This Retro Tennessee Wedding Was a Glam + Vibrant Affair

Q: What does it look like when an Italian bride + groom get married in Memphis, Tennessee?

A: A one-of-a-kind blend of Southern charm meets “That’s Amore” glam!

Mara + Christian, both from Italy, decided The Home of the Blues was the right spot for their vibrant, retro-inspired “I do’s” since Mara’s got an American passport and spent time growing up in Memphis. “We decided to move to the US and get married,” Mara says. “But there was a caveat: we had 90 days to plan a wedding.” Luckily they fell in love with Pin Oak Farms in Somerville, TN, just east of the city, and found a date that fit in their tight timeline.

“The inspiration behind the day was COLOR! I love color and vibrance,” says bride Mara of the celebration she planned with the help of event designer Caleigh Rodriguez. Bright pinks, oranges, and purples. Pearls. Disco balls. The whole thing was a glamorous, vintage-chic dream. And Media Darling Photography caught it all on camera.

“I was a little against weddings for the longest time because every wedding I’d ever seen or been to always felt the same,” reflects Mara. “Why would such an individual day for two unique people look the same for everyone? No. I wanted something different. I needed color! I needed a playlist that was fit for a movie soundtrack! I needed delicious food and a gorgeous dance floor! I needed a funky signature cocktail! I needed all the elements that made up the mosaic of our love to be translated to an event. And I feel we did just that.”

Mara’s magnificent Maccie Heeled Sandals from Betsey Johnson were the perfect wedding shoes to add some bold + pearly bow-adorned flair to her bridal look.

 “I take huge inspiration from the 60s, so I was going for Memphis Glam!” says Mara of her retro bridal hairstyle from LA x Beauty and colorful baby blue-eyed wedding makeup from Glamour by Cintia. “I had the Priscilla Presley hair, Twiggy eyes, Betsey Johnson Shoes, and a custom red heart veil.”

Can we please just raise a glass of bubbly to Mara’s fabulous pink champagne wedding earrings?!

There it is 😍: The show-stopping bright red + pink retro tulle wedding veil from Veil Atelier!

Christian’s gray three-piece wedding suit and matching tie from Gent’s Formal Wear went perfectly with his black cowboy hat, which was “a nod to his brand new, exciting life in America.”

Loving the plunge neckline and tiered tulle skirt of Mara’s Stella York wedding gown from Bliss Bridal Boutique.

“When you know what you like and you know how you want to celebrate your love story, you make it work,” Mara says. “It took a lot of prep, DIY, and big decisions that all felt as though they had to be made quickly, but there was NO settling. I wanted to change my own mind about everything a wedding had to be and make it exactly what my husband and I dreamed of it being. And oh how dreamy it was.”

A Sunny August Ceremony

How did the romance begin for this pair of Italian lovebirds? “A hotel bar. A green cocktail. A mustache. And two different languages,” says Mara.

“In the summer of 2021, the white streets of a little town somewhere in the south of Italy had a different glow. The glow was there as the stars aligned and two people, who most likely never would have met, encountered each other for the first time and fell in love right then and there. Three brilliant years later, in a different country somewhere in the south of the USA, they said ‘I do.'”

We love the way that Ethan Thomas Floral Design captured the bold, vibrant, joyful vibes of Mara + Christian’s wedding with the day’s floral arrangements.

“Our wedding was one of a kind,” Mara reflects. “I didn’t have any stress or worries the entire time even though I planned the entire thing on my own because I knew it was all of my favorite things combined with all of my favorite people and my love. What could go wrong? And nothing did.”

A Reception With Retro Flair

Mahaffey Event + Tent Rentals outfitted the celebration with pretty pastel table linens, dreamy ceiling drapery, a fab checkerboard dance floor and so much more.

We are completely dazzled by this disco ball + flower-filled hanging installation.

Guests sipped creative wedding cocktails and feasted on a dinner from Pink Flamingo plus sweets from Lucchesi’s Pasta Company.

The adorable Italian inscription on these personalized cocktail napkins translates to “If I know what love is, it’s because of you.”

And how precious are the pink + red personalized matches that Mara + Christian gave away as guest favors!

“For music, I wanted it to feel like you were at an Italian Trattoria sipping wine in a piazza in the Italian Neorealism golden age,” Mara says of the wedding day musical choices. “There were Italian Classics as well as songs by Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Frank Sinatra. For more of the upbeat songs, we had to sprinkle in some of the Beatles and ABBA as well.”

This Crave Sweets wedding cake is every retro bride + groom’s dream. The colors! 🩵🎀🍒🤍

“People say that your wedding will be the most magical day in all the world,” says Mara. “I didn’t believe them until I had mine.”

A Lovely Last Dance

DJ Big Al kept Mara + Christian’s guests dancing all night long. And for the last song, the newlyweds had the floor to themselves. Then, they made their grand exit to “That’s Amore” by Dean Martin.

“We then rode away in a red vintage truck after sparklers,” Mara says, “and rice, and pennies (Italian tradition) were thrown at us!”

Our Advice
From the bride: "My advice for brides planning right now would be to make a big, dated checklist of everything you need to get done and make sure every detail is covered by the day of so you can really just enjoy and relax. Make sure everyone is prepped and ready so that the only thing you worry about on the day is having the best time of your life."

Congratulations, Mara + Christian! Auguri! Your vibrant Memphis wedding was pure retro magic. GWS wishes you all the best. And welcome to the USA!