Dave & Adrienne’s Destination Wedding in Puglia

Words by Hannah Pronesti / Images by Damien Milan
January 12, 2017

There’s just something about Italy. It’s the cobblestoned paths, the winding streets and the balmy evenings. It’s the centuries-old buildings, vino straight from the vines and the rugged coastline, hugged by the azure of the Mediterranean. It’s the reason Adrienne and Dave chose Puglia for their destination wedding, and the able lens of Damien Milan perfectly captured their Italian adventure.

When it came to choosing their venue, the Melbourne couple relied on images provided by their wedding planner and Masseria Alchimia ticked all their boxes. “All we knew is we wanted to get married in Italy! We wanted as many people as possible to stay at the venue with us for the week leading up to the wedding, so we wanted a really special house, in the southern Italian countryside. It’s a stunning house (divided into individual apartments), surrounded by a private olive grove, a big terrace and lots of cacti!” Bellissimo!

This unconventional pair threw the rulebook out the window, proving you can create a meaningful celebration of love without adhering to tradition. “No first dance. No cake cutting. No religion in the ceremony. No big crowd. No long speeches.” Tells Adrienne, and if she could pass on one piece of advice it’d be: “Stay true to your individuality. Don’t let tradition or what your friends have done influence you. Try to listen to yourself, and do what makes the two of you happy and ignore anything that doesn’t feel right.”

Destination wedding in Puglia Italy – photography by Damien Milan
Destination wedding in Puglia Italy – photography by Damien Milan
Destination wedding in Puglia Italy - photography by Damien Milan Destination wedding in Puglia Italy - photography by Damien Milan bride in Alex Perry black wedding dress
Finding the dress proved to be quite a saga for this bride, but she finally settled on a black, strapless Alex Perry cocktail number. An edgy choice but one she pulled off perfectly. “Part of me really wanted a show stopping white wedding dress, but when I put them on they just weren’t me.”
vintage Fiat 500 Destination wedding in Puglia Italy - photography by Damien Milan Destination wedding in Puglia Italy - photography by Damien Milan Destination wedding in Puglia Italy - photography by Damien Milan vintage Fiat 500
“Our favourite part of the wedding day was the time we spent alone together before the ceremony. After we had a first look, we hopped into our vintage Fiat 500 (hired from Puglia Auto Classica) and took off to explore a local town - Locorotondo. We had so much fun, wandering around the streets together in our wedding outfits, saying ‘wow’ every corner we turned.”
Destination wedding in Puglia Italy - photography by Damien Milan Destination wedding in Puglia Italy - photography by Damien Milan Destination wedding in Puglia Italy - photography by Damien Milan Destination wedding in Puglia Italy - photography by Damien Milan Destination wedding in Puglia Italy - photography by Damien Milan
Adrienne came across Damien Milan on the treasure trove of inspo that is Instagram. She fell in love with his work and discovered he would be in Europe at the same time they were planning the wedding! “I sent him an email with photos of us and our dog, and the Masseria - and basically tried to make us sound as appealing as possible!” Laughs Adrienne. “It worked! He wrote back almost straight away saying that they had already changed their flights!”
vintage Fiat 500 vintage Fiat 500 Italian olive grove wedding Italian olive grove wedding Italian olive grove wedding Italian olive grove wedding Destination wedding in Puglia Italy - photography by Damien Milan Destination wedding in Puglia Italy - photography by Damien Milan Destination wedding in Puglia Italy - photography by Damien Milan Puglia Destination wedding at Masseria Alchimia alfresco Italian tablescape with floral table runner floral table runner Puglia Destination wedding at Masseria Alchimia Puglia Destination wedding at Masseria Alchimia Puglia Destination wedding at Masseria Alchimia Destination wedding in Puglia Italy - photography by Damien Milan Destination wedding in Puglia Italy - photography by Damien Milan Puglia Destination wedding at Masseria Alchimia Puglia Destination wedding at Masseria Alchimia Puglia Destination wedding at Masseria Alchimia Puglia Destination wedding at Masseria Alchimia Puglia Destination wedding at Masseria Alchimia

Credits

Images Damien Milan | Bride's Dress Alex Perry | Bride's Shoes Clarks USA | Bridesmaid's Dresses Honey & Beau | Rings Studio Ingot | Celebrant Claudia Carbonara | Flowers Flower Addicted | Entertainment Alla Bua | Transport Puglia Auto Classica | Venue Masseria Alchimia | Wedding Planner & Hire Chic Weddings Italy | Videography Story of Eve |


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