Mediterranean Wedding

The Mediterranean Wedding is another way to call the “made in Puglia” wedding.

Find out how to bring the Mediterranean style to your wedding day

The Apulian wedding can be defined with one word: Mediterranean. A style that comes from the fusion of country chic trends with the rustic elements of Puglia: the countryside, the sea and the low hills of the Murgia.

Compared to traditional weddings, in recent years the trend of celebrating the civil ritual and the wedding party in rural locations in close contact with nature has become very consolidated. The success of this style is due to the ability of the Mediterranean Wedding to accommodate the needs of young couples of spouses, freeing them from the habits of the wedding organized in the classic reception halls.

But how to organise a Mediterranean wedding? We have set up a small guide for future spouses to guide you in choosing those elements that will allow you to transform your wedding party into an event inspired by the Mediterranean essence of Puglia.

Here there are the five elements that cannot be missing. Enjoy the reading!

Mediterranean ceremony: let’s start with the choice of location

The location for a Mediterranean wedding must be simple and refined, whether you prefer the sea or the countryside. We often talk about informal chic because weddings are becoming parties where the refinement of artificial glitz gives way to a lighter, friendly, and relaxing atmosphere.

In this context, nature plays a fundamental role because it is the novelty that has interrupted the tradition of weddings in large rooms with marble floors and crystal chandeliers.

Considering its extension, Puglia offers various maritime cities, one prettier than the other, characterised by a rural setting and a rustic architectural style. 

If you choose to celebrate by the sea, the waves of the Mediterranean touch beautiful beaches such as Otranto, Polignano a Mare, and Santa Maria di Leuca. A beach wedding would be a romantic option that has recently been extremely popular among younger spouses.

The same choice is offered by the long expanses of Apulian field, on which farmhouses and farms stand, with their suggestive stretches of olive trees. In these locations, the two traditions come together: that of wedding and the countryside. The two elements perfectly combine.

The Mediterranean set-up:  olive leaves and rural elements

If you plan to celebrate your “YES” in contact with the Apulian nature, the set-up must be equally natural. The tradition of our region can be touched by hand thanks to the elements of the rural landscape in which we find ourselves.

We suggest going for wooden arches, covered with olive leaves, flowers and spontaneous herbs, to compose the scenario of the civil ceremony. Always more often, wild herbs become a detail of decorations, bouquets, and accessories such as the marriage tableau and nameplates.

The best thing would be to celebrate the rite at the sunset, whose reddish colours will help to remember the colours of the love that is being celebrated between the two spouses.

For the wedding party, some ideas for a perfect setting could be hay bales covered with jute to welcome the guests, low tables made of woven wicker and a large courtyard crowned by raw linen curtains, where guests can gather during the moment of the dance.

Another feature of these weddings is to use of the lawn. Arrange the tables for lunch or dinner under the shade of the olive trees and let your guests walk on a soft and fresh English lawn.

After sunset, the location will be illuminated by many small lights that from the patio will slide along the branches of the trees like waterfalls. The coloured lights of various shapes will recall the cheerfulness of the typically Apulian patron saint festivals, inspired by the white wooden lights that illuminate the cities in honour of the Patron Saint.

Mediterranean invitations: papers in natural fibres

In a Mediterranean wedding, each detail must reflect the chosen style. The invitations, for example, must represent in the best way the choices made by the spouses. The invitation introduces guests to the wedding theme and triggers some of the suggestions for the wedding party.

For Mediterranean-style weddings, we suggest you make invitations and announcements with recycled papers made of natural fibres.  The material essence of these cards is combined with country and rustic details of the wedding organised in dialogue with nature.  

We asked Inviti Chic, a company specialising in the creation of wedding participations and announcements, for some advice on which participations to make for a Mediterranean-style wedding.

 “According to the style, colours and theme of the wedding, we can use cotton fibres papers with fringed edges, the famous Amalfi paper, and also to combine coloured envelopes like sage green, always very natural. Or use ecological or textured papers with more country graphics such as olive branches or eucalyptus, switching to the use of flowers in combination with the floral set-up that the spouses will create. Alternatively, the participations could be made more minimal and elegant with the use of logos or gold or pink gold prints.  Everything will reflect the taste of the spouses, the style of the party and the theme and colours of the wedding”.  

Within the participations we could also add some tips on the look for the wedding, inviting our guests to dress elegantly but also in a comfortable way, having to adapt to the setting in which the ceremony will be held, for example, the beach.

We have already spoken about weddings on the beach: read our dedicated article!

A Mediterranean dessert: the Naked Cake

Towards the end of the party, there is the moment of the cake cutting. The Mediterranean wedding does not feature a common celebratory cake, but a cake in compliance with the setting and style of the ceremony.

So, we continue with the informal-chic style even in the choice of the wedding cake. The Naked Cake is the favourite cake of the spouses in these cases.

Called “naked cake”, it does not have any type of covering, unlike the typical multi-storey cakes, glazed or coated with sugar paste. It is made with three or more discs of sponge cake, stuffed with custard, and covered with a light layer of cream. The tastes that surely can best accompany the style of this cake and of the wedding, can be delicate and homemade flavours such as lemon cream, berries, and strawberries. Some variants of the classic version are the naked red velvet, for those who love fresh cheese, and the chocolate naked cake, for those with a sweet tooth.

In its simplicity, the naked cake can be embellished with seasonal fruit or with freshly picked flowers, mixed berries, spices, and aromatic herbs for a deliciously rustic effect.

 Mediterranean Wedding: the importance of scents 

The scent is an element that is becoming increasingly important in weddings. The sense of smell is an extremely sensitive sense that if pleasantly stimulated helps to create a happy memory. In a wedding party, all inspired by the Mediterranean atmosphere, the scents must be a constant.

Starting from the choice of flowers, scent can be vaporised on the participations, characterise the nameplates with handmade soaps or enhance the decorations of the wedding favours with the fragrances of the whole wedding, for a fragrant memory.

Olivetta: The Mediterranea Gastronomic Wedding Favour

To end a Mediterranean wedding in the best way, the spouses can only offer their guests a typically Apulian wedding favour.

Olivetta turns out to be the perfect cadeau de marriage for this wedding style: typical in design and in its precious content. Offering a wedding favour to taste will certainly be a gesture appreciated by the guests, who will receive something useful and symbolic, such as the ceremony just passed.

Olivetta contains extra virgin olive oil, from the prized Coratina cultivar, produced through a delicate cold milling process. Moreover, the product is accompanied by a fruity almond scent, with a slightly bitter and spicy aftertaste, as it is rich in polyphenols.

Our gastronomic wedding favour, besides being good and useful, is reusable in everyday life as oil cruet, and it is also available in different colours, in order to best match the style of the wedding. 

We have talked about all our collections in this article: enjoy the reading!

Conclusion: The memory of the Mediterranean Wedding

At the end of this excursus on the Mediterranean wedding, we can say that all the moments were marked by the informal-chic style.

Starting from the choice of the rustic location, to continue with the set-up, the choice of the invitations, the choice of the wedding cake and the wedding favours, we have accompanied you on this magnificent journey that is the rite of the wedding, both for those who experience it in first person, both for the guests who participate.

The memory of this moment will always be provided by our Olivetta, the Apulian gastronomic wedding favour that represents in all respect the regional tradition. The fine oil is combined with the creation of a handcrafted design, for perfect decor in any type of home.