Best. Day. Ever.
Dreaming of your own destination wedding? Searching for planning tips, honest reflections, or inspiration for celebrating locally or abroad? You’ve come to the right place — from our wedding week in Puglia to everything we learned along the way, let this be your guide to making it magical.
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You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.
— Dr. Seuss
Our Wedding in Puglia
Wedding Venue
Masseria Grieco
Wedding Planner
Giusy D’Ambrosio
Photography
Courtney Linden
Videography | Content
Marco De Nigris
Hair Stylist
Massimo Moro
Makeup Artist
Vania Tommasi
Wedding Dress
Alena Leena
Rings
Linnea Handy
Florist
Rollo Fiori
Catering
Rotondo Catering
Music | DJ
Alex Sisto
Stationary & Signage
Lauren Sanford
Luna de Miele in Italia!
Our Italian Honeymoon
After our wedding in Puglia, we spent twelve unforgettable days wandering through the country we love most — from sun-drenched coastlines to timeless cities. It was a journey of slow mornings, breathtaking views, and memories that felt like a dream we never wanted to end.
Destination Wedding FAQs
About Our Wedding
We got married in Ostuni, a hilltop town in southern Italy’s Puglia region, at a beautiful masseria called Masseria Grieco. Surrounded by ancient olive trees and dry-stone walls, it felt like stepping into another world — calm, sunlit, and full of charm. The entire property is built from pale limestone and designed in the traditional Apulian style, which made every corner feel timeless and romantic. From the moment we saw photos of the venue online, we knew it was the perfect setting for our story.
We fell in love with Puglia because it feels authentic, untouched, and full of heart. It’s slower, quieter, and more “down-to-earth” than other Italian regions — yet still full of incredible food, sunshine, and beauty. We wanted a place that felt intimate and true to us, not overly polished or touristy. Puglia offered that in every way. It was the perfect blend of rustic countryside, warm hospitality, and Italian magic!
We had 53 guests join us from across the U.S., plus us (making it 55 of us in total). It ended up being the perfect number — small enough to feel personal and connected, but large enough to have energy and joy at every event. Most of our guests were able to stay on-site with us, and those who weren’t were within about a 30-minute radius of the venue, which made it easy to see each other throughout the week. It felt like one big family vacation.
Nope, we didn’t! We booked entirely from abroad. We trusted our instincts, our planner’s experience, and the feeling we got from the photos and videos online. It was definitely a leap of faith, but one that paid off completely. Seeing the venue in person for the first time the week of the wedding was surreal — it was even more beautiful than we imagined. If anything, it made us realize how much you can accomplish with trust, research, and good communication.
Planning & Logistics
We got engaged on December 29, 2023, started researching venues on January 2, 2024, and locked in our venue by March 5, 2024. So, about 17-ish months before our wedding, which was on June 11, 2025. This gave us a comfortable timeline to secure vendors and give guests plenty of notice for international travel. Because destination weddings require more coordination — especially around travel and accommodations — I’d recommend at least a year, but more if possible. That extra time helps with everything from planning extra events to RSVPs, transportation planning, etc..
Lots of spreadsheets, WhatsApp messages, Zoom calls, and late-night/early-morning emails! We worked closely with a local wedding planner, Giusy D’Ambrosio, who became our eyes and ears on the ground. She handled vendor outreach, styling details, and logistics that would’ve been impossible to coordinate from California. She created detailed timelines and I shared Pinterest boards with her, and we stayed organized through Trello. It was so rewarding to see it all come together, and I feel that Giusy and I worked very well together, too!
No — because I used an Italian planner, which I think is so, so important! Most of our vendors spoke enough English for us to communicate easily if needed, but Giusy translated anything that needed to be (she was actually a professional translator before she became a desitnation wedding planner). When in doubt, photos and visual examples go a long way. Italians are incredibly warm and expressive, and even if you don’t share a language perfectly, you’ll always feel understood!
If you’re referring to the wedding day, solely, it was actually more affordable. With our two extra days of celebration (welcome dinner and pizza party for all guests) it was about the same cost as some of our friends’ and family members’ single-day wedding festivities in the states. While flights and accommodations add cost for you and your guests, the wedding itself was actually more affordable than many venues we looked at in California. Puglia, especially, offers amazing value — stunning venues, incredible catering, and gorgeous settings without the markup you’d find in other parts of Italy (or the U.S.). For us, it felt like the best of both worlds: a dream destination and a celebration that reflected what mattered most to us.
Guest Experience
We built a wedding website filled with travel details — airports, car rentals, nearby towns, local recommendations, and a few FAQs to help guests navigate not just Puglia, but Italy as a whole. The key was making everything as easy as possible for first-timers and seasoned travelers. A few guests turned the trip into a full vacation, exploring other parts of Italy (and Europe) before or after the wedding, which made it even more special for everyone, with lots of stories to tell!
We made the three day period we had into a true experience. It started with a casual welcome BBQ at our venue — an “elevated casual” Apulian-style dinner under string lights with local wine and a gelato cart! The day after the wedding, we hosted a pizza and pool day also at the masseria, which was relaxed and full of sunshine (and Aperol Spritzes). The masseria included breakfast every morning, too, and those not in the wedding party had some free time to explore Ostuni and nearby towns. It gave everyone time to truly connect and explore together. Many of our guests who had never met became friends over the course of the three days and are planning to visit each other in the states!
All but a few guests stayed on-site with us, so we didn’t need to worry about transportation for our guests. For those that stayed off-site (for one reason or another), we provided transfer and car rental info in advance so they could plan how to get to-and-from.
Our only structured events were the welcome dinner, the wedding itself, and our pizza-by-the-pool day after.
We did share a “things to do in Puglia” guide on our wedding website, however. Some friends were only in the region for our wedding, and others spent extra time exploring the beauty of Puglia more in-depth. Outside of the three days of festivities, Max and I spent our extra days in Puglia with our immediate families at Masseria Le Torri in Polignano a Mare.
We kept it simple and meaningful. Each couple or family received a bag with house-made taralli, a small bottle of limoncello, and a handwritten note — a little taste of Italy to kick off the week. The gifts were easy to pack and felt personal without being overly fussy!
The playlist(s) you choose for your wedding matter more than you think. These songs truly set the tone for your entire day!
We wanted a very old-school, classic vibe: think a blend of instrumental Italian music, crooner/jazz icons, timeless classics, etc. From there, it could blend into a more upbeat party playlist with classic party songs, and more recent hits.
Here were our mini playlists and “songs of the moment” from our special day:
- Guests Arriving/Pre-Ceremony Playlist: il matrimonio.
- Groom’s Processional: Beautiful Crazy – Instrumental by Guitar Tribute Players (Max, our parents, and full bridal party all walked down to this song)
- Bridal Processional: When I Fall In Love by Kendra Logozar
- Recessional: For Once In My Life by Stevie Wonder
- Aperitivo/Cocktail Hour Playlist: aperitivo & dinner.
- Grand Entrance Song: Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours) by Stevie Wonder
- First Dance: At Last by Etta James
- Dinner Background Playlist: aperitivo & dinner. (we used the same playlist for aperitivo and dinner because we wanted it to have the same classic vibe carried throughout those few hours)
- Cake Cutting: That’s Amore by Dean Martin
- Father/Daughter Dance: I Hope You Dance (Cover) by Chris Stapleton
- Mother/Son Dance: Over The Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole
- Song to Start the Party: Let’s Groove by Earth, Wind & Fire
- Party Playlist: puglia party! (our guests ranged in age from 20-75, so we had songs that all generations would know and enjoy)
- Last Song of the Night: Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli
Please Note: The full playlists above were full of songs that we personally love, and inspiration for our DJ to add on to as well — we wanted him to have a some freedom to play songs we may not have thought of. We also had a list of “do not play” songs for our DJ. No shade to those who like these songs, they just aren’t songs we wanted playing on our special day:
Mr. Brightside by The Killers
Closing Time by Semisonic
Y.M.C.A by Village People
Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) by Beyoncé
Celebration by Kool & The Gang
Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke
We Are Family by Sister Sledge
For Future Destination Couples
The togetherness. There’s something so special about having everyone you love in one place, far from home, where daily life fades away and everyone is just present. The slower pace, the long dinners, the laughter — it all felt unhurried and real. Instead of one whirlwind day, we had three days of moments that we’ll remember forever. It turned our wedding into a shared experience, not just a celebration!
Easily not having everyone we love there. When you plan a destination wedding, you have to accept early on that not everyone you invite will be able to attend — whether it’s because of travel costs, timing, health, or life in general. The idea of celebrating without some of your favorite people is hard to grasp at first, but I came to realize that even if we’d gotten married at home, there still would’ve been people who couldn’t make it. That’s just life — and the ones who could be there made it all the more special.
The second hardest part was letting go of control. Planning a wedding from another country means trusting your planner, your vendors, and the process — even when it feels impossible. There were definitely moments of stress and a few tears, but also moments of pure joy and disbelief that it was all real. Italy runs differently than the U.S. — slower, more soulful, and with an ease that takes time to embrace. Once we let go and leaned into that rhythm, everything unfolded exactly as it was meant to.
Nothing, honestly.
If I had to pick one thing, I would have maybe added on one more optional activities before the official three days for anyone that was in the area or even just the bridal party—like a beach club afternoon—given neither of us had bachelor or bachelorette parties. Even with three days, it still flew by, so that little bit of extra time would have been fun (but not absolutely necessary)!
Just do it — seriously. You truly won’t regret it!
Aside from that, once you decide to go for it. focus on what truly matters. Don’t get caught up in Pinterest perfection or worry about what guests expect. People are traveling across the world to celebrate you. Choose a destination that feels meaningful, and let that guide your decisions. It’s less about creating a perfect event and more about crafting an unforgettable experience that reflects your story.
Got a question I didn’t cover? I’d love to hear from you! Send me an email at laurenbelzer@live.com, or slide into my DMs on Instagram @lobelz.