A Modern, Romantic Wedding At Conegliano Cathedral in Conegliano, Italy

Featured In 2013 Spring/Summer Print Issue of Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine

“We went through 10 years with good moments and difficult periods, but we always knew that between us, there was something serious,” says Giulia Zoppas, who was introduced to Gianandrea Ferrari in Mykonos, Greece, by a mutual friend the summer after high school. “All the time we were not together, we did all we could to get back together,” she says.

When Gianandrea returned to Milan in 2007 after two years in New York, a sense of permanence emerged. In December 2010, Gianandrea chose a cozy moment during their Christmas celebration at home in Milan to propose. “I cried so much,” recalls Giulia, who jubilantly spent “all night” phoning family and friends.

As is Italian tradition, the couple married in the cathedral in Giulia’s home town: Conegliano. The bride, who founded her sassy, feminine Je m’en fous clothing line in 2007, created dresses to reflect each bridesmaid’s individuality and collaborated with Moschino creative director and Ferrari family friend Rossella

Jardini to design her own sleek gown. The moment “when Giulia appeared in the doorway of the cathedral and presented herself with her father, and I saw her for the first time,” was unforgettable, Gianandrea says.

Giulia cherishes memories of: “The love all around me. The perfect music. And the smile of my husband when we first saw each other.” The cathedral, she explains, “is known for its altarpiece by the famous artist Giovanni Battista Cima. Cima, who is from Conegliano, was the inspiration for much of our wedding theme.”

In a tent near the Zoppas’ family home and in the shadow of Conegliano’s 10th-century hilltop castle, 500 guests enjoyed a gala dinner against a backdrop of scenes Cima once painted, minus the religious figures he typically incorporated in landscapes. European event designer extraordinaire Matteo Corvino employed two artists who fashion scenography for preeminent opera houses to hand-paint these murals and a trompe l’oeil walkway with cypresses silhouetted against a sunset sky.

Yet, the setting was mod, Corvino asserts. “The murals were divided by glass pillars: The same material was used for the huge dance floor,” he describes. “Above this, there was a glass chandelier and many disco balls” that reflected light. “The evening,” he says, “was characterized by the contrast between the romantic part with the flowers, the cultural part with the reproductions of a great artist and the contemporary side with the glass effects.”

Giulia says, “The most important part for us was to have fun and be with our family and friends and enjoy being in the moment.” A highlight came when girlfriends surprised her with a performance by one of her favorite singers: soul-pop star Malika Ayane.

Their St. Barth honeymoon “was the perfect combination of sun, beautiful sea and fun places,” Giulia shares.

Gianandrea says: “I love the way she lives her life: her determination in everything she does, her free spirit and her need to always improve and become a better person, a better friend and a better wife.”

One ever-constant thing is key, though, Giulia believes: “We have trusted each other since we were 18 years old.”