Who What Wear Weddings: Charlotte and Emilio Stavrou’s Puglian Wedding Weekend
Welcome to Who What Wear Weddings, the destination for style-minded weddings. Expect insightful tips straight from the newlyweds, shoppable elements and plenty of must-save imagery as we share the nuptials of our favourite fashion people getting married. For upcoming features, share your submissions here.
Charlotte Stavrou, founder and CEO of SevenSix Agency, and her now husband Emilio, an entrepreneur, first met nine years ago on a night out in Shoreditch, London. After just one date (a casual affair for Emilio’s friend’s birthday) Charlotte had to travel to the U.S. for two weeks, and they wondered what would come of their budding romance. They needn’t have worried. “Despite the distance, Emilio made a point to stay up late and FaceTime me every night,” Charlotte recalls. “I returned home from my work trip on Valentine’s Day and he had organised an elaborate dinner party with all his friends, simply because I mentioned that I don’t do Valentine’s Day dates. From that point on, we have hardly spent more than a few days apart. We moved in together after only six months of dating, and seven years into our relationship, he proposed.”
“The proposal was as personal and romantic as it could get. We were on holiday at his family’s holiday home in Alonissos in Greece,” Charlotte explains. “On the first night, we took a walk to the chapel to watch the sunset before dinner at our favourite restaurant—something we’ve done a hundred times. As we reached the top of the hill near the chapel, Emilio got down on one knee and proposed. I was so surprised, especially since he’s usually terrible at keeping secrets, particularly from me. The revelation that he had managed to hide the ring in our flat for months left me in absolute shock.”
After that, wedding planning began, with the couple deciding to get married abroad (more on that later), with a London ceremony beforehand. Scroll on to read more about how the wedding unfolded in the bride’s own words, and expect plenty of chic touches including Italian-inspired wedding stationery, multiple DJ sets, a beautiful silk wedding dress and an Aperol cart (of course!).
“Emilio and I knew instantly that we wanted to get married abroad. With his Greek Cypriot roots and a family home in Greece and my Jamaican heritage and time spent living in Spain and Portugal, we were both drawn to the idea of a sun-soaked wedding. After contemplating various potential locations, we settled on Puglia in Italy; a place we had both fallen in love with during our second holiday together.”
“We decided to host two wedding ceremonies: one for family and another for friends. The first ceremony took place at Old Marylebone Town Hall in London, attended by a close-knit group of 30 family members. Our London invitations were designed by my mother-in-law, Dania. She’s an incredible artist and sketched Emilio and me in wedding attire. It was very chic and we sent them out digitally to our family. Our Italian invitations and all paper products were from Papier.”
“Post-ceremony, Emilio’s parents hosted a very chic BBQ at their house, catered by Feast and Social. I wore a fun minidress by Rotate, rented via By Rotation, paired with shoes from Magda Butrym.”
“A week later, we jetted off to Puglia for our Italian wedding; a three-day event featuring welcome drinks, the wedding ceremony and a pool party.”
“The first night’s festivities took place at a new bar in Puglia on the waterfront, where we rented an area for drinks and snacks, with music provided by our friend and DJ Martin aka Sheeb.”
“We hosted the wedding at Barsentum, a picturesque fortified village nestled between the green landscapes of Noci and Putignano, known for its iconic Trulli houses. As I got ready for the ceremony, I wore a slip and lace robe from Bocan Couture. My intimate bridal party consisted of my sister, my husband’s younger sister and our nieces and nephew. We got ready at the venue alongside my two other sisters-in-law, our mums and my dad. Hair and makeup was done by Natasha Davies and Cimone from The Curl Directive; the very best for brides with curly hair! I’m lucky that my brother’s girlfriend Lauren is also my nail tech, so my nails were fresh for the day. We went for a gold chrome.”
“The room was filled with the laughter of children running around whilst the grown-ups sipped on sparkling rosé and danced to Wizkid on Spotify. My beauty goal was to achieve a look that was naturally me but elevated, and I can honestly say it was the best I’ve ever looked! I chose to embrace my natural curls for the wedding; a rare sight amongst brides with naturally curly hair. My vision was for Emilio to see me walking down the aisle looking just like myself but with an extra je ne sais quoi.”
“I actually have two wedding bands—one from each wedding. For the London ceremony, I went for a simple gold band that Emilio made for me at Wild Fawn Jewellery studio. I also made his. I would highly recommend creating your bands together as it is so personal and fun in the lead-up to the chaos. For Italy, I chose the matching band to my engagement ring, which is a lab-grown diamond from Kimaï. I wear both of them every day.”
“We were drawn to an Italian theme for our wedding, despite neither of us being Italian. Our love for Italy, especially Puglia, inspired us to envision a rustic yet chic wedding. Our flowers were locally sourced and seasonal, except a yellow English rose; a nod to our home and family in England. We hired a local wedding assistant who introduced the venue to us. It’s very well-known locally, but I don’t think it’s often used for international weddings. It was absolutely stunning and we loved that we didn’t have to add any extra decorations to make it look good. Looking back at the photos, it is exactly the Italian wedding I had on my Pinterest board.”
“Our bridesmaids looked stunning in their Meshki dresses, sourced from Depop, whilst our flower girls wore adorable Reiss dresses which, by a stroke of luck, matched our colour scheme perfectly. Our best man looked so handsome in a cream suit, also from Reiss. It was so beautiful that he wore it again to a wedding we attended last summer. I made sure that everything the wedding party wore could be worn again—I even took my sister’s bridesmaid dress on my honeymoon with me.”
“Music is a huge part of our lives so was heavily incorporated into the ceremony. Our dear friends from MiC LOWRY surprised me and sang as I walked down the aisle. We were also fortunate to have Emilio’s talented cousin Beau Nox perform his song Cherubim—a personal favourite of mine.”
“Adding more depth to the ceremony, my best friend and sustainability content creator Bianca Foley delivered a touching reading centred around friendship. Emilio’s sister Cassandra added an emotional element to the event with a heartfelt speech that moved everyone to tears. The ceremony was officiated by our friend Robbie, who could not have done a better job.”
“Emilio wore a custom suit by Casely-Hayford. It was a forest green and the most beautiful suit I’ve ever seen.”
“My dress was from Grace Loves Lace; I found it on Pinterest way before I was even engaged and I knew instantly that it was what I was going to wear. I actually planned the wedding around it because it was light and relaxed, and the wedding needed to match. As soon as I tried it on I knew it was the right dress and I didn’t need to see anything else. I paired it with the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn by Stuart Weitzman, bought via The Outnet. I couldn’t recommend this brand more highly for heels that you can actually walk around in all day. My jewellery was from the Monica Vinader x Mother of Pearl collection.”
“Throughout the day, an Aperol cart served cocktails and a variety of food was available. This ranged from live stations serving fresh mozzarella and hams, to a four-course dinner featuring seafood and the most delicious aubergine parmigiano we’ve ever tasted. We are very detail-oriented, and I think we covered all bases.”
“What made the venue stand out was its inclusivity of absolutely everything. The whole place was adorned with beautiful artisanal ceramics, and the vibrant plates on the table that everyone commented on came with the venue—this was an integral part of its charm. It even had festoon lighting; a must-have for any outdoor wedding.”
“Dinner was accompanied by speeches, including my own, which, unexpectedly, ran for 29 minutes—a good 15 minutes longer than planned. After dinner, our friend and DJ Edan took over the DJ duties, before my dad stepped in with a garage set that kept us dancing late into the night.”
“Our first dance is a bit of a blur now, but it was a deeply romantic moment that I cherish every time I watch the video. The reception ended at 2 a.m. We could have carried on but we chose to end at a reasonable time to ensure everyone was in good spirits for the pool party the next day—an event we’d put an equal amount of effort into.”
“The reception was a blast! Following the ceremony, everyone enjoyed canapés and drinks whilst MiC LOWRY serenaded us with a short acoustic performance. We encouraged everyone to dance throughout the evening, as music and food were the heart of the celebration. Emilio kick-started the evening with a DJ set full of fun disco classics.”
“I really struggled finding a second look that I liked; I just didn’t feel like there was much to choose from. I ordered a dress from Oh Polly at the very last minute as I didn’t have anything the week before I flew to Italy. It looked cute, but it wasn’t my vision.”
“The final day saw us hosting an epic pool party at our villa. It turned out to be an all-day extravaganza, from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., where the food, drinks and music never stopped. We had a local food concept called Sood cater, and the food was out of this world. I wore white platform shoes from Free People, a white bikini and the same robe from Bocan Couture that I had worn whilst getting ready. It was a chic and over-the-top end to a memorable series of celebrations.”
London Photographer: Jacquetta Clark
Puglia Photographer: Yulia Longo
Venue & Caterer: Barsentum
Florist: Venue’s own
Tableware: Venue’s own
Stationery: Papier
Wedding Website: The Knot
Makeup & Hair: Natasha Davies & Cimone at SBHM Stylists
Gift List: The Knot
Wedding Planner: Emilio Stavrou at Studio Stilton
