Exclusive: Property Brothers’ Drew Scott and Linda Phan Detail Their “Very Personal” Italian Wedding

When Property Brothers star Drew Scott and his love, Linda Phan, got hitched in Italy on May 12, they were coming off a whirlwind few months with the filming of their spinoff show while traveling from locale to locale to document yet another HGTV series.

As a result, in contrast to their usual home projects, they entrusted a third party to handle the bulk of the planning—while making sure they didn’t lose their initial vision of a fun-filled fête that was both “whimsical” and “intimate.”

“We wanted to make sure that our wedding felt very personal and that every detail had our signatures on it,” Phan, 33, tells The Knot.

To execute on the concept, the reality duo worked with wedding planner Oany Ravello to bring their wedding dreams to life. “She made everything so easy and offered a great balance between us wanting to be hands-on leading up to it, while making sure that we didn’t have to worry about any details as soon as we landed in Italy. We’re thankful that she was able to work independently, taking all of our desires and running with them.”

Among the details that Phan and Scott, 40, wanted to highlight were elements from both of their heritages (they held a Chinese tea ceremony the day after the wedding, and Scott wore a traditional Scottish kilt and tuxedo for the ceremony). Sustainability was also a focus with the couple partnering with WE to tie their wedding to their passion for access to clean water and charitable causes.

Finally, dance was essential and the bride and groom, with their wedding party, performed a number choreographed by Scott’s former Dancing With the Stars partner Emma Slater and her husband, Sasha Farber.

Get all the inside scoop on the couple’s scenic, thoughtfully orchestrated wedding below.

THE VENUEBoth Scott and Phan knew they wanted to have a destination wedding, and the Borgo Egnazia hotel in Puglia, Italy, provided just the right amount of charm, beauty and warm family feel that the pair was looking for. They exchanged vows before their 300 guests outdoors under lush four-post altar and the reception was held just inside the resort. According to the site, Borgo Egnazia “is located in the heart of Puglia, immersed among the ancient olive groves of the Itria valley and only steps away from the crystal blue Adriatic sea of Savelletri.”

THE DRESS

Both Phan’s wedding and reception dresses were designs by L.A.-based designer Claire Pettibone. Her wedding gown featured a cathedral-length train, as well as hand-beaded silk floral detailing across the sleeves and the bodice of the gown. The dress featured an open back while the waist of the gown featured hand-beaded pearls and lace.

For her reception, Phan changed into a more fitted-style dress. “This one was an almond, cream-layered lace dress and didn’t have a train so that I could dance the night away,” she says.

Because of her busy work schedule, Phan didn’t have time to do a trial for her hair and makeup, so she completely relied on her hair and makeup team (and her bridesmaids). Marnie Brooks and Annalee Belle to concoct something wedding-worthy. “I wanted something romantic and laid back,” she says. “I completely trusted them to come up with a look that still felt like me.”

THE GROOM’S LOOK

Scott’s outfit for the big day held a great deal of significance as well. The HGTV star donned a traditional Scottish kilt and tuxedo by Claymore Imports during the wedding ceremony itself to honor his Scottish heritage. The kilt was a Scott clan tartan (Scott Green Weathered), and his accessories, like the sporran, even bore the Scott family crest. Scott changed for the reception, donning a sleek custom dark green tuxedo by GotStyle, which also has its own fun backstory: the couple’s good friends Charlotte and Wes were the reason they had met in the first place, at a GotStyle fashion show, of all places!

THE COLOR PALETTE

Scott’s dark green tuxedo also fit right in with the couple’s colors for the evening, a blush and emerald combination. Phan managed to incorporate those colors into her own dress, the bridesmaids’ dresses (they were a deep emerald green), the ceremony and the reception.

THE STATIONERY

As the creative director of Scott Global, Phan naturally had a few thoughts on how to personalize the stationery and look and feel of the ceremony. She included a personalized wedding monogram on all of the printed programs, and even had stamps made of the monogram to use for things like thank you cards for the guests after the wedding itself. At the rehearsal dinner, which included a much-smaller party of 50, Phan made hand-designed vellum placemats that highlighted all the places that she and Scott considered special to their relationship. She also had little handwritten name tags tied to pears and personalized stickers on each piece of fruit with the wedding date and a small sentiment that read, “Nothing comPEARS to you.”

THE FLORALS

The couple worked with florist Vincenzo Dascanio, who designed all of the centerpieces, the altar, and Phan’s bouquet (comprised of white lisianthus, white stock, Jasmine leaves, a mix of roses, myrtle berries, green bell leaves and eucalyptus leaves). The professional based the arrangements off mood boards that the couple provided in the lead up to the wedding.

THE CEREMONY

In wanting all of their loved ones to mix and mingle from the get-go, Phan and Scott didn’t assign seating at the ceremony, instead encouraging guests to sit wherever they wanted, choosing to gravitate toward signs that read, “pasta lovers,” “pizza lovers,” “extra saucy” and “extra cheesy.”

Scott was escorted down the aisle by his mother and Phan’s mother, and she was escorted down the aisle by both her own father and her father-in-law, Scott’s father. The next day, the two families also hosted a traditional Chinese tea ceremony.

THE RECEPTION

The newlyweds entered the reception to—what else?—Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love.” Their dear friend Wes (who had helped introduce the pair) DJ’d the evening, and played a wide range of hits and classics, ranging from Leon Bridges to Cardi B to Chet Baker. The couple had a surprise in store for their guests as well, with an elaborate, performed dance with their bridal party, choreographed by Slater and Farber.

THE FOOD

The food at the cocktail hour and reception was definitely something to write home about. According to Phan, the menu included a buffet of appetizers, followed by three courses, a dessert buffet and of course, the wedding cake created by Cake Hunters. Dinner included potato-and-saffron gnocchi, turnip-top risotto and beef sirloin with grape reduction.

THE CAKE

The cake was created by Butter&, a bakery based in San Francisco (the process was documented on Food Network’s Wedding Cake Countdown on an episode that aired June 25), and featured four tiers, each with a different-flavored filling: vanilla with goat cheese and strawberry balsamic vinaigrette, organic not-so-red red velvet, carrot and chocolate hazelnut.

For decoration, the design of the couple’s L.A. home floorboards was incorporated into the cake, along with elements from both their Scottish and Chinese heritage.

THE TAKEAWAY

The pair say the day felt like “a dream,” with perhaps one of the most poignant moments being the night after the wedding, when they threw a fun Pajama Movie Night for their guests, which included a fire pit s’mores station, a pizza bar, popcorn, champagne and a lavish candy bar. “It was such a perfect, intimate way to wrap up the best week of our lives,” the couple say. “I loved the simplicity of it because, while the entire wedding experience was so beautiful, we don’t need all the fluff to feel so completely on Cloud 9 together.”

---

See more exclusive photos and get more details from the couple’s wedding in The Knot’s Fall 2018 issue, on newsstands now.

Secure your ideal wedding vision by starting with The Knot’s Style Quiz, here.