What is the quintessential summer trip? Italy of course! Well when isn’t Italy the perfect destination? But we came to Italy for a very special reason this year. In 2013 I studied abroad in Florence, Italy for a semester and had the absolute time of my life. It was one of the most impactful experiences and I look back on that time so fondly. It was made all the better by the dear friendships I created with other students in my program. Four incredible women in particular I got to grow very close with and managed stay in touch with over the last ten years!

We shared a notebook where we would write letters and mail it to each other to stay in touch. Each time you received the notebook, usually about a year later, haha, you’d have excerpts from each woman sharing all the big and little life updates. There are photos, postcards, recipes, and doodles all over them. In addition to the notebooks, althgouh we lived all over the US, numerous times we’d each cross paths. For each others wedding, due to work, or just traveling through, we got to see each other on many occasions. Doesn’t this kinda sound like the perfect plot to a great book or movie!? I know, RIGHT?! It gets better.

Years ago we swore we would have a 10 year reunion in Florence. But as we know, as time passes…lives get busy, marriage, jobs, babies, moves. As adults it can feel almost impossible just to coordinate dinner with neighborhood friends. We talked about it all the time but I think we all wondered if it would actually happen.

Well, we pulled it off this past June! We came together with our significant others and rented an agriturismo, a traditional Italian farm that hosts guests to provide an authentic experience, right outside of Florence. The home was situated in an olive grove (of course!) and while the family lived downstairs, we rented out the second floor which accommodated all 10 of us. And yes, it was an absolute dream. We spent the first evening sitting on the patio overlooking the rolling tuscan hillside sharing 8 bottles of chianti wine. Exhausted from our travels and the summer heat but fueled by the excitement of being together, it was none stop chatter. (Someone please, start writing the screenplay already!)

While this was strictly a vacation… of course I couldn’t help but pull out my camera and snap a few photos for some of my friends around the farm house and olive grove. The first couple is Brit + Brett who I have actually photographed multiple times now and are one of the very first couples I ever photographed! They’ve been in front of my camera in Arizona, Maryland, North Carolina, Maine, and now Italy! The second couple is Ruth + Dan. Ruth was my roommate while we studied abroad and her and Dan were celebrating their 4 year wedding anniversary when we captured these photos!

And if you’re interested, this is the place we stayed - you can book it here on airBnB!

P.S. We are heading back to Italy in 2025! If you have any interest in a photo session or having your wedding in Italy…

I believe it is so SO valuable to have photos taken when you go on a trip. We aim to get a photo session done each time we have the opportunity to travel and we really cherish those images. I mean, it is really nice to actually be in the same photo together that isn’t a selfie, right? I also find that having a planned session relieves some of the pressure to try and capture everything myself, this way I know I’ll have photos of us together that I love. Check out the photo session we had by the incredible, Venturing Vows, when we traveled last year to celebrate our 7 year anniversary.