Lisa and Matt's wedding in Italy - Nicki Shea Photography

Italy certainly delivered

To photograph your best friends wedding is a dream come true and also nerve racking as hell, but to do it in Umbria, Italy is just off the chart awesome!

Lisa and Matt have been in my life since the birth of our first borns 9 years ago. We have laughed, cried (more her than me!) and celebrated with each other throughout the years and this year see’s them moving to America.

When one of your closest friends moves away, you have such a mixture of emotions it’s unreal. As a rule, I’m not a crier but I’m not ashamed to say, I blubbed like a baby when she told me about the move. However, with the wedding planning in full swing, fun nights together and kids birthday parties to name but a few things, we still had so much to look forward to.

Setting the scene

The flight out to Perugia airport was nice and quick but boy oh boy, my hand luggage was SO heavy! Two cameras, four lenses, numerous batteries and chargers, two gorilla pods, laptop, three speedlites… that’s quite a lot of stuff! And to make it look really light to the flight staff so they didn’t take it off me was rather challenging! But challenge complete, it stayed with me and survived the flight there and back.

We arrived in Passignano Sul Trasimeno to be drenched in sunshine and smiling faces. It wasn’t long before they were cracking the whip though and getting us all working on decorating the venue and getting ‘wedding ready’. Some of the items were supplied by the lovely Venue Styling by Sara. The lads went on a supermarket run and loaded a Fiat Panda with more alcohol than I think it was capable of carrying. It was like Mary Poppins bag watching all the bottles and crates they kept taking out of it! The rest of us made the pom poms that were to be hung all round the venue.

After the pom poms and some leaf picking, I did a recce around the venue with Lisa and Matt… jaw droppingly beautiful. It was very clear to see why they chose Borgo Monteluce. A family run venue oozing character and charm, set in the hillside with a view of Lake Trasimeno (literally the biggest lake I have ever seen!). Steps winding this way and that, an idyllic courtyard, balconies with views and a fab host named Giulio who makes THE BEST apple cake!

Time to say 'I do'

Then, the wedding day was here! The venue looked even more breathtaking than it did when we arrived. Myself, Georgie and Kirsty had the privilege of spending the early afternoon with Lisa getting ready which was such a special time (and yes, there were tears!). The celebrant lead service was outside in the lower garden with a panoramic view of the lake as their backdrop. It was packed with emotion and laughter and love. The weather was on true form and remained bright, clear (and HOT!) all day.

To say that Italians eat a lot is an understatement! I lost count of the courses that were being brought out! It was delicious though! Speeches were carried out in an informal and more intimate setting on the balcony, followed by a showering of pom pom and foil confetti I had organised for them which looked epic.

Party time

The first dance, You and Me (Lifehouse) was performed by my husband on an acoustic guitar. Family and friends joined in the dancing for a further two acoustic songs and then it was left to an epic (and sometimes hilarious) mix of songs on a playlist… anything from Chumbawamba to Aerosmith to Rod Stewart.

Just when you thought there couldn’t be anymore fun, out came the Chorobodo band! The duo were a hive of energy and so much fun! A mixture of traditional and modern songs played with an accordion and tambourine. You couldn’t not jump around to the music and can can your way around the courtyard.

I did put the camera down on a couple of occasions for entertainment purposes! One was to act out a little number from the movie Bridesmaids with Georgie and Kirsty and the other was to dance my signature Sia, Chandelier – not just a photographer you see!

The party continued through to the early hours and was honestly one of the best days of my life! Thank you Lisa and Matt. The memories I have are priceless as, I hope, are the memories your photos will give you.