di Scopello wedding felt less like an event and more like a gathering shaped by place and meaning. We searched across Europe. Spain, Croatia, France, Italy. Every option was thoughtful. Some were even meaningful in unexpected ways, including venues that shared the names of Corrin and Alec’s fathers. Meaning mattered at every step.
Then I shared a wild card: Tonnara di Scopello in Sicily, a former tuna fishery on the Sicilian coast, built in the 13th century.
Corrin was instantly drawn in. And I knew that this place held everything she was looking for. History. Emotion. A sense that the walls had witnessed love, art, and life long before us.
One moment sealed it forever. Inside one of the old fishing storerooms, the number 13 was painted on the wall — a number deeply significant to Corrin and Alec, tied to a personal achievement they hold sacred. Goosebumps followed. The wedding date? The 13th of the month. Complete serendipity.
A Multi-Day Wedding Weekend with All Guests Onsite
Designing a Wedding Around Togetherness
One of the most important elements for Corrin and Alec was time — especially for a multi-day wedding weekend in Sicily where everyone could truly be together.
Meanwhile, all 23 guests stayed onsite. No rushing. No logistics pulling people apart. Just shared moments.
Welcome Night began right on the beachfront with a pizza cart serving artisan pizzas made to order, straight from the oven. It was relaxed, joyful, and set the tone perfectly.
The following day unfolded slowly. A laid-back beach day with swimming, sunshine, and Sicilian street food served on the patio.
That evening, the rehearsal dinner took place in the courtyard under soft fairy lights. A traditional Sicilian buffet was prepared live in front of guests, followed by homemade gelato served from a classic cart. With such an intimate group, every guest gave a speech. Tears flowed freely. All of them rooted in love.
A Stress-Free Wedding Day Built on Trust
After two years of planning, the wedding day arrived, calm, emotional, and grounded.
Corrin was surrounded by her favorite people. While sound checks echoed outside and florals came together, there was a quiet sense of peace in the room. She knew everything was taken care of. She could simply be present.
Out of 23 guests, 19 were part of the wedding party, because Corrin wanted every person there to feel seen and honored.
“She talked me off many a ledge and allowed me to dream big… She truly became part of our family.” — Corrin
A Meaningful Ceremony by the Sea
Every element was intentional.
The photographer was a close friend of the couple, and by coincidence, we had both lived in Cyprus at different points in our lives. Connections kept weaving themselves through the experience.
The ceremony took place by the sea. Music was specially composed and played live on a grand piano. The officiant was a family member. The vows left not a single guest untouched.
“Mari managed a multi-day wedding in a foreign country with confidence and ease.” — Photographer
Dinner, Details & Dancing Under the Stars
Dinner was a traditional Sicilian feast, prepared especially for Corrin and Alec. The wedding cake was flown in from Dubai, a personal detail reflecting Corrin’s refined, intentional taste.
The atmosphere was soft, romantic, and elegant — never forced.
As night fell, guests gathered beneath the stars. No high-energy party, no pressure. Just a lounge-style cocktail evening where conversation, music, and togetherness mattered most.
Why Intimate Destination Weddings Feel Different
Ultimately, this wasn’t a wedding built on expectations. It was built on meaning.
It honored history, family, friendship, and emotional presence. It unfolded gently. And it stayed with everyone long after the weekend ended.
“I’m so genuinely grateful for the lifelong friendship we forged in the process.” — Corrin
These are the weddings I plan. Because they live on. Not just in photographs, but in the people who experienced them.
Planning Your Own Meaningful Wedding in Europe
If you’re drawn to weddings that feel intentional, deeply personal, and rooted in place, you may find yourself here for a reason. Many of the weddings I plan follow this same intentional, multi-day wedding approach in Europe you’ll see throughout my work.
