Hi Bonnie,

Sorry this is coming to you so late. We have been super busy since coming home. I am going to be giving one of my friends from high school your information. They are getting married in Tuscany next November. Anyway, here is our story about our trip.
Even though getting married in Italy is like a dream come true, it can be overwhelming with everything that has to be done. But then Greg and I found you, and all of the chaos just went away.
When Greg first asked me if I wanted to get married in Italy I couldn't believe it. We were both so excited to be visiting and getting married in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Once we began to look into getting married over there we realized that it was very much involved and everything must be done just right, and that we could not do it on our own. We began looking on the internet for wedding planners in Italy and found whom we believe to be the best wedding planner ever, Bonnie Marie. She made our journey so much easier and stress free. All we had to do was send her the right paperwork and make sure that we made all of our flights to get there on time!
We first traveled to England, then France, and finally Italy. We flew into Rome and took the train to Florence. Once we arrived in Florence, there was a complete change in atmosphere then anywhere else we had been. Before traveling to Florence people told us that Florence was by far their favorite place in the entire world and that we would fall in love with it, and they were completely right. Our hotel was absolutely wonderful, they were so friendly and took extreme interest and care in our wedding. The view there was breathtaking. We had our own private balcony which overlooked the hills of the city. And the breakfast room overlooked almost the entire town. We would sit in there at night and just look at how beautiful everything was.
When the day came to start doing our paperwork it went very smoothly, due to all of Bonnie's work. There was never one stressful moment with any of it. Bonnie went above and beyond what she had too. According to Greg, "she went the distance and then some when it came to our wedding." She made us feel like she had known us for years and years. One day before the wedding she took us into the Florence Wedding Hall Red Room and let us see where we would be getting married at. Greg and I had seen pictures of the room and thought that it was beautiful, but once we actually got to walk in it and see how amazing it really was we were completely speechless. Words nor pictures do this room any justice!!! So it was really like a fairytale because we were getting married in Florence, and we were getting married in a palace in one of the most beautiful rooms I had ever seen before!
It was finally our wedding day, and we couldn't wait!!! All of the workers at the hotel gathered around us with big smiles and told us congratulations and wished us good luck. Once we arrived at Palazzo Vecchio, the Old Palace, it was amazing how everyone treated us! We really felt like celebrities! When we went into the room to get married, they only allowed us and whoever was there with us into the room. They really made it feel like it was all about us! Walking into that beautiful room I really felt like a princess. I think that every girl deserves to feel that way on her wedding day!
And it didn't stop there! Once the ceremony was over, the Italian Celebrant talked with us for a few minutes and gave us a wedding certificate on parchment paper and a silver coin with the city of Florence stamped onto it, that way we would never forget where we got married. Not that we could, but just in case I guess :-)
Once we were done taking pictures there, we walked through Piazza della Signoria and over the Ponte Vecchio. That walk was awesome, even though it was raining! Everyone in the town clapped for us and told us congratulations and that we were lucky because rain on your wedding day brings good luck in Italy! They were even taking pictures of us walking through the town. One of my favorite memories will be the little kids that were outside the palace on a field trip standing around Greg and I clapping for us and then when the photographer told him to kiss me they all cried "ooohhhhhhhh!!". I remember Greg asking me if I felt like a princess yet, and having this huge smile on my face and I answered, “ yes!”.
Even though the people in Florence didn't know us, you could tell that they really were happy for us and really did wish us the best with our marriage! That was an amazing feeling! When it was all over, it really was one of the best days of our lives! It was everything that we both had hoped for. Greg wanted to give me the wedding of my dreams, a wedding fit for a princess, and he did that and much more! We will never forget our time in Florence, or our amazing wedding!!! We are already planning a return trip to Italy, especially Florence!!! But until then we have our pictures, videos, and memories to last us!

Heather and Greg Papania