In the heart of Puglia, amidst rolling hills and olive groves, Babi and Ian's wedding was a symphony of love and celebration, blending cultures, traditions and an unmistakable sense of joy. The celebration began with a traditional Hindu ceremony in a whitewashed courtyard, its simplicity beautifully contrasted by an explosion of bold, colorful flowers. The second ceremony took place in the dappled sunlight of an olive grove – a true fairytale setting. Whimsical floral altar installations, crafted with a touch of artistry, rose from the earth like something enchanted, framing the couple as they spoke their vows. Babi was a vision in her bespoke CINQ mermaid-style gown, every detail a blend of sophistication and ethereal charm. The couple's wedding was not just an event, but an experience – a tapestry of romance and playfulness, where tradition met whimsy.
Our Love Story
The Day We Met
Ian and I first met when we were teenagers, during the summer before our senior year of high school! Though we were immediately drawn to each other, our love story didn’t start in earnest until I moved to NYC for graduate school in 2014, where Ian was living at that time. Once we reconnected, we were never apart. We are coming up on celebrating a decade together!
The Proposal
We had planned an epic summer vacation in 2022 to Sicily, during which we explored Ortigia, Noto, Taormina, and the Aeolian Islands. I had a feeling that Ian would propose in Sicily, but I was wondering if my intuition was wrong when it hadn’t happened yet 10 days into the vacation. On the final stop of the trip at Hotel Principe di Salina, Ian suggested we go up to the roof to watch the sunset, as the terrace had a view of an active volcano on a nearby island.
The tears immediately started flowing when we reached the rooftop and I saw that he’d set up a beautiful table filled with flowers, candles, and a bottle of champagne. Ian popped the question, and we toasted against the most incredible sunset. We then celebrated with a private dinner before FaceTiming our families. It was beyond perfect.
The Engagement Ring
A round brilliant solitaire on a thin gold band from Marisa Perry. I requested “very, very sparkly”, and Ian delivered! I am obsessed with it.
Our Wedding
The Vision
We knew we wanted to have two weddings - a traditional Hindu marriage ceremony to celebrate my heritage, and a more typical Western ceremony where we could exchange vows. As guests were traveling a long distance to the wedding, we decided to split the celebration across separate days, in addition to hosting a welcome party and a post-wedding beach party. We wanted guests to feel our love for each other throughout the long weekend. We picked two focus words – “romantic” and “playful” – to help us design wedding events that felt distinct yet complementary. Whenever we made wedding decisions, we returned to these two words as a guiding principle to ensure that the wedding really felt like us and our love.
Our Team of Vendors
Our wedding weekend was made truly perfect by our team of superstar vendors. Sophie Berard, our photographer, was such a wonderful presence on our day, and made us feel comfortable in front of the camera. Nunzia Guerino is an absolute floral artist, and created installations and arrangements that I could have only dreamed of. Vanessa Nguyen designed beautiful stationery and day-of materials, that wove a thread of romantic thread throughout the weekend.
Ana Marina Sanz brought her iconic style to videography, while Alex of Content for Brides shot all the behind-the-scenes that we’ll treasure forever. None of this would have been possible without our wonderful wedding planner, Lucy White, co-founder of Wiskow & White. It’s so important to work with a planner that you connect with, who really shares the vision of your wedding. Lucy not only kept us informed & on track, but delighted in all the small details of our wedding as much we did. She was our rock!
The Location
Our wedding was held at Masseria Moroseta, a boutique hotel in the Puglia region of Italy. We initially stayed at Moroseta in 2018, drawn to the hotel because of its modern architecture, their adorable bulldogs that wander the gorgeous property, and their wonderful garden-to-table culinary program. We fell in love with both the hotel and with Puglia, and knew that our someday wedding had to be there as we wanted to share this special place with our loved ones. We were able to use the Masseria in different ways across our multi-day wedding that really showcased the beauty of the venue.
The Ceremony
Our Hindu marriage ceremony, the first to ever take place at Moroseta, took place in the white-washed courtyard, underneath a Mandap overflowing with bold, colorful florals. Our priest did an incredible job engaging our guests while explaining the meaningful traditions of a Hindu marriage ceremony. It was such a special ceremony to share, as we really felt support from our community in a spiritual sense.
On our main wedding day, we held our ceremony in Masseria Moroseta’s olive grove, where the trees are over 500 years old. I walked down the aisle to a string quartet playing “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys. Ian’s older brother officiated the ceremony, and we asked a few close friends and family to share their favorite readings about love. We exchanged personalized vows that had both us and our guests in tears. Our florist created an incredible installation in front of an olive tree for our ceremony, and it felt so surreal to share our promises and devotion to each other in such a beautiful space.
The Reception
We joined guests for a poolside aperitivo hour following the wedding ceremony. Guests enjoyed spritzes and local delicacies, including a freshly-made mozzarella station, while the string quartet played. Dinner was held in the courtyard of the masseria. We really wanted this to feel like our best dinner party ever, with a focus on delicious food and a beautiful atmosphere. We had long tables filled with romantic flowers interwoven with fruit, candles, and custom splatterware plates made by local ceramicists.
Every floral section was different along the table, allowing guests to experience something specialized for them, in addition to the custom matchbooks and handwritten menus at each place setting! The food, by Moroseta’s chef Giorgia Goggi, was the star of the show. She created modern, fresh takes on typical Apulian cuisine, and each course was paired with a local natural wine. Guests still rave about the food! After dinner, we led guests to our poolside dance floor, where we passed out espresso martini shots and had a cigar bar. We danced all night under disco balls, breaking only to snack on midnight panzerotti as fuel for more dancing!
The Special Touches
We included live entertainment on each of our wedding days, and it really amped up the celebratory mood! After our Hindu marriage ceremony, a brass band marched into the courtyard and led guests down to the pergola for refreshments. During our reception dinner, we surprised guests between courses with an Italian Tenor. He was an incredible performer, and had everyone singing along, and even got some people out of their seats dancing!
The design elements from our invitation suite became the inspiration for those featured throughout our multiple days of events – the joyful color palette, the handwritten script, and the small illustrations packed with detail. This was all thanks to our brilliant designer, Vanessa Nguyen (byV Studio), who made sure our story was being told consistently, and that there was so much harmony between every little detail, from the invitations, to the signage, place cards, and even custom painted parasols. We’ve saved so many of our wedding materials, as they feel like artful keepsakes.
Our Favorite Moment
After our Hindu ceremony, we brought guests into the nearby town of Ostuni for a reception lunch at a restaurant that had amazing views of the city. It was so special to get this bonus time with our guests in between celebrations to really enjoy and reflect on the meaning of the weekend.
Ian and I also took a moment after we exchanged vows to see our dinner reception space before guests entered. I love that we had a few minutes to ourselves to enjoy being newly married, and to see the fruits of nearly two years of planning come to life. It was a lovely moment of calm during our wedding day.
Our Style
The Bridal Looks
I wore a vintage Valentino robe and vintage Manolo mules while getting ready. I knew I wanted my wedding dress to feel ultra romantic, and I fell in love with CINQ when searching for my dress. I worked with their team to create a custom mermaid style gown based off one of their designs, with a silk satin bodice that flowed into a layered lace and silk tulle train. The dress had freshwater pearls sewn into the double straps, and CINQ created customized lace gloves for me that matched the lace of my dress. It was truly my romantic dress dream come true, and I felt beautiful all day. For the after party, I changed into a Giuseppe di Morabito rhinestone mini dress, which perfectly matched my Gucci crystal slingbacks. Carla, owner of CESCA, did an excellent job with my hair and makeup, and it didn’t move all day despite all the happy tears!
The Groom Looks
Ian wore an ivory jacket with black tuxedo pants for our ceremony and cocktail hour, with Prada dress shoes. He swapped the ivory jacket for a black jacket during dinner, and switched to a Prada silk knit polo for dancing. I love that he had fun with different looks throughout the night, too!
Our Bridesmaid’s & Groomen's Looks
I wanted my bridesmaids to be in different dresses that suited them individually, and were comfortable for them as well! We landed on a blush palette, and I worked with my girls to find dresses that varied in texture and neckline. They carried matching bouquets of mini calla lilies for the ceremony, which looked beautiful across their unique outfits.
The boys kept it classic in black suits from The Black Tux!
Our Advice
For the Planning Process
Jumping headfirst into wedding planning can be all-consuming, so don’t forget to just be engaged! The chapter between your engagement and your wedding is so short, but so sweet – give yourselves the time to enjoy it, and savor the small details of planning. I also recommend asking other brides about the peaks and pits of their weddings and planning. They are wealth of information, and this is a great way to learn if certain choices would mesh well with your vision and preferences.
For On The Day
There is no right or wrong way to have a wedding - what’s most important is that your celebration feels true to you as a couple. When you make decisions through that lens, you will end up with a wedding that is deeply meaningful for you and your partner, and an event that will be truly enjoyable for your guests.
For Post-Wedding
I highly recommend taking a few days to decompress, especially if you aren’t going on your honeymoon right away. We did a minimoon in Tuscany after our wedding, and it was the perfect way to relax and relive all of the special moments before we returned to our daily lives. I also didn’t realize how much I would miss the creative energy of planning a wedding! It’s definitely given me the urge to find a new creative outlet, so if that rings true for other couples, try to find a way to channel that energy!
Vendors
Photography: Sophie Lin Berard
Videography: Ana Marina Sanz
Day Of Content: Content For Brides
Wedding Planner, Stylist & Coordinator: Wiskow & White
Venue: Masseria Moroseta
Florist: Nunzia Guerino
Stationery: BYV.STUDIO
Cake & Catering: Giorgia Eugenia Goggi, Moroseta Kitchen
Ceramics: Ceramiche Nicola Fasano
Bar: Quantobasta
Celebrant: Vaisnava Das
Music: FixTheMusic, Zagor Street Band, The Puglia String Quartet, Michele Vulpio
Hair & Makeup: Cesca
Style
Bridal Dress: Cinq
Bridal Shoes: Gucci
Wedding Ring: Kinn Studio
Engagement Ring: Marisa Perry Atelier
Groom: Nita Fashion Shop
Shoes & After-Party Outfit: Prada
Groomsmen: The Black Tux
