P h o t o s b y N a d i a M e l i
Happy Friday, everyone! I’m kicking off the weekend with a very fun styled shoot captured by Nadia Meli. I’m veering away from weddings per se at the moment here (though the tablescape is stunning and will be pinned all over my wedding boards), and showcasing an amazing lifestyle shoot featuring the precedes leading up to a dinner party.
From the stylist Jessica Gallo of Fine & Fleurie…Nadia Meli and I are pleased to offer for your consideration a sweet little lifestyle shoot we created in Florence. Nadia and I absolutely adore Florence and we were inspired by the incredible duo behind Valdirose, a quaint and very chic B&B set in the rolling hills just outside of the city center hustle and bustle. The proprietress Irene and her husband are two of the most loving and kind people imaginable, and their home absolutely reflects their nature. The villa features a handful of utterly charming rooms and the most gorgeous glass atrium that’s filled at all hours of the day with the most creamy light. Nadia and I imagined staging a faux dinner party in the atrium and capturing the couple preparing for the event. Irene is quite a well known lady here in Italy and her cookbook “Quello Che Piace a Irene” has earned her a large following, so we were privileged to have Irene share a couple of her recipes with us, and also to have her prepare some of her favorites for us to capture.
For the aesthetics of the table we decided to keep with the casual-chic essence of the villa and set the table first with a barely-blush natural silk runner from Silk & Willow and next with clean white dishes featuring a subtle lace pattern- pieces I’d found in a handmade pottery shop near my home in Northern Italy! Mis-matched glassware and flatware with a little patina were the perfect backdrop for Sonja of Funkybird Firenze’s incredible floral arrangements. Shades of peach and palest pink paired perfectly with dinner party invitations and menus hand-painted by Yao of Yao Cheng Design.
Undoubtedly though, our favorite part of the shoot was capturing Irene and her husband Paolo in the kitchen together, rolling by hand the malfatti (delicious dumplings made from ricotta cheese and spinach) and laughing as Irene critiqued Paolo’s rolling abilities. Their warmth and love was palpable and we were grateful and happy to share in the sweet moment with them!
