DECIDED I WOULD BECOME A WEDDING PLANNER.

The first memory I have of me wanting to get in the wedding industry. But the internet was ridiculous at the time, so I couldn’t research the profession or find out if there were courses, so I parked that idea there and then. In hindsight, having a grandmother who was a very successful wedding dress designer might have had something to do with that first incoherent thought.

WENT STRAIGHT INTO WORK AFTER HIGH-SCHOOL

I was clear I didn’t want to study at university in Italy to end up with a degree that would have given me zero advantage over every other graduate. So I took the first job offer I was given: import / export & admin support for a media tapes distributor in Milan. Except… just over one year later I got ants in my pants...

MOVED TO THE UK

Tired of speaking mediocre English, I packed my bags and moved to London with a simple plan: making it to 2 years so I could master English. First rule: surround myself with English people only, and don’t work with Italians. Failed at both straight away. Less than a month later, I was doing market research, in Italian, surrounded exclusively by Italians. Little did I know it was actually a blessing in disguise, because my CV looked strong (no restaurant or shop on record was unusual for an Italian in London!), and it allowed me to progress to better jobs.

I MEDITATED

Seriously, I did. I went from one job to the next while doing the odd courses, trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to do. The longest gig was 1.5 years as a chair-side assistant in an orthodontic centre. I learnt that I loved the medical field, and became an ace orthodontic nurse. So much so I ended up with an all-expense-paid trip to Orlando to one of the biggest trade shows ever and came back with so much insight I wrote a manual for the practice. I left a legacy! But, something was missing...

I WENT TO UNI

While “meditating” for 2 years I was devouring English books, spending the weekend reading Sunday newspapers, writing, and listening to the radio non-stop. I reached out to a famous Italian radio presenter and asked him: “What do I do to get into radio presenting?” He told me to get a media degree. I wanted it all. I wanted to get into journalism, communication and radio if possible. So I researched Media degrees and applied at Goldsmith, Greenwich and University of East London. Each and everyone of them offered me a place. I graduated in 2007 with a 1st class BA H Media, Culture and Communication, as one of the only two student in the class to come out with a 1st.

I GOT MARRIED & GOT A JOB

In April 2008 I got married. We had the most magical destination wedding in Milan. I still remember meeting the caterer at the venue. She looked at me and asked: “Are you a wedding planner?” Deja vu! Remember that 1996-7 thought?
Among the fear and uncertainty that 2007 and 2008 were, I still managed to get a job as a Digital Account Executive for one of the top global media agencies. Badly paid, but the training was unbelievable. I worked with some big names, like Philips, Panasonic, Pernod Ricard, Tourism Australia, and 20th Century Fox, planning communication and advertising campaigns across all media. I learnt how to negotiate, sell, speak publicly, train others. I managed complex financial tasks and how to dissect contracts to check for soundness. I gained invaluable experience. Except, I’m not made for the corporate world…

TRAINED WITH THE UKAWP

As I started feeling unhappy with the work environment, that 1996 thought (“wedding planning”), corroborated by a seasoned caterer thinking that I was indeed a wedding planner, popped up into my mind again. This time the internet was on my side! I found the UKAWP and booked up one of their courses, telling myself that the worst that could happen was realising wedding planning wasn’t for me. I walked away invigorated and determined to get into the wedding industry.

STARTED A WEDDING BLOG, QUIT THE CORPORATE JOB, STARTED WORKING IN A COMMUNICATION & DESIGN STUDIO

Realising that if I stayed at the media agency I’d never had the time to make it happen, I quit and started writing my own wedding blog while working freelance as a project manager for a communication and design studio. The free time allowed me to network with the media industry and start setting up as a wedding planner.

LINEN & SILK WEDDINGS WAS BORN

In 2012 I took the plunge. I invested some money into having the website / blog redesigned, attended an enlightening industry conference and by the end of the year I officially launched as a wedding planner.

JOINED THE UKAWP

The year I finally became a member of the UKAWP and started feeling truly legit.

BOOKED WEDDINGS IN ITALY, UK AND EGYPT

What an epic few years they were! I ended up planning some incredibly intimate weddings, from a dinner on an Apulian rooftop directly on the sea, to a beach elopement in the Red Sea, to a London rock bash for the coolest couple, to a destination wedding in a medieval castle. Each and every wedding got featured on international and UK wedding media.

PLANNED A COMMERCIAL SHOOT FOR JW MARRIOTT RESORT & SPA IN VENICE

A dream come true! This venue was on my bucket-list from the moment we heard they were opening a resort on a private island in Venice. When I finally made the right connection, everything fell into place. We had an epic 3 days shooting in Venice and to this day the pictures are still gracing the pages of their brochures!

LIFE GOT A BIT HARDER

My father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. All the traveling I was doing stopped for a while. I moved back home to be with my family and by my dad’s side when the inevitable happened. By the time I came back I was seeing life and work with completely different lenses. I realised that fame, money and all that jazz was worth nothing if you don’t have a balanced life and good health. I thought long and hard about the kind of business woman I wanted to be and started shaking things up - a renewed sense of purpose lead to me saying No more often so I could focus only on the things that truly made me happy.

Also, I launched The Words Lab, a translation, proofreading and copywriting service for wedding professionals whose first language isn’t English.

FEATURED ON ELLE.IT

A milestone of my career was seeing my Venice shoot being picked up by Elle Italia! Little did I know it was going to happen again…

ANOTHER COMMERCIAL JOB COMMISSIONED BY THE INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL DAVOS, SWITZERLAND

I got momentum off the back of the previous commercial shoot for the JW Marriott Venice, and with the same photographer and friend, we ended up booking another commercial shoot for a big name in the game. So with a team of international suppliers I delivered a two day shoot in the magical ICH Davos, in Switzerland. And once again, the output of this shoot is still being used by this venue to promote their wedding services.

I RUN MY FIRST “HOW TO BECOME A DESTINATION PLANNER” WORKSHOP

In collaboration with the UKAWP I run my first workshop for destination wedding planners. We fully booked and it was a huge success. That was the pivot point in my career path. Not only I found teaching really easy, but it was the moment I realised that helping other businesses made me feel a different kind of happiness and fulfillment.

FEATURE ON ELLE

And once again, the Swiss shoot was featured on Elle Italia, as well as international wedding blog Wedding Chicks.

DELIVERED A WEDDING AT ONE OF ITALY’S MOST SOUGHT AFTER VENUES

La Badia of Orvieto is a wedding planner’s dream. Booking a multicultural wedding at that venue was a bucket-list experience!

I BECAME A MUM

Little Allegra came into my world. She completely rocked our world and I’ve been feeling like my heart is bursting ever since. But… 2 weeks after giving birth I was breastfeeding her while writing client emails. And despite being on maternity, I felt resentment that I couldn’t 100% stop. I started reevaluating life again and I realised that I had to make substantial changes. I decided in 2019 I would start working with more and more businesses. And that I would increase the number, but scale down the size of weddings I do, start working more in the UK, hire a couple of associate planners and focus on my consultancy services.

RUN ANOTHER DESTINATION PLANNER WORKSHOP

Another successful day teaching other aspiring destination planners how to get into the international market. Feedback was amazing and it reinforced within me the desire to pursue this further.

I HIRED A BUSINESS COACH

I didn’t want to be just another coach. I wanted to learn how to be the best destination wedding consultant out there. So I hired an incredibly successful business coach, Chanelle Segerious Bruce, to help me shape my consultancy services leveraging my experience as a destination wedding planner and communication specialist, creating a profitable business helping other aspiring international planners and destination wedding venues achieve greatness.

Also, this was the time I closed The Words Lab and refined the target clients and weddings I wanted to do going forward. Realising I can’t be a mother, a wife, a wedding planner, a business consultant and a copywriter all at once, I decided something had to give. Now I only focus on the things, the people and the tasks that truly matter.