florence | day and night.

Our next stop on the Italian voyage was Florence. I quickly realized why this charming city is such a traveler's favorite in Tuscany. Florence peaked in the Renaissance and hasn't come down since. We spent most every day simply wandering the streets and admiring the art + architecture, gelato in hand. 

    

    

{The city revolves around the main centre: Duomo, Baptistry and Campanile.}

{Pleasant greeting each morning.}

{Chicness in a castle.}

{Gelato on every corner.}

{The result of a very difficult flavor decision: Tiramisu.}

{After a dauntingly narrow and terrifying climb to the top of the Duomo, the view was worth it.} 

{The Boboli Gardens}

{Ponte Vecchio.}

{A very pleasant surprise: our rented apartment had a rooftop terrace with a breathtaking 360 view.}

{Goodnight Florence.}

wedding in milan.

I'll admit it, my blogger status should be officially suspended without pay. I've been an epic fail on keeping this little guy freshly updated. 

But, I think I have a pretty legit excuse - the past month included traveling to Italy for a friend's wedding, wandering the Italian countryside, getting engaged to one of the sweetest dudes alive (OH YES, more to come on that!), and then venturing on a cruise up to Alaska. It's been one dream of a summer but now it's back to the 8-10 grind (that's an ad agency schedule, for those lucky ones in the 9-5). 

I've officially sucked up every minute of vacation for the year, but at least we have these amazing images to look back on and memories that make life worth living. 

Here is the first adventure of many: our friends Brian and Stella hosted an indescribably beautiful wedding in Milan (where Stella is from). In a place like this, though, it doesn't take a lot of effort to make an event lovely - every corner of city screams historic yet refined Italian beauty. 

{Pre-wedding photo in Piazza del Duomo.}

{Duomo of Milan, simply breathtaking.}

{Put a bird on it: (if you don't watch Portlandia, start now).}

{Galleria Vittorio Emanuele ii.}

{When in Italy.}

{Heavenly Rehearsal Dinner.} 

{Groomsmen + Groom.}

                

{My favorite new adorable brit, Alex. Voted Best Dressed. And a view atop the Duomo.}

{The head table. Like all of Milan, even the wall was a treasure.}

{Take aim.}

{The happy couple.}