Real Wedding: Forever Fissore

Hometown: Emanuele is originally from Madonna del Pilone Cavallermagiore in Italy and Lindsey is from Fairfax Station, Virginia in the United States. Today they reside in Arlington, Virginia.

About the couple: Lindsey and Emanuele share a love for family, travel, food & wine, cooking, skiing and diving. 

Guests: 100

The Wedding Style: Romantic, Classic, Chic.

With an American bride and an Italian groom the couple wanted to blend traditions to create an unforgettable weekend for their guests. For them, food and drink took center stage for their classic Piedmont Wedding.

Lindsey and Emanuele wanted an event that centered around sharing delicious food and fabulous wine with their closest friends and family in the breathtaking setting of the Langhe vineyards. Extraordinary Weddings managed logistical aspects, like local vendor selection, including like the videomaker and photographer and coordinated the Big Day.

Piedmont Wine Country Activities:

To showcase the region the couple arranged a Langhe wine tour and a truffle hunt. They held a Welcome Reception at Hotel Langhe in the primary wine town of Alba. Friday’s Rehearsal Dinner was at the famed Osteria Da Gemma in the small village of Roddino. They final event was Brunch & Bubbles on the Sunday after, complete with an old-fashioned gelato cart. 

The Preparations:

Colors: Navy Blue, Mauve and Gold

Flowers: White Roses, Baby Pink Spray Roses 

Dress and Shoes: Vera Wang

Accessories: The bride wore diamond stud earrings, a gift from her groom on their wedding day and a cathedral length veil trimmed with lace from the mother-of-the-bride’s wedding dress. She carried a custom purse also made with material from her mother’s wedding dress and an antique purse frame from her grandmother. Her bouquet was embellished with the lace veil worn by Emanuele’s mother on her wedding day. 

Groom’s Suit: Armani

The Ceremony and Reception:

A few unique aspects of the ceremony and reception included a handkerchief holder Lindsey made out of a vintage window frame. As guests entered the church they could take one to ‘dry their tears of joy’. Given that gravel roads can do a number on heels the bride had heel covers ready for the ladies as they boarded the coaches that took them from the church to the reception. 

The cocktail reception was decorated with pink and blue straws with fun phrases like Salute!, Cheers! and #ForeverFissore (the couple’s last name).  They had a custom photo backdrop with fun props for their guests to take pictures for their guestbook and a cigar corner.

Ceremony: Maria Madre Della Chiesa, Madonna del Pilone

Reception: Monforte d'Alba, Palazzo Martinengo

Music: The couple had a String Quartet and Vocalist performing during the ceremony. For the reception they started things off with a live band followed by a DJ. The first dance was to Frank Sinatra's, "The Way You Look Tonight".

Menu:

Guests dined on masterful creations from Michelin-starred chef, Ugo Alciati, who created a menu rooted in Langhe tradition with unique touches. The four-course meal included antipasti of duck and black truffles. The second course  offered guests two different risottos and two traditional Piemontese pastas. For the main course guests enjoyed traditional roast and braised veal with fresh vegetables from the famous Fontanafredda winery. Dessert included a wedding cake comprised of Emanuele and Lindsey’s favorite dessert, French Croquembouche created by Fabio Giarlotto. The cake was gorgeous standing over four feet tall. Each course was carefully paired with a local wine, including Cascina Chicco Barolo from the famed Rocche vineyard.

Wedding Favor: To continue their theme of mixing the cultures, the American guests received Limoncello and the Italian guests received BBQ Sauce. 

They also had a traditional Bomboniere Buffet complete with custom bags.

In addition, individual welcome bags were given to guests with ‘do not disturb’ signs for the morning after the wedding, biscotti from the local bakery in Emanuele’s hometown, chocolates from their favorite chocolate shop in Fossano, Barbera D’Alba, Torrone, and Fonzies.

Extraordinary Touch: Lindsey is an event planner by profession so no detail was missed! Invitation designer, Tova Glenn of Brighten My Day developed an incredible letterpress invitation suite, which incorporated a beautiful laurel wreath logo their initials. The logo was used in much of their wedding design. The place and menu cards included the laurel logo as did the monogrammed wraps on the cigars that were enjoyed after dinner. 

At the reception entrance there was a vintage bike with an adorable flag sign on the back that read "Just Married" on one side and "Appena Sposati" on the other.

It can get quite cold in the mountains so when the sun went down, the bride arranged for a basket of navy blue cashmere pashmina wraps for the ladies. One of the most beautiful elements of the reception was seeing wishing lanterns the bride, groom and their guests sent off, floating into the night sky. 

Advice for future brides:

Weddings are stressful.  Try and relax and enjoy your day to the fullest.  Don’t stress the small details and be thankful that you are with the love of your life, surrounded by all the people in the world that love you the most. 
Lindsey, the Bride 

Piedmont Wedding planner: Barbara Gourdain - www.extraordinaryweddings.com

Destination Weddings in Langhe, Monforte, Barolo, Alba - Piedmont, Italy

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