Zara and Xander the proposal

Photography: Arved Colvin-Smith

Zara and Xander were first introduced by his sister Francesca (Zara’s colleague) at Camden’s Hawley Arms. “I think it was a bit of a set-up!” recalls Zara. “We had a few drinks and got on really well, and as we left the pub at closing time I pinched his bottom! We spent most weekends together from that point onwards.”

Xander proposed in New Orleans, the night before Halloween. “We were on the balcony of our hotel room, looking out over the French quarter with (completely by chance) and accordion player serenading us. He’d booked a delicious jazz brunch at the Court of Two Sisters the next morning – it was bizarre sitting among people already in their fancy dress costumes!”

Zara and Xander - the venue

The couple married on 5 June 2010 in a civil ceremony at the gorgeous Palazzo Pretorio in Certaldo Alto, Tuscany. \"We’d been to Certaldo Alto on holiday and loved it, so it was perfect for us,” says Zara. “We had a little help with making the ceremony official and legal – Valentina Moneglia at Blanc acted as interpreter at our ceremony and helped with the documents. We didn\'t personalise vows as it was already quite fun having them read in Italian and complicated having to have them translated into English. We did have one of our friends write a little poem about us, which was ace!”

Zara and Xander - the reception

After the ceremony, the couple and their 65 guests headed back to the rustic reception at Fattoria Barbialla Nuova, a farm they’d hired out for the whole weekend. “We really wanted a fun and super-close wedding – it was relatively small, so everyone there was nearest and dearest. Being on the farm for three days prior to the wedding also meant everyone really got to know each other… by the time the wedding came round it didn\'t take any time at all to get people talking! We don\'t like wedding parties to be cut short so having the party on a farm in the middle of nowhere meant the music could go on late into the night.”

Zara and Xander - the dress

Zara chose The One at Temperley London in Notting Hill. “As soon as I walked in to the bridal room I felt that I could find a dress there, as everything I know about Alice Temperley and just seeing her shop confirmed that she would have the best taste! It\'s called the Long Jean dress, inspired by Thirties Hollywood actress Jean Harlow, with floaty sleeves, beading and cut work.” She teamed it with Kurt Geiger ballroom shoes, and a headpiece from Dorothy Perkins that she customised herself.

Zara and Xander - the suit

Xander wore a three-piece suit in medium blue, with mustard coloured braces and matching socks, all from his best man Chris Stowers’ family Savile Row shop Stowers Bespoke. “Chris, his father Ray and Xander\'s other best man surprised him by actually buying the suit for him which was just too generous and so appreciated,” says Zara.

Zara and Xander - the bridesmaids

“Each of my bridesmaids chose their own dress with my input – any style they liked as long as it was black. I didn\'t like the idea of shoe-horning the girls into the same dress, so this way was much more flattering and I knew they would wear them again.”

Zara and Xander - the details

“We didn\'t really have a theme for the wedding,” says Zara. “I started collecting and making little things really early on so it was just a mix of everything we loved and had found over the engagement time.” Vintage style postcards as a guest book, Mexican bunting, paper lanterns, union jack bunting and a clever table runner made from strands of coloured ribbon all made the day unique.

Zara and Xander - the food

Lucia Zac, a local chef who was friends with the farm owners, arranged all the catering including sourcing the wine from local vineyards. “There was a lot of food, a proper Italian feast!” says Zara. Guests chose from Antipasti such as beef carpaccio or aubergine flan; ‘primi piatti’ of tagliatelle with wild boar ragout or rice timbale; and ‘secondi piatti’ of beef in chianti sauce or roast pork. “Dessert was gelato and homemade cupcakes by my friend Bryony. She did an amazing job and baked all day the day before the wedding! We had lovely local prosecco for pre-reception drinks and local white and red wines for the dinner (another benefit of having the wedding abroad: the wine was delicious and cost around €8 a bottle so really good value).”

Zara and Xander - the party

After the feast, the party really started – and it didn’t stop until 6.30am the next morning! “I ordered large letters from America to spell out L O V E which I covered in material to add a fun touch to photos,” says Zara. “I\'d also bought a load of sparklers for people to use while the tables were being cleared away. After the five-course dinner (and plenty of wine) people were dancing within seconds and it stayed like that for the next seven hours!”

Zara and Xander - the party (continued)

“We had a band to play outside before dinner, just a local jazz trio who were amazing! We had never seen them and only heard a few songs from their website but the owner of the farm recommended them. For the party we relied on one of our good friends to help out. Mike Corf created loads of playlists on his iPod and kept the party jumping long into the night. For our first dance, we chose Nina Simone My Baby Just Cares For Me: it\'s my favourite song. And we walked down the aisle to Johnny Cash & June Carter’s Jackson which has since become my favourite karaoke song to perform!”

Zara and Xander - Zara\'s budget tips

“Shop around. There\'s always a way to adapt and make most things yourself (or with the help of a good friend!). You don\'t have to spend a lot. My hairband cost £9 – when teaming it with a super-expensive dress I wondered if I should just spend more, but it was perfect so there was no point. Getting it put onto a different headband cost £3 so it’s worth trying to find solutions to problems to get the best for you.”\r\n“Making savings where we could (on the cake, music, place names, stationery) helped overall to have a generous wedding on a reasonable budget. You also have to consider whether it\'s a reasonable price to pay: I really don\'t like paying over the odds for things just because it\'s for a wedding, it\'s so unfair. The location and chef were a huge chunk of our budget, but were really good value and totally perfect.”