Seems like my cousins are all getting into this destination wedding craze. First one was a few years ago, a Tuscan wedding in a villa in the outskirts of San Gimignano, Italy. My cousin, a designer, studied in Milan married a wine merchant and so they chose a place that melded their two lives.

The villa itself was beautiful, almost the entire family was able to stay there as the place had several converted buildings and accommodated most of the 40+ family members. This made it really easy for us to hangout and party together as everyone gathered at the end of the day around large dining room table eating, drinking and telling old family stories.

Most recently we attended another cousin’s wedding in the Loire Valley in France. My cousin is a jewelry designer who married a Frenchman from Bordeaux. They got married at the Chateau du Challain and our girls were the flower girls. The girls were thrilled to be part of this princess-like wedding complete with castle and horse-drawn carriage. The fireworks at the end of the night were spectacular and such a great ending to a beautiful day. This was such a great wedding the photographer’s work was featured here.