Lori and Aran


Masserias in Puglia accommodate all kinds of tastes and wedding traditions

Switzerland meets India for a colourful 3-day wedding event in the Southern landscape of Puglia. A fantastic integrated experience with sikh turbans, silky gowns and rituals to accompany this lovely couple on their journey of love. Each day had been gracefully curated and thought of as a celebration highlighting the many facets of this cross-cultural love story.

The emotional connection to the place that will stage your Big day plays such an important part in choosing the location. Of course some couples approach things strategically, armed with pros and cons, and blogger's top 10 charts of bests and favorites. Others, like Lori and Aran, share a natural attraction to the place linked to a memory, a trip, a movie, a friend's story, or a secret dream.

Take time to read the behind-the-scenes of Lori and Aran's once-in-a-lifetime event at Masseria S. Giovanni.

Matrimonio organizzato da


The vision


Lori and Aran's notes

With weddings of non-Catholic faith we are always thorough and ask the couple for a detailed list of moments, in order of time, so that we know how to apply our rigorous planning and coordination. So here's theirs:

Day 1 was scheduled to host the western ceremony - which they hoped could happen outside, in front of the ancient white chapel on the property. They expressed their love for a tasteful guitar music as a background fabric, and an all-white theme for the day. Day 2 and 3 would be solely dedicated to rituals of Indian religion. 

A Mayian ceremony in the morning of the second day, where both bride and groom would be rubbed by family and friends with a paste of many colours - intended to cleanse and prepare them for the main wedding rite. The Mehndi which had to happen on the day before the Indian celebration - recommended by us in the afternoon - intended only for the bride and the women in the family. An artist would paint henna designs over hands, feet and other parts of their bodies. Lori wanted a cozy area in the venue where cushions, carpets and colourful pillows could be placed in the form of a circle to welcome the group, and be faithful to the tradition. 

For the Mendhi party, they had thought of a barbecue-style dinner to serve abundant food and fun during the event. We were told to not stress about the music, as they would bring their own DJ from the UK, who knew all about the Punjabi dances. 

Day 3 would see the actual Sikh ceremony happen. Started off by the Milni ritual for breakfast at 8, a meeting with the Sikh gurudwara coming from Rome at 10am and followed by the Anand Karaj ceremony, to be performed sitting on carpets on the floor. At the end of the matrimony, the couple was leaning towards a light lunch, rigorously vegetarian and alchool free, to be able to say goodbye to all the guests in the early afternoon.

The five deal breakers for Lori and Aran

  • Location: South of Italy
  • Ceremony: 3 days of rituals, western symbolic and Indian sikh
  • Venue: with accommodation onsite and large areas to host the many rituals
  • Guests: 130 from the UK, Ticino and India
  • Other: Indian chefs joining the catering to help cook Indian dishes
placehold

The action plan


How did we pull it off

When we found out this was going to be a wedding kissed by world ancient tradition and rituals, we felt appropriate to propose a very known all-female band who performs folklore like no others in the region, and that we thought would fit in nicely with the atmosphere of the group. Entertainment was of the essence, especially considering the wedding size, so we carefully selected the musical genres and added a few extra options to wow the crowd during the reception.

A very favoured pizzica show in between courses got everyone's attention. Pizzica is a special traditional dance originated in the area of Salento, and later extended to other southern Italian districts. The main attractions of the night were possibly the fireworks show while the newlyweds cut the cake, and without a doubt, the surprise performance by the bridesmaids who replaced the traditional speeches with... a flash mob - the best fun!