The Mustaphas · Welcome party
Every great wedding weekend needs an opening scene. For Hadi & Suzanne, a Lebanese couple who chose Italy for their wedding, it was a sunlit welcome party at Palazzo di Bagnaia, a seventeenth-century residence set in a private park in the hills outside Perugia. As their wedding photographer in Umbria, we were there from the first guests to the last light: lemons and striped linens, friends dressed in white, and a bride in pale yellow feathers who might have stepped out of a Fellini film.
The couple
The couple: Hadi & Suzanne, the Mustaphas
Hadi & Suzanne brought the people closest to them to Italy to celebrate the beginning of their life together, and they set the tone from the very first afternoon: warm, generous and full of laughter. Their welcome party took its cue from La Dolce Vita, with lemons, sunshine-yellow stripes and a monogram signed simply “The Mustaphas.” Suzanne wore a pale yellow halter gown trimmed with feathers, Hadi a sand-colored linen suit, and every guest arrived in white.
Palazzo di Bagnaia
Palazzo di Bagnaia: a seventeenth-century residence near Perugia
Palazzo di Bagnaia stands a few miles from Perugia, near the small village of Bagnaia, within a large private park. Its ochre façade, softened by ivy and gray shutters, looks out over lawns, gravel paths and old trees, while a stone fountain and a pond of water lilies and koi bring the gardens to life. It still feels like a private home rather than a venue, and that is exactly what makes it so beautiful to photograph.
A destination wedding in Umbria
Umbria is Tuscany’s quieter neighbor: the same rolling hills and golden light, with fewer crowds and a slower rhythm. For a destination wedding in Umbria, a residence like Palazzo di Bagnaia offers the space and privacy for a whole weekend of celebrations, with Perugia, Assisi and Lake Trasimeno all within easy reach. From our base in Rome, we photograph weddings throughout Umbria, from historic residences to medieval abbeys and castles.
The welcome party
The welcome party: La Dolce Vita in the park
The afternoon drifted from the pool, where yellow rings floated on the water, to the lawns in front of the palazzo. As the sun dropped behind the trees, we took the couple aside for a few quiet portraits: a swirl of feathers on the grass, an embrace in the last warm light. Then back to their friends, who greeted them with cheers and a kiss that opened the weekend in the best possible way.
This welcome party was the first chapter of Hadi & Suzanne’s destination wedding in Umbria: elegant, joyful and entirely their own. Cinemotions Films is a luxury wedding photographer and videographer based in Rome, photographing destination weddings in Umbria, Tuscany and throughout Italy.
Planning a destination wedding in Umbria? Read our guide to a destination wedding in Umbria, discover our luxury wedding photography in Italy, or inquire about your date.
Credits
- Venue
- Palazzo di Bagnaia, Perugia, Umbria
- Event
- Welcome party
- Photography
- Cinemotions Films
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