An Elegant Garden Wedding Weekend in Rome With Tableside Food Service and International Entertainment

 When Lauren and Nate followed each other on Instagram back in 2019, they viewed each other’s stories for a few months before Nate finally asked Lauren out. Two years later, the couple planned a trip to Portugal to celebrate Lauren’s birthday before attending a friend’s wedding in Germany. Nate worked with a hotel concierge to curate an afternoon at a private winery, which required a trip by boat. “While sailing down the river that cuts through the valley, Nate got down on one knee and proposed,” Lauren says.

Lauren and Nate share a love for international travel, so they invited 100 guests to Villa Aurelia for their rehearsal dinner and welcome party, and Villa Miani in Rome, Italy, for their wedding events. “Knowing that guests built longer European itineraries around our wedding weekend was so special,” Lauren says. They prioritized giving guests a first-class culinary experience and memorable entertainment throughout the weekend. “I’d say that everything about our wedding had 'Lauren and Nate' written all over it,” the bride says.

The couple tied the knot on June 18th, 2023. “We were very intentional about getting married during Juneteenth weekend,” Lauren says. “As a Black couple, we feel proud to have gathered 100 guests during such a special weekend.” They worked with Melissa Williams of B Astonished Events to pull off a clean and elegant wedding weekend with a cream, blush, sage, and light green color palette. Check out the details in photos by Adovasio Studio.

Lauren and Nate enlisted Little Carabao Studio to customize invitations with an illustration of Villa Miani to get guests excited for their destination wedding in Italy. The suite was finished with a floral border, a vellum overlay, wax seals featuring the couple’s first initials, and sage green envelopes. 

For the couple’s rehearsal dinner and welcome party event, attendees were asked to adhere to a garden-chic dress code. “All of our guests understood the assignment!” Lauren says. Nate wore a light green suit from Suit Supply with matching Common Projects sneakers. Lauren chose a tiered pink and lavender gown from Mac Duggal and Stuart Weitzman heels; she wore her hair in a twisted ponytail.

When Lauren and Nate toured Villa Aurelia in Rome, they envisioned hosting their rehearsal dinner in a tunnel of candles and flowers. Their planner, florist, and caterers executed that vision flawlessly. A long table was set up underneath a lush floral installation with hanging glass topiaries. The station was set with floor-length ivory linens, garden-inspired floral dishware, and gold cutlery. Each place setting had a custom menu and a fresh flower as a finishing touch.

The couple flew in artist Anqui to perform at the welcome party. They had an open bar including Italian favorites like prosecco, rose, and negronis. “We also had orange peels stamped with 'Lauren + Nate,'" Lauren says.

Nate surprised Lauren and their guests by hiring an artist to paint custom watercolor portraits of guests throughout the welcome party. “Because we were getting married in Italy, we wanted to add special Italian touches, too,” Lauren says. “We had a gelato cart and brick pizza oven available to guests, along with other passed food and drinks.”

Lauren and her bridesmaids wore floral robes with lace trim and fuzzy slippers while they sipped on Champagne and got their hair and makeup done. “I was quite anxious about finding a stylist in Italy that had experience with blowouts and up-dos on thick, curly hair,” Lauren says. “It wasn’t easy to nail this down, but after months of searching on Instagram, my husband actually found a curly hair stylist located in Italy.” They enlisted Reina Gomez a team of women who have experience with braiding and blowouts to make sure Lauren, her bridal party, and her mother felt amazing throughout the wedding celebrations.

Lauren’s maid of honor, who was also her wedding stylist, set up a day of wedding dress shopping months before the event. She knew what she was doing, because the very first gown Lauren tried on was the one she chose. The strapless lace Badgley Mischka gown had a fitted silhouette and train. “I was hesitant to select 'the one' at the first boutique,” she says. After waiting a few months through her industry’s busy season, she set out on another shopping excursion and almost selected another gown instead. “On the way home, I listened to my inner voice and decided that the first and original dress was the one,” she says. “I called the first boutique the next day and placed my order.”

Lauren accessorized with a Badgley Mischka veil, Rene Caovilla shoes, a vintage diamond necklace, a diamond ring, and a pearl ring. “All of the jewelry was passed down by my late grandmother,” she says. “She could not be there physically on my wedding day, but she was there in spirit.”

Lauren’s bouquet included white, cream, and blush peonies and roses.

Lauren envisioned her bridesmaids in a variety of hues like champagne, blush, and cream. “Some may see it as taboo, but I wanted my matron of honor (who was pregnant with my adorable nephew at the time!) to wear a cream gown,” she adds. The women each selected their own style of floor-length gown and held a smaller version of Lauren’s bouquet.

Nate’s big-day look was a custom off-white shawl collared jacket with black tuxedo pants from Suit Supply. He accessorized with a Tom Ford bow tie and Edhen Milano double monk strap loafers. “Not unlike my wife, I was concerned about finding a barber in Italy with experience cutting Black hair,” he says. “So I surprised my groomsmen, father, father-in-law, and a few other guests by flying in my personal barber [Donnie Ray II] from Maryland.”

Nate wore Byredo’s “Bibliotheque” fragrance. “It’s a very unique and refreshing scent,” he says.

Lauren and Nate are introverts, and although they loved having all their guests around for their wedding weekend, they were looking forward to having a quiet moment together during their first look. “As soon as I felt Lauren tap on my shoulder, I knew that my life was about to change forever,” Nate says. “This intimate moment was the perfect opportunity to slow down and reflect on everything that had led up to that point.”

For Lauren, seeing Nate dressed in his tuxedo made the wedding day feel real. “We had the opportunity to take pictures during that time and looking back on those photos, I know that they were some of the most special parts of the wedding weekend,” she says.

Lauren’s maid of honor (who wore a Bronx and Banco number) and Nate’s best man—he and the rest of the rest of the groomsmen wore black tuxedos from The Black Tux—were their best friends from childhood and college. The couple’s wedding party also included flower girls, a ring bearer, and a broom bearer; the latter two donned mini tuxedos with black and white Nike dunks. “We decided to jump the broom at our wedding, so having a broom bearer was important,” Lauren says.

Lauren and Nate’s ceremony took place on the hedge-lined lawn at Villa Miani, where guests took in views of Rome in the distance. A white aisle runner led to an asymmetrical floral arch covered in cream and blush roses and peonies. The aisle was lined with lush arrangements of ivory and pink flowers and greenery, with the goal of repurposing as many of the florals for the reception as possible.

Lauren and Nate asked their DJ to mix songs including “Yebba’s Heartbreak” by Yebba and “Ultralight Beam” by Sunday Service Choir for their ceremony. After the wedding party walked down the aisle, Lauren’s father, Anthony Marcus, escorted her to the altar.

Lauren’s cousin officiated the ceremony, during which the couple recited hand-written vows. “When Nate said his vows in front of our guests, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house!” Lauren says. “Nate’s vows were truly from the heart—and included some Jay-Z lyrics.”

The couple’s reception was set up in the courtyard, where some of the villa’s arches were adorned with greenery and flowers. Long dinner tables with ivory linens surrounded the dance floor. Arched installations of greenery held chandeliers for additional lighting and ambience.

The couple wanted to add an Italian feel to the place settings at the wedding reception, so they paired colorful patterned plates with subtly patterned cloth napkins. The centerpieces included tea lights, taper candles, and a variety of flower arrangements with cream, blush, pink, and yellow blooms.

Nate put together a compilation of three different songs for the couple’s first dance. “We started our dance to Snoh Aalegra’s 'Someone Like You' and then we transitioned to 'Between the Sheets' by the Isley Brothers,” the groom says. “Then, to welcome our guests onto the dance floor, our DJ mixed into 'Int’l Players Anthem' by UGB, featuring Outkast. Lauren also shared a special dance with her father to Adele’s 'Make You Feel My Love.'"

The couple served a truffle pasta course to start dinner, then a choice of pan-seared sea bass or braised short rib as the main course. “What we enjoyed about our dinner service is that everything was served tableside, with our servers paying special attention to plating and wine serving for each guest,” Lauren says. “It was very important that everyone got to enjoy hot food.”

Lauren and Nate served a show-stopping five-tier wedding cake with cream frosting decorated with cream colored roses. They chose a yellow cake with raspberry and pistachio cream.

To prepare for an evening of dancing, Lauren changed into a strapless sequin fringe dress with an open back. The duo hired a band, Double Soul, to entertain guests during the cocktail hour and dinner—and for the later part of the reception, DJ Jerome Baker took the stage.

To couples who are currently planning their wedding day, Lauren and Nate recommend being thoughtful about your guest list. “You might invite a guest because you’re worried they’ll be upset about not getting an invitation,” Lauren says. “My biggest piece of advice is to drown out that noise! Although we kept our guest list to a reasonable number, there are certainly a few guests that we haven’t seen or spoken to since our wedding.”