I went to the airport three hours early to pick up my rental car - I think that speaks for how excited I was. I had never been to Tuscany before. The hills, the vineyards, the serpentine roads - they were all new grounds for me, waiting to be explored.

After a couple of hours of driving with big eyes and a smile on my face, I arrived to Castelvecchi in Radda in Chianti. I had already googled away for a few months to build my expectations of the place, but in real life the surroundings were more beautiful than I could've imagined from some half-ass stock photos. I checked in, put my bags down, picked up my cameras and immediately went to find the bride and groom.

I found them by the pool, partying with their friends and family who had traveled all over the world to spend the weekend with them in Italy. I'm not even kidding when I say there were fifty-or-so nationalities represented. For some reason, these eclectic groups of people make me feel comfortable straight away.

I talked to Edu, the groom, who was in his swimming trunks and sun glasses, sipping on a beer. I asked him if it was cool for me to take a few photos by the pool?

"Yeah, of course, but you have to get in yourself as well! Here, have this beer!"

That kind of set the mood for the whole weekend. Both Edu and Giulia were so welcoming and let me do ma thang all the way. They kept asking "Where is your wine? Here, have some more. Have you eaten? Are you sure you had enough?" I got to hang out with the guests and always felt part of the mix. That includes a pool party, wine tasting and pizza party on the Friday; an Armenian ceremony, a fab dinner under the bare sky and crazy amounts of dancing on the Saturday.

These are the kind of days I'll look back at when winter comes.

(Beware: A heck of a lot of images follow.)

Friday:

Saturday, the wedding day