Fabiana and Nicole got married in the beach, with the picturesque backdrop of Albissola Marina, behind them. With a budget of just €5,000, they made clever choices to keep the costs down, such as both brides wearing dresses made for them by their mothers!

“We got married on the beach, touching the sea water with our feet”, they told us. “I don’t know if we thought of an actual theme, neither of us ever really liked the idea of locking ourselves into a category, but we had lots of grey and burgandy details. We certainly knew that it would not be a traditional reception and that we would invite very few people.”

Fabiana took the lead in crafting the wedding, choosing the colour palette and asking guests to dress in white. They also replaced the traditional wedding cake with brownies and carrot ice cream, and handcrafted almost every detail, including flowers made from pages of books, a mirror as their table plan and hangover kits for their guests to take with them for the next morning!

Their ceremony was attended by fewer than 30 people and music played a significant role, with personal favourites like Dadju-Reine setting the tone. “Two moments stood out as particularly poignant”, they continued. “The first was when we glanced toward the beach just before making our way down, we both had so much anticipation and emotion. The second was when we exchanged vows. Our words were not conventional; they were exchanged intimately, as if the world around us ceased to exist, and only our connection mattered.”

Their most significant expense was the dinner and restaurant hire, but they saved money on almost everything else. This allowed them to focus their budget on what mattered most to them: their honeymoon.

“The only advice we can offer other couples is to listen deeply to yourselves and decide based on what you truly desire, even if the path is sometimes more challenging and receives less support from others”, they concluded. “While the opinions of friends and family may feel important, this day is too personal to try to please everyone or do what others would want or do in your place.”