NEED TO KNOW
A couple who enjoyed a beautiful wedding in Tuscany found an extra special way to share it with one family member.
Gloria and Collin first met online during their last year of college and didn’t have any idea what fate had in store for them.
“We were both hoping to find someone fun just to take to our end-of-year sorority/fraternity events, but we both ended up catching feelings. After graduation, we spent the summer in Italy together, and that’s when we had that ‘when you know, you know’ moment,” Gloria tells PEOPLE.
“We absolutely knew we would get married someday. We stayed together as we went off to different grad schools, and then in 2022, Collin proposed during our trip to Tahiti. It was beautiful!”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The couple initially had one idea in mind for their nuptials, but ended up changing directions in a big way.
“Wedding planning was a little chaotic. We initially planned a 200+ guest wedding here in California, but ended up canceling it to have our dream wedding in Tuscany,” Gloria shares.
The bride and groom invited the 50 closest members of their friends and family for the special adventure.
“We had always talked about getting married in Italy since it was the first place we traveled to together and where we fell in love. We had a pretty clear vision of what we wanted, which was to have a wedding with stunning views, understated elegance and fun surprises to spoil our guests with all the love,” the bride shares.
Their families were both on board with the vision and happy to support the couple in bringing it to life.
“We feel so lucky and truly rich in life to have such loving family and friends who would travel across the world to celebrate with us. Looking around and seeing all of our people, who have supported us through different eras of our lives, together at a 13th-century castle overlooking the Tuscan countryside is crazy!”
The wedding went off without a hitch, a truly “once in a lifetime experience” and “full-circle moment” for Gloria and Collin. They were excited to relive it in their wedding photos and again when they got back their wedding video.
Their wedding video inspired a special idea for the couple — particularly in how to present it to Collin’s dad, Steve Purcell.
“I’m a firm believer that all gifts should be thoughtful, meaningful, personal and make the person receiving it feel special,” Gloria explains.
“For my father-in-law, I noticed posters of Mary-Kate and Ashley’s Holiday in the Sun and When In Rome, along with some other projects he’s worked on hanging in his home office, and I thought it would be perfect to incorporate something that he’s proud of!”
Purcell worked with the Olsen twins as a producer and director on a number of projects. He’s also been part of the making of numerous comedy and live music specials
Gloria and Collin documented their gift presentation in a TikTok showing the making of the When In Rome-styled DVD.
Gloria Purcell/Tiktok
“I think it was the last thing he was expecting to see, because we rarely ever talk about his past work, especially the Mary-Kate and Ashley movies, since they’re such old movies,” Glora laughs.
“His initial reaction was ‘Oh my gosh, this is hilarious!’ because he thought it was a gag gift. Once he realized it was our wedding video, he was just in complete amazement and immediately popped the DVD in to watch it.”
Steve tells PEOPLE, “I’ve dedicated my entire career to the television and film industry, often working in a vacuum without direct feedback from viewers. Directing the Mary-Kate and Ashley movies was great fun. When my son, Collin, and Gloria gifted me the remake of When in Rome, titled When in Tuscany, along with a DVD of their wedding video, it completely blew me away and brought tears.”
Sharing the video on Father’s Day weekend, when they presented the gift, provided an unintentional second gift — the praise of all the millennials who had grown up on the work Purcell helped bring to life.
“It was perfect timing to have the rest of the world tell him how he’s shaped so many of their childhoods! To us, he’s just goofy ol’ dad, so it’s wild to see how much of an impact he’s had on others. I hope seeing all of the comments made him feel even more special!”
“When Gloria shared the TikTok post with me, I was amazed,” Steve admits. “The genuine responses from viewers who had watched the movies multiple times made me smile. As a director, it’s difficult to step back and evaluate the broader impact of a project during production. Reading the diverse responses and understanding how these movies resonated with people truly touched my heart.”
