A Fairy-Tale Tuscan Wedding Week

It felt like fate when my college roommate and dear friend, Brooke, told me she would be getting married in Tuscany over Thanksgiving while we would still be living in Italy. All year I’ve been looking forward to the moment when I could reunite with some of my oldest and best friends in a beautiful, historical Tuscan castle! It ended up being just magical as I anticipated!

Brooke and her new husband Noah reserved rooms in a castello in a tiny town called Montefugoni in the rolling hills of Tuscany. To get there, we had to rent a car which was a first for us since arriving in Italy. Matthew volunteered to be in charge of all things vehicular and he did a really great job driving around! It ended up being about an hour and a half drive and was pretty smooth sailing. We had a few hiccups figuring out tolls and paying for gas, but all things considered, it was a lot like driving in the US. We arrived at the castle and settled into our White Lotus-esque suite.

We had an amazing time throughout the week exploring the nearby Tuscan towns, going to Florence a few times, and culminating everything with a beautiful wedding celebration!

I had the honor of being one of Brooke’s bridesmaids. She did an amazing job designing everything with a beautiful color palette that matched the autumnal Tuscan beauty around us. The wedding included a true Italian style aperitivo hour, an amazing 4-course dinner, a vintage Fiat turned into a photobooth, and concluded dancing the night away to DJ Fabio’s sick beats. We had such an amazing time and I couldn’t be happier for my dear friend and her new marriage!

After we left the castle, we headed to another tiny Tuscan town for a one-night agriturismo stay. This is a common form of tourism in the Tuscan region. It basically means staying on some type of farm, often a winery. We found a lovely Airbnb on the grounds of Il Termine winery.

The owner, Francesca, inherited the vineyards and winery from her grandparents and operates everything completely by herself! That means she is the one picking grapes by hand, processing them, aging the wine, bottling, shipping, literally everything! I had extra respect for her being a former one-woman business owner myself, but her job is way more intense.

She also renovated the property and started running her Airbnb and shared with us how much she loves hosting people from around the world. She gave us a tour of her winery and showed us her process and let us try some of her delicious, unique wines. She also made us a huge, delicious Tuscan breakfast on our last morning. We had an amazing time meeting her and staying on her beautiful property. This was definitely a highlight of our time here in Italy and would recommend her Airbnb to anyone going to Tuscany!

As I write this, we only have 20 days left until we get back to the US! We’ve been going back and forth between feeling extremely ready to come home and extremely sad to leave this new place that has become a home away from home. We still have a lot of trips packed in before we come home, so stay tuned for a few more posts in the next few weeks!