Tuscany, a hilly region near the middle of Italy, is renowned for its red wines, magnificent scenery, and simply sophisticated cuisine ... not to mention the medieval charm of its walled towns, castles and fortresses.
Then, there are the olive groves, vineyards and rambling farmhouses. And let's not forget the
If you or your fiancé have Italian ties, a Tuscan theme wedding is a great way to celebrate them. And even if you don't, the Tuscan or Italian country theme is a great way to make the most of any outdoor setting.
The cornerstone of the Tuscan theme is simple elegance. Often, this theme shows up in vineyards, country clubs, and manicured gardens. It's also a good choice for Italian-theme banquet rooms or restaurants (especially those with arches, columns or warmly-colored stucco).
Decorating for your Tuscan-Theme Wedding
Start with the signature colors of Tuscany: gold and a color actually known as Tuscan red, which leans toward brick. Olive makes a great (and traditional) accent. But you can choose any color combination you want.
After that, simply think about what makes a vineyard romantic. Hanging lanterns let your reception linger into the evening. Parasols give your bridal party a graceful, old-world look. Tiered fountains add gallons of ambience.
How you go about the nuts and bolts from here really depends on your tastes. For a relaxed look, draw on the graphics of vintage Italian wine posters, or old-world maps. Scan in your favorites and use these to turn out one-of-a-kind table cards or invitations. Display your table cards over wine bottles topped with a slotted cork.
You could also create (or buy) rustic cork placecard holders. For whimsical look, light up key tables and focal points with grape cluster string lights.
Ivy (real or faux) will give any glass canister instant vineyard flair. More laid-back ideas for table decorations: pitchers filled with bread sticks in appealing spiral shapes, mason jars filled with miniature sunflowers, Gerber daisies and the occasional rose, or bowls or urns heaped with gilded fruit.
The cake is the biggest focal point of any reception after the bride, so many brides like to take this uptown even if the reception's more relaxed. A Tuscan-themed cake is a wonderful chance to dabble in the forefront of cake artistry, like texture (such as Venetian lace), gold leaf (think elaborate gold medallions), or even a painted-on rendition of a gorgeous Tuscan china pattern. But if you want to keep things simple, three clean tiers banded by gold and red ribbons will look just as beautiful. Set off your cake table with the traditional cake letters, but spell "AMORE" instead of "I DO."
A Taste of Tuscany
Many caterers will have a good idea where to start if you ask for a Tuscan buffet, a Tuscan food station or even an all-over Tuscan menu.
Tuscan cuisine prides itself on presenting simple food that just knocks you out with its excellence. Any Tuscan menu is going to highlight unpretentious but perfectly-done combinations of peasant breads, soft cheeses, tomatoes, beans, olive oils and wine. Typically appearing the menu are starters like antipasto, bread sticks, and Tuscan white bean bean paté on crostini.
You also might find a selection of the finest olives (and tasty derivatives like tapenade), fruit compotes, and delicious cured meats like Tuscan ham and salami. Or in the European tradition, golden pears poached in a flavorful red wine, then knocked over the top with goat cheese and honey. A Tuscan ravioli filled with grilled eggplant, spinach and a variety of cheeses would draw raves as a main course.
As for beverages — serve San Pellegrino to whet your guests' whistles, and Prosecco for toasts (its sweeter flavor makes it the perfect pairing for cakes everywhere). When it's time to dish up the cake, make it even more enjoyable by bringing out the barista and offering espresso and cappuccinos.
Also, keep in mind that no theme offers a better excuse to entertain your guests during cocktail hour with a wine tasting. Hire a local expert to help bring out the nuances of your wines and really make things memorable.
The Sweet Sounds of Amore
Music is indispensable to any Italian wedding. But a vineyard wedding calls for intimacy: a classical guitarist or a string quartet, say. Alternately, a small operatic choir will have your guests leaping from their seats (and searching for tissues). As the night goes on, an traditional Italian band will get your guests stamping to the strains of the Tarantella.
Gifting Your Guests
There's so many possibilities for favors at your Tuscan theme wedding. Let's start with the food: consider bottles of imported, herbed olive oil ... or real balsamic vinegar, or Italian truffles. Also popular are bottles of hearty Tuscan wine,
personalized with wine labels bearing the couple's wedding date. The favor market's bursting with appealing wine accessories, such as bottle stoppers and charms. Of course, Jordan almonds are never out of place at any Italian wedding.
A Final Note
The elegant country theme has universal appeal, whether it's the rustic sophistication of Provence or the old-world simplicity of Tuscany. If you're lucky enough to have some Italian in your background or a beautiful vineyard nearby, the Tuscan theme is a great way to celebrate close to the heart.
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Okay, so we are getting married at a vineyard and the reception will be held outside. Our colors are ivory, gold, and cabernet/wine. The venue is very old world Tuscan inspired so we’re playing with the wrought iron thing. Some of our tables will have a high iron candle holder with flowers at the top and ivy wrapped around the stem. Others will have wine glasses with votive candles (some without stems to give it dimension). Our place card holders will be corks from the winery with a slit. For the favors, we’re growing Oregano and putting it in small pots. We’re going to Italy for our honeymoon so we’ve decided to name our tables after Italian provinces (Venice, Rome, Tuscany, etc.). We’re going to incorperate grapes into the floral designs on the tables and in the bouquets and our cake will have grapes on it as well. We’re also having an acoustic guitar playing during the ceremony (and our procession will be to Quello che sarà , sarà which is a family favorite of ours). We were thinking about printing our own labels for the wine glasses that will be at each tabel but we haven’t decided. Also, since ours is more of Italian than wine themed, we’ll be having an espresso cart. There will be a cheese display and we’ve worked with our caterer to have a complete Italian menu. Also, our guest book and favors will be on wine barrels.
I want to think of other small ideas and details but am lacking ideas. Hope this helps and if you guys have any other ideas, please share.
Oh, and this isn’t really wine themed, but we’ll be having a photo booth next to the guest book so guests can put a picture next to their message to us.
Hi all, I am now married (9/1/07) and was also suffering from “wedding planning hell”… Since I just tied the knot, I would like to share a few ideas that were HITS!!! Ok, so my wedding was at a Vineyard in NC and I live in Florida. Many of guests flew from everywhere. My welcome gift was a double wine box, which was lined w/ silver & white foil paper (very sophisticated) and it even came w/ a matching thick ribbon, tissue and bow!! This was a life saver- it was a package-it freed up alot of time & I didn’t have to give it more thought (giftmakers.com) Inside I bought a travel tin candle from “Michaels” for $1 and also purchased some gourmet chocolates from Ross; Marshall’s; TJ Maxx (they sell many yummy gourmet items) I bought alot of Granola, which is baked at “Costco or BJ’s” wholesale. I placed about 2scoops inside velum plastic bags and tied w/ a “straw like tie” and gift tag- The gift tag read-”Just a little something to help you settle in, see you at the meet & greet”. Also, I included a mini bottle of wine (they come 4 to a pack & they are glass) you can purchase at any store, and bought my own lables from “bottle your brand.com” and removed the old labels that read “Turning Leaf” and put mine instead… Boy were my gift boxes loaded w/ all kinds of good stuff- My guests loved IT!!!
Each table had a hand written analogy of wine & love- There’s so many other little things I did that was GREAT. I fid a lot of research & got very creative… I bought the flower girl dresses at “Marshalls” during Easter-perfect- I removed the flowers that were pinned & purshased much nicer ones at a fabric store… The total came out to $30 a dress!!! Their mothers were certainly happy!! I will be posting alot of pictures on my wedding website in a few weeks as I am awaiting them. Feel free to stop by! Good luck and remember, all the hard work & brain storming will PAY OFF!!
Best of luck!!
I’m having a Tuscan themed wedding reception next June. The colors are “clover” or “garden grove green”, “summer day gold” and “peppery” which is a terra-cotta red. I took paint chips to vendors and it made it so much easier to match things. I’m using a lot of greenery in old-world style urns and earthtones. For the centerpieces I’m thinking of doing big wine-glasses with candles them and bronze-colored sunflowers around the bases. Cafe lights will be hung from the rafters in the venue. Let me know if you’ve got a good grower or distributor where I can get bronze sunflowers for next to nothing and keep spreading the tuscan ideas!
I’ve decided that i’m going to 1) make rustic wine coasters as wedding favors, 2) use wine glasses with burgundy candles in them and burgundy grapes all displayed on a rustic trayfor centerpieces, 3) i’m going to make cheap welcome baskets for the hotel guests and fill them with a generic bottle of wine, cheese, crackers, and dollar store wine glasses (cheap is the key word!), and 4) for the bridesmaids and groomsmen we’re thinking a nice wine stopper (but that’s still up in the air). I’m also dropping hints to my bridesmaids that vineyard hopping would be a really fun part of a bachelorette party!!!
I was wondering what others ideas for wedding party gifts were. I feel that I need to give a good gift but im not sure what that should be. For favors im ordering wine and beer glasses (for the men) but they will both have our names and date on them and they are very cheap from discountmugs.com. I thought that I would use some of the wine glasses as centerpieces by making candles out of them, so non drinkers can take home a candle instead of juat a wine glass.
Hi Lynne,
I don’t know were the saying comes from, but I do know that you hold white wine by the stem (so you don’t warm a chilled wine) and that you hold red wine by glass (it is already room temp). This is a very lovely phrase. If only I had heard it sooner!
My daughter is using the wine/Tuscan theme for her wedding and I am trying to locate a saying related to wine which reads something like; ” Hold red wine by the stem White wine by the glass and each other very close.” Iam unsure this is correct and was wondering if anyone knows this verse and who to credit for it Iwould be very grateful for info. Thanks to all
i am getting married in oct my bridesmaids dresses are cinnamon because i was going to go with the fall theme but i thought it wasnt elegant enough. can you give me some ideas? we are getting married outdoors and our reception is inside a mansion.
I am also having a tuscan/wine themed wedding. For our favors, my fiance is making his own wine (which everyone always loves!). We are going to bottle it and then label it with our Names and wedding date. My colors are sage, burgandy and gold.
I am doing a Tuscan style wedding and was moving in the direction of long wooden farm style tables. Has anyone donethis, does it make it more difficult to communicate? Are round tables more conducive for people to chat?
Well, my husband is Italian and my daughter shares in that claim, so she wants an Italian reception at least! Simple, simple, simple. Remember you have to do something with all of this stuff and …clean up afterwards. Her ceremony will be white, red and gold, military! Everything changes for the reception. Paper tablecloths and skirts are beige from Party City. I’m using beige, twin, flat sheets from Walmart @$2.95 and putting them in the washer with used tea bags to give them that Tuscan look, and then semi bunching them across the food tables. Walmart has 6ft. grapevine garlands and swags for $5.00 a piece! I will use these straight across the tables or cut to length needed to go around hurricane lamps. We will have tea pitchers so I will cut a piece of vine to wrap aroung the handles, of everything! We will use clear plastic plates, forks, cups. Remember, who’s washing, unless you are having it catered! Clear glass serving platters, etc. I’ve bought a soft gold and burgandy napkins, which is in the grapevine, but can’t decide yet on which one. I do need a color to pull from for the candles in the lamps. Our favorite Italian restuarant does a “catering to go” service, so we are ordering that and my friends, I hope, are going to serve it up! Originally I was going to fix alot of things myself, but…..some. Ours is not a sit down anyway, just heavy fingerfoods. They are supposed to come to see the Bride and Groom anyway!!! This place makes a 36″stomboli. I can get 8/$120. that’s at least 250 pieces. I’m getting olives and penne from Sams. At Michaels we found an Italian music CD for $1.00. The cake will be a square, three tier, beige. They have the pans at Michaels for $40. Good luck out there! Remember, the ceremony is over with so fast!
I am having my wedding at a new venue called Bella Sera. The theme is a Tuscan evening. My centerpieces are plaster urns from Joanns that I filled with a myriad of silk flowers and hanging grapes. I have photos I can share. They turned out great and total cost was less than 30 bucks a piece. My favor is a Mikasa grapevine wine stopper. For more detail check out my bio on the KNOT: psychgalbride.
A friend of mine is planning a tuscan themed wedding and is on a very thin budget.
FOR THE RECEPTION:
Our current plan is to find usedwine bottles w/taper candles, white wicker baskets (from garage sales etc.), and use italian cheeses, bruschetta, olive oil and balsamic vinegar as part of the centerpeice. Also we plan to make garland of queen anns lace and grapevine accented with roses. The colors are red and white..AS WELL AS topiaries. I am overwhlemed myself w/ all of the possiblities and not sureif i am visualizing this accurately - perhaps too much, not enough? If anyone has any photos of their ITALIAN theme - tuscan venetian roman, whatever—- wedding decor PLEASE email me. I would be delighted to hear ANYTHING about it. :D))
I promise I will reply and to help w/ anything I can for you as well.
alandesm @ iusb. edu
NO SPACES.
CiaO BELLAS
if you can’t have open flames, i found these led water activated diamond lights that sink to the bottom of vases in water and look beautiful and will give your event a touch of candle light w/out the open flame. i found them on weddingstar.com. http://us.weddingstar.com/search/?keyword=led&result=53&
“We hope to find chianti bottles to burn as candles holders.”
I am also looking for these bottles for my brother’s rehearsal dinner–has anyone been able to find them?
I too am playing with a wine theme. I’m going to make my own invitations by using rubber stamps to print grapes on dark cardstock and then the transparent paper laid on top of that with all of the info., tied together with a ribbon on the top. For favors I have a mother from my class (i’m a teacher) who is teaching me how to make my own wine coasters. She said they’re super easy…you just buy charming old tiles in mass quantities, stamp the grape decoration, spray with a special clear primer, heat, and then wrap with a ribbon and cute tag. Viola! (Only problem is I have 200 to make!!!). For center pieces, I too am playing with wine glasses filled with candles….anyone know a good site that has a picture of it or experimented and can send me a pix? As for other decor…i’m looking for wine barrels, cheap grape lights, and i’m making cork wreathes in the shape of a heart. Hope this helps a bit! Keep the ideas rollin’!
I am getting married at a winery and for those of you who need ideas i can share mine, but i too needs ides. im having trouble for centerpeices.
My colors are soft gold, sage and merlot with pewter. very rich.
i bought corks from a wine making shop and slit the botoms to make name card holders out of them. for centerpeices i have had a few ideas. my main one is to get rustic lanterns and put a pilar candle inside and surround the base of the lantern with hydrangeas and greenery, but i want to stay low cost. any ideas for centerpeices, i cant have any open flames. I was also thinking of doing a small ceramic garden urn, rustic paint it and fill with hydrangeas. what you guys think?
ciao Ashley
What would appropriate dress code be for guests attending a Tuscany wedding at 12 noon in June in city square then reception around the pool at the villa for the afternoon/evening?
Thank You very much
I also am in great need of some ideas for our wedding reception. We would love to go with the italian/wine theme…however, we would like to put more of an Old World Italian feel into it…almost reniassance. I have purchased TALL glass pitchers which are about 24 inches tall….now I just need an idea of what to put in them! Any ideas?? I want something really impressive since our budget is limited…
hi all! we’re also doing wine themed wedding. As for centerpieces, Walmart, (in the fabric/flower section) has wreaths made up of ivy and grapes (for about 8.99), we’ll be setting those down flat on tables with a
vase centered in middle, filled with artificial grapes, lemons and mini
apples (these were purchased at Target)-