When Sally Sephora moved to Italy with her family in 2007, it was meant to be a fresh start. A new country, a new lifestyle, and the excitement of building a different kind of life together. Like many big leaps, reality soon arrived. Financial problems set in and the dream quickly became a struggle.
Sally was teaching English to make ends meet, but it was not enough to support a family. Bills mounted, uncertainty grew, and the situation became increasingly difficult. It was during this time, while searching for a way forward, that the idea of planning weddings came to her. She still remembers the moment clearly. It felt like a lightbulb switching on. This was something she could build. Something creative, personal, and entirely her own.
With no experience in the industry and no established contacts, Sally began from scratch. She visited venues around Lake Como, introduced herself to anyone willing to talk, created a website, and gave her new venture a name: WeddingBox Lake Como.
But before things improved, they became much worse.
The family struggled deeply. At one point the electricity was cut off. Their car sat broken down across the road, unused because there was no money to repair it. Eventually they lost their apartment because they could not pay the rent. They found another place to live with lots of “rustic charm,” rented privately so that no formal references would be required. Through it all, Sally kept working on her idea, determined that it had to succeed.
Very slowly, enquiries began to come in.
She recalls sitting by the lake one day with a piece of paper, writing down her goals. The first was simply to earn enough to pay the bills. The second was to earn a little more than that. Her biggest goal felt almost impossible at the time: to make €3,000 a month and buy a scooter to get around. Back then, it seemed wildly out of reach.
Progress was gradual. Each wedding taught her something new. She learned how to navigate local systems, built relationships with suppliers, and gained the trust of venues. Those early weddings led to positive reviews, and those reviews led to more weddings. Step by step, the business gained momentum. Eventually Sally found herself not just surviving, but keeping her head above water.
WeddingBox grew and opened a office in Varenna, taking on a small team. More weddings followed, along with glowing feedback from couples and recognition within the industry. As the team grew to planning almost 100 weddings each summer, they won awards for their efforts including being named The Most Popular Wedding Planners in Italy.
It was at this stage, with experience behind her and a trusted team beside her, that Sally decided to franchise the business. She had met many talented individuals who wanted to start their own wedding planning careers but did not know where to begin. Having learned everything the hard way herself, she wanted to create a structure that would give others the support, training, and confidence she never had in those early years.
Today, WeddingBox operates in multiple destinations across Europe, combining local expertise with a shared philosophy of personal service, transparency, and calm, experienced guidance for couples planning weddings abroad.
Sally has since captured the lessons from her journey in her book, A 12 Week Guide to Starting Your Dream Wedding Planning Business. The book is a practical course drawn from real experience, designed to help aspiring planners turn an idea into a sustainable business without having to navigate the same uncertainties alone.
Looking back, the path from those early struggles to building an international brand has been anything but straightforward. Yet it is proof that perseverance, relationships, and a clear vision can transform even the most difficult beginnings into something lasting.
Sally continues to lead WeddingBox today and is excited to see what the future brings as the company grows, new planners join the network, and more couples choose Italy and Europe as the place to begin their own stories.
