Globetrotting couple Isabelle Daza and Adrien Semblat officially tied the knot under the Tuscan sun on September 10, 2016
Eight years after model and actress Isabelle Daza met Adrien Semblat, the general manager of Adidas Philippines, they said their “I do’s” before 194 of their nearest and dearest in an intimate destination wedding in Tuscany, Italy.
The three-day celebration, which was held at the Castello di Gargonza, a 13th-century castle hotel, was nothing short of spectacularly romantic. On the eve before the nuptials, guests indulged in a casual Tuscan-themed al fresco dinner at the Michelin-recognised Lemon Garden of the medieval hotel.
On the big day, Isabelle floated down the aisle of St. Francis Church to Bob Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love, in a classic strapless Vera Wang wedding dress. The lovely bridesmaids were a vision in whimsical miss matched floral gowns by Vania Romoff, while the dapper groomsmen sported blue tuxedos. Isabelle was given away by her godfather and father’s best friend, Bongbong Marcos, due to her father’s passing just months prior.
Post-ceremony, the party moved to Lecetta Oak Garden, where exquisite Tuscan food and all-night dancing was to be had under romantic fairy lights. The next day, guests trooped to the poolside garden of Castello di Gargonza to continue the celebration with a Sunday “hangover brunch.”
The bride and groom subscribed to what Isabelle dubbed a “DIY” wedding and it was the sweet personalised touches—such as the inscrip-tion on the rings (Adrien and Isabelle my love), the tongue-in-cheek cake topper, and the socks of the groom’s entourage which had the cou-ple’s faces on it—that made this celebration extra special.
Browse through the beautiful getaway below:
The Castello di Gargonza’s country chic vibe
Erwan Heussaff and Anne Curtis Smith
Happy and bright vibes for the #BelleAdrien2016 nuptials
Nico and Solenn Heussaff Bolzico
DIY Socks
Rajo Laurel, Nicole Andersson, Erwan Heusaff, Solenn Heusaff-Bolzico
The Semblats: Charles, Hugo, Nathalie, Adrien, Axel, Marine and Lucas
Louise and Bongbong Marcos
The bride’s dream Vera Wang gown
A romantic dinner under fairy lights and the Tuscan stars
Ava Daza, Isabelle and Adrien Semblat, Gloria Diaz, Mike de Jesus
Paul and Leon Moulin
Mikhail Schemm
Silvana Diaz, Ruby Roa, Tim Yap, Romina Diaz
Philippine Tatler Weddings: Describe the proposal.
Isabelle Daza Semblat: He proposed in Cappadocia [Turkey]. It was right after a 4:00 am hot air balloon ride—it was one of my most favourite experiences on earth. After the ride, we sat down to breakfast and for some reason, Adrien wasn’t eating. He looked so stressed! Eventually he asked me if I wanted to go outside and have tea. When we were alone, looking at the view, he had his arm around me and he asked, “Would you like to marry me?” I didn’t think he was proposing. I said, “Ya, in the future.” But then he turned me around and said, “No, I mean, would you like to marry me?” And then when he went down on one knee, I started freaking out.
PTW: What was the overall look and theme of your big day?
IDS: We wanted something rustic and we wanted something Tuscan-inspired, which is why for the pre-cocktail, everyone was wearing something Italian. But on the day itself, I wanted no black. I wanted everything miss matched, light, flower-printed and colourful to go with the ambience of the Castello. We wanted people to be relaxed. Everyone had to be in flats, no heels.
PTW: What did you use for wedding inspiration?
IDS: The Knot.
PTW: How was your wedding planning process?
IDS: We created a website with our own “wedding brand” and here we updated guests on activities, what to wear, the location, how to book a car, how to book a hairstylist, etc. As far as wedding planning, I hired my own executive assistant. We were very hands-on with everything. A lot of my friends pitched in and my family most especially. My bridal entourage was each assigned to a task. One of my friends, Solenn [Heussaff Bolzico] did so much! She did the make-up for two of Adrien’s family members, she was part of the choir, she was part of the production and she [helped put] the band together! She was definitely the most stressed during the wedding.
PTW: Who did your flowers and what was the direction there?
IDS: Although I love flowers, I had to cut the budget somewhere. If you see photos of my wedding, you’ll notice that there were no flowers, just a lot of leafy greens. I wanted to instead spoil my guests to delicious food; we had Bistecca fiorentina, jamón ibérico from Spain, unlimited tiramisu, gelato and a lot of prosecco, champagne and wine. I made my friend Erwan [Heussaff] make custom Gin n’ Tonics and Moscow Mules for everybody and ordered copper mugs from China for this. Because we did that, we spent nothing on the flowers. I would have rather spoilt my guests with food and the experience than spend on flowers.
PTW: What were your wedding party favours?
IDS: Everything was customised! I created little wedding kits / welcome bags / party favours. It was a tote bag designed by my tita Ruby Roa. It had a hot air balloon logo design on it. I actually had a real hot air balloon there (the proposal connection) for the guests to go on but because the winds were too strong, it was a safety hazard. Inside the bag were mini make-your-own cocktail kits for Gin n’ Tonics and Moscow Mules. My little sister had hand-sown and painted hangover kits made. Inside were a pair of Sunnies sunglasses, Kiehl’s products, mouthwash, paracetamol and vitamin C. I had a bunch of other Philippine knick knacks that I brought over to Italy—which, in hindsight, was really expensive. I also had socks from Vamos custom-made for Adrien and the groomsmen and my side of the family.
PTW: What stands out to you when you think of your wedding? Why?
IDS: My getting everyone to pitch in; it was more like a DIY wedding rather than everything being perfectly organised. There were kinks here and there and a lot of things were miss matched. I loved it, I embraced it. But that to me was what made it special. Everybody showed us that they wanted to participate and that they wanted be part of creating the entire wedding theme to executing it on the day itself.
PTW: Do you recommend a destination wedding? What were the most challenging parts of organising a destination wedding?
IDS: Definitely! I love a destination wedding because it really goes to show who will travel the distance to celebrate your love. The most challenging part was the logistics and maybe the time—we never wanted to be rushed but we wanted everything to be done on time. The most challenging part was getting the documents ready. When you plan a wedding, you don’t really think of that and then you realise you’re not in your own country and that’s something couples should really consider.
PTW: Did you plan your big day with a strict destination wedding budget in mind?
IDS: You definitely need to have one in mind but then you also have to know that you’re going to go over this budget. Weddings are just insanely expensive and when anyone hears the word “wedding,” everything is instantly marked up. My advise to brides is you must first list down your priorities from 1-10. My number one priority was spoiling our guests because they travelled all the way to Italy to celebrate with us and I didn’t want to let them down with basic food. I wanted them to tell me, “The food at your wedding was amazing!” My husband was freaking out because definitely 60 per cent of our budget went to food and drinks. List what’s important to you. For me, I didn’t see the need to spend on flowers because our destination was really beautiful already. I noticed guests don’t really appreciate flowers as much—for example if you had gorgeous flowers over a delicious buffet, they would most likely talk about the buffet. But that’s just me. I love flowers so I’m bitter sweet about it.
This article is part of a series called Inspired Moments, originally featured on the second edition of Philippine Tatler Weddings. To find out more, watch this space and follow us on Instagram and Facebook.