This Couple Took Over a Small Town in Italy for Their Medieval-Inspired Wedding
When the groom’s parents spend part of the year living in Monforte d'Alba in Italy’s Piedmont region, the wedding destination is almost a given. At least, it was for Thousand Oaks, California natives Jessica Hagy and Kyle Lopez, who celebrated with almost a week’s worth of parties in the region.
“Through Kyle’s parents, we fell in love with the tiny-town charm, vineyard setting, friendly people, and out-of-this-world food and wine,” says Jessica, a writer and social media consultant. “We loved the idea of bringing our friends and family to a destination they might not have visited otherwise and immersing them completely in Italian culture.” The whole town came together for the festivities, from the local baker to hotel owners to the florist. “We joke that Kyle's parents are now small town celebrities-everyone, including the dry cleaner from three towns over, knows who they are,” she says.
From High School Acquaintances to True Love
Kyle and Jessica first met as teenagers in high school and attended the same college-but the love connection didn’t happen until after they graduated and reunited through Hinge. “In high school we were acquaintances and in college we never saw each other once. Not once,” Jessica says. “I highly doubt it would have worked out then...we were on different wavelengths and both figuring ourselves out.”
After moving back to Los Angeles from New York in late 2014, she came across Kyle’s photo on the dating app and remembered thinking, “Damn, he’s looking cute these days.” After their first date, the rest was history. “It was love at first sight for me,” says Kyle, the chief operating officer of Stonefire Grill. “I love Jessica for her compassionate heart, intellect, enthusiasm for life, like-minded values, and creative mind.” As for Jessica, she’s still amazed that their paths crossed again. “Last month I was cleaning out the garage and found a photo from a homecoming dance. There we were, in a group photo together, with just a few people between us!” she says. “It blows my mind to think we were in each other’s orbit, but didn’t get together until 10 years later.” Kyle's mind is likely blown too; he thought Jessica was out of his league in high school.
The Proposal
The couple was together for a little more than a year and a half before Kyle proposed-but Jessica knew it was coming. “I had told her to expect it six months down the road since my brother had just gotten engaged,” Kyle said. The plan was to propose on a beautiful bluff in Malibu, near what Jessica calls their “little beach shack trailer” where they like to spend their weekends.
Kyle, who had hired a photographer to document the occasion, first lured Jessica out of the house early with the promise of breakfast. Before they could place their order, Kyle’s mom texted them to say there was something they “needed to see” on the beach. “We loaded our dog into the golf cart and drove up to a beautiful bluff,” Jessica says. “I was looking around for some natural phenomenon. I blacked out during the proposal-I only remember the first sentence! I love that Kyle did it there because now we cruise past the spot often.” That night, Kyle had arranged a surprise party with 50 of their closest friends and family to celebrate.
While Kyle designed the ring with jeweler Bez Ambar, Jessica very much had her say. “I knew-and made clear with photo examples-that I wanted a pear cut diamond with baguettes and a vintage feel,” she says. “He knocked it out of the park.”
Pre-Wedding Parties
Family members began to arrive the Tuesday before the wedding for an epic few days of eating and drinking. It began with a private dinner for 25 at Ristorante La Botega 'd Cesare, owned by Cesare Giaccone-whom Jessica describes as “a culinary legend and quirky character.” He even gifted them a magnum bottle of Barolo, and invited them back to drink it.
On Wednesday, the group had grown to about 70 people, and they headed to Le Case Della Saracca, a charming wine bar in town. By Thursday, most of the 113 guests had arrived, and Kyle’s parents hosted a casual welcome party at their home. On the menu: pasta, pizza (made in the on-site oven), charcuterie, and gelato. “The highlight of the evening was an impromptu concert by their sweet 90-year-old neighbor, Elvio, who sang Italian ballads,” Kyle recalls.
A dance party followed at Villa Beccaris, where the bridal party and close friends were staying. “It was so sweaty, and so perfect,” Jessica says. “We couldn’t believe that everyone-of all ages-joined us.”
The Rehearsal Dinner
When Kyle and Jessica had been dating for eight months, they visited his parents in Monforte d’Alba. As they were passing by Moda Ristorante, Kyle’s mom explained that it was often used as a wedding venue. “I looked at Kyle and decided, ‘We’re getting married here.’ He’ll tell you I said it out loud,” Jessica says. Because of that, they knew at least one wedding event had to take place at the restaurant.
All of the guests were invited to a five-course rehearsal dinner, complete with wine pairings. “I thought that a lengthy dinner would take up too much time for our wedding night celebrations, so we opted for the languorous meal for the rehearsal dinner instead,” says Jessica, who wore a Caroline Constas dress and Tory Burch heels. “And I loved the site of our friends and family making their way down the cobblestone streets, decked out. The locals were bewildered.”
The Fashion
As a former bridal editor, Jessica still finds herself on designer media lists-including that of Odylyne the Ceremony. That meant she was able to preview the brand's collections months before the gowns arrived in stores.
“When I saw the Juliet gown, I knew it was the one without even trying it on,” she says of the floral lace dress, which has a deep V-neck and sweeping bell sleeves. Unfortunately, it wasn’t supposed to be in stores until spring-and her wedding was in July.
“In an act of divine intervention and kindness, Christy Baird, the owner of LOHO Bride, mentioned that she would have the dress at a trunk show in San Francisco that week, and would carry the dress on the plane with her back to Los Angeles, just for me to try on. She made the dress dream happen!”
Jessica paired the romantic gown with gold Chanel T-strap sandals adorned with stars and pearls, vintage Miriam Haskell jewelry from an antique shop in Michigan, and a cathedral-length veil by Daphne Newman.
The bride covered her somethings “old” and “blue” with a handkerchief that belonged to her late grandmother, which was sewn into her dress. “It has her name, Nancy-which is also my middle name-in light blue cursive,” she says. Her something “borrowed” was Coco Mademoiselle perfume by Chanel. “I wore this in honor of my late cousin, Kristin,” Jessica says. “It was her scent and always reminds me of her.” As for the new, she counts her dress, veil, jewelry, and shoes.
The Venue
The wedding was held at Castello di Guarene in the nearby town of Guarene. Built in the 18th century, it’s rich with history-and ghosts, as the couple later found out. The venue was able to accommodate their desire to have an entirely outdoor wedding, which isn’t as common in Italy as it is in the States, they learned.
“Most venues encouraged us to move inside for dinner; being from California, we envisioned the gardens as our backdrop for the entire evening,” Kyle says. The entire event was held in one space: the ceremony and reception in the main garden, with aperitivo hour in a separate garden. Carlotta Cirone and Alice Fognani of the Italy-based planner Sposiamovi helped make it all happen.
The Ceremony
The ceremony took place in the villa's fairytale-worthy garden, with a fountain and perfectly manicured trees as a backdrop. When guests arrived, they were greeted with glasses of chilled Prosecco and a string quartet playing classical, subdued music. Once the wedding party-seven groomsmen in The Black Tux tuxedos and eight bridesmaids in black Amsale Delaney dresses-proceeded down the aisle, Kyle followed clad in a custom tux by Klein Epstein & Parker.
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The Matron of Honor’s father, who is a pastor, officiated the ceremony, which included both the couple’s own vows along with traditional ones. “I'd been asking him to officiate my future wedding since I was about 16 years old,” she says. “It was very special to have someone so close to us perform the ceremony.”
The Reception
According to Jessica, the overall feel was moody, old-world, and dramatic, thanks to a color palette that included black, white, gold, and dramatic shades of burgundy and plum. Round tables were adorned with tall gothic candles, which needed to remain unlit because it was too windy. Sofia Barozzi of Il Profumo dei Fiori created the floral arrangements, which included three types of roses (English, spray, and avalanche), hydrangea, dahlias, clematis, magnolia, white protea, and ferns.
As for the music, that was provided by the Los Angeles-based band The Shrines. “They played at Kyle’s brother’s wedding in February, and we knew we had to have them with us in Italy,” Jessica says. “They have the best set of unexpected modern songs and groovy throwbacks. The dance floor was packed all night long.”
Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic,” one of their all-time favorites, and was played for the couple's first dance. “It was perfect for goofily swaying and twirling our way around the dance floor,” Jessica says.
The menu? Italian, of course. The castle’s in-house restaurant catered the meal, which included sformato di zucchini (baked zucchini pie), ravioli with butter and sage, and veal served with creamy potatoes. For dessert, the non-cake-loving couple went for a traditional millefoglie, a multi-layered cake of layers of custard and very thin puff pastry.
The After-Party & The After-After Party
The newlyweds held a late-night party with a DJ in the castle’s cellar room. Jessica changed into a 1970’s vintage gold lame dress for the occasion (it was too late for a photo-op!), while Kyle donned a white tuxedo jacket from Klein Epstein & Parker. “We had planned for me to change at the start of our reception, but totally forgot,” says Kyle, who remembered right before the cake cutting. He even had “costume change” inscribed inside the jacket.
The entire bridal party stayed overnight at the castle. “It was complete mayhem, in the best way,” Jessica says. “Friends were wandering the medieval halls in bathrobes, tuxedos, and various degrees of shambles, holding platters of cheese and bottles of wine.” As for the newlyweds, they finally ended the evening at 5 a.m. sitting outside the castle in their bathrobes, drinking Moscato. “Our feet were sore, my hair extensions were long gone, and my face hurt from smiling,” she says. “It is one of my most prized memories.”
The Honeymoon
Since they were already in Italy, it made sense to stay there-so the couple packed up and headed to the Amalfi Coast. They spent three nights at the Hotel Caesar Augustus in Capri and five nights at Le Sirenuse in Positano. “It seemed like the perfect relaxing postlude to our week of celebrations,” Jessica says. “We ate, drank, shopped, lounged, chatted up the locals-essentially what we did during our wedding week, but at a slower pace and without the formal wear.”
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