During a Labor Day Weekend at D’Jais Bar on the Jersey Shore, content creator Maria Marzullo was immediately attracted to Nicholas Tardy. Maria’s friends wanted her to go say hello, but she was happily single and figured he had to have a girlfriend. Weeks later, she opened up Hinge in her hometown of Syracuse, and Nick’s profile was waiting on the app—it was a match!
After several months together, Nick started saving up for a ring and planned to propose during a trip to Italy—his Christmas present to Maria. Five months later, they moved in together. “Our friends definitely thought we were crazy . . .but we really just knew we were meant for each other,” Maria says. In July 2022, he snuck upstate to ask for her father’s blessing. And the next month on the first night of their trip, he got down on one knee in Villa Borghese in Rome.
Once engaged, the couple brought their families on a trip to Lake Como to peruse venues with their planner, Wedding Events Italy, and booked Villa Pizzo for their summer nuptials. 6 Chyvstvo then set the tone for the weekend with a delicate invitation suite.
The bride’s wedding wardrobe was very thought-out. “I knew I wanted a pop of color for the welcome party, so red was an obvious choice, being in Italy and having a ‘That’s Amore’ theme,” Maria says of her UNDONE by Kate custom look. Nick complemented her well in SuitShop with Duke & Dexter shoes.
For her wedding dress, the bride had her heart set on CINQ and ended up with an ethereal design that reflected her venue and personality. On the morning-of, Maria got ready in a Rime Arodaky look with her bridesmaids, who wore Eberjey sets, as makeup artist El Said of Laura Mercier and hairstylist Alla Nevzorova gave the bride a natural glam look. She completed her styling with her grandmother’s vintage pearls, a Galia Lahav veil, and Prada shoes.
Bridesmaids all looked beautiful in Watters, and the mother of the bride stunned in an Amsale floor-length dress.
Rain fell on August 7, 2024, during Maria and Nick’s ceremony. “They say it’s harder to untie a knot when it’s wet!” Maria smiles. During the service, the couple both shed emotional tears under clouds of baby’s breath, arranged by Riccardo Ciceri. “Even though it was raining, we thought about it after the fact, and we would’ve rather had a light drizzle than 90-degree heat, especially for our guests. My vow booklet was getting rained on, but now I will see those raindrops for years to come, and the memories will rush back. It’s all about the silver linings.”
Once announced as married, the newlyweds took a picturesque boat ride across the lake before joining loved ones for a chandelier-lit glasshouse reception. Everyone found their seat via personal notes from the Maria and Nick, before enjoying a live band from Joy Entertainment and delicious Italian food. Their first dance was to a mashup by Quas of “Stargazing by Myles Smith. “We had our bridal party join in instead of doing a traditional bridal party walk out!” Maria exclaims.
After dinner, the bride changed into her second look, an off-the-shoulder Watters dress, to make their millefoglie cake in front of guests, before fireworks went off in the distance—sounding off a magical end to the night.
