This Intimate Farmhouse Wedding in the Tuscan Hills Was All About Food and Family
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Michael Penhollow first met Gina Morra when the Boston Bruins were in the finals for the 2019 Stanley Cup in St. Louis. Michael was a video production manager for the team and Gina was in event communications for the NHL. The pair were seated next to each other at a dinner, instantly clicked, and decided to exchange numbers. A few months later, the two officially began a long-distance relationship between Boston and New York.
By August 2022, the two not only were living in the same city, but decided to spend the rest of their lives together—and the proposal took place while the couple were on vacation in Dubrovnik, Croatia. “It was a hot summer day, with rare rain expected in the forecast,” says Michael. "As the clouds approached on our walk back from Old Dubrovnik, I muttered, ‘Of all the days, for it to rain… Of all the days!’ Gina laughed and was like, ‘Since when do you care if it rains or not?’ Little did she know I needed to set up a photoshoot overlooking the city of Dubrovnik, propose, and have a nice romantic dinner at the panorama restaurant at the top of the mountain overlooking the city.” Luckily, the forecast was going to clear in the evening and Michael set up a tripod of the view at their Airbnb. He shares, “It was then we got about 1000 photos of us together on the self timer, as I proposed and Gina said yes!”
Gina and Michael decided to have a longer engagement, ultimately choosing a wedding date of July 31, 2024. “We took our time planning our wedding, which allowed us to truly understand what we wanted for our special day,” Gina says. Her sister was also getting married in July 2023, so it provided her parents—including Condé Nast vice president of global content business operations, Christine DiPresso Morra—some breathing room between each celebration. As avid travelers with Italian roots, Gina and Michael decided Tuscany would be the perfect location for their celebrations. The venue Terre Di Nano would be exclusively theirs for the weekend and allowed select guests to stay on the property for the destination wedding.
Organizing a wedding abroad has its challenges, but Gina took on the task along with their planner Guya Venturoli and Ilaria de Pieri, who helped coordinate with the venue. “It came with its stresses, but in the end it was truly worth every moment of the planning stages,” says Gina. “Michael definitely kept me grounded during those high-stress moments! Also, Pinterest was my best friend during the planning process.” She adds, “I have over 500-plus pins of wedding items.” While the bride took the lead on ideating the wedding, Michael worked on curating their 34-day honeymoon around Europe that would follow.
For her wedding day look, Gina hoped to find an ensemble that would feel both elegant and classic. “I spent a lot of time researching local wedding boutiques and sustainable options, but I started to feel discouraged because nothing felt like the one,” she says. Gina ultimately found her dress—an off-the-shoulder fit-and-flare style by Mikaella Bridal—at the Boston bridal boutique Vows while her mom was visiting. “It was a timeless, chic gown that complimented my body type perfectly,” says Gina. “A group of girls in the boutique even commented on how stunning I looked in the dress, which made me certain it was the one.”
The bride notes that curating the details of her ensemble was an equally important part of the process. She paired the look with a pair of Loeffler Randall heels that could easily traverse cobblestone and grass, a pair of freshwater pearl and diamond cluster studs borrowed from her mother, and her grandmother’s aquamarine gold ring from the 1920s that she had resized to serve as her something blue. “I’ve always loved that ring, and since my grandma couldn’t travel to Italy for the wedding, it felt like a meaningful way to honor her from afar,” she says.
The groom decided to work with Glorius for his tuxedo. “PAT, J.F., and G are the best tailors around the National Hockey League, and I knew that I wanted to bridge my old life of hockey with my new life of marriage,” shares Michael. He chose a European-cut tux with music notes added within the lining as a nod to his love of guitar. “I also left custom inscriptions in the suit to make Italy, Gina, and Penhollow’s remembered forever,” he says. He paired the look with velvet Del Toro shoes with a custom engraving on the bottom and a Cartier watch.
The la dolce vita spirit was conjured as soon as the couple arrived at the property. “Upon arrival, our immediate family was invited to enjoy the private pool, which provided the true feeling of an Italian summer with cypress trees lining the area,” says the bride. To beat the heat, the welcome dinner was hosted later in the evening with all guests in attendance. “Knowing that guests were traveling from all over the globe, we wanted them to experience all that Terre Di Nano had to offer, including their famous pizza served from their century-old wood-burning oven,” says Gina. “It was an incredible way to kick off the festivities and there were even some pre-wedding late-night bocce and dance parties happening, too!”
After a morning of getting ready with their close circles and doing a first look, the couple was ready to tie the knot. A string quartet played as the couple walked down the aisle with the backdrop of Mount Amiata and the hills of Tuscany behind them. “The ceremony felt like a beautiful embrace of the Italian way of life—enjoying the moment, living slowly, and being surrounded by the people we love most,” says Gina. Michael notes how seeing his wife-to-be walk down the aisle to “Golden Hour” by JVKE was quite emotional. “She looked so stunning,” he says.
Cocktail hour followed the ceremony, where guests got a chance to mingle with the newlyweds. “We had three speeches, and the saxophone performance which was a huge hit among the guests,” says the couple. “We even found a little time to dance and enjoy the lively saxophonist, who playfully interacted with everyone!” Then, the couple hopped in a car to take portraits at golden hour at the top of the property before the reception.
