Classically Elegant Italy Wedding at Villa Cimbrone in Ravello

Melissa Baran
April 10, 2019
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

All at once, this wedding feels like it took place 100 years ago and 100 years from now. It truly is the loveliest blueprint for what a timeless celebration looks like. Oliver Fly‘s imagery seems to float off the screen with beauty, and contained in each moment are charming details planned by The Wedding Boutique Italy. I don’t doubt that you’ll get lost while perusing the full gallery.

What did you envision your wedding being prior to planning?

From the beginning, we wanted a romantic and timeless wedding, and we used dusty blue as our main wedding colour, which was inspired by the colour of the view from Terrazza dell’Infinito at Villa Cimbrone.

Why did you choose to do a Destination Wedding and why did you decide to choose Italy and Villa Cimbrone as your final choice?

Usually weddings in Jakarta are very grand, around 1000-3000 guests. Aston and I were always fond of a small intimate wedding, where we can spend more time with our closest family and friends. We could only have had a small wedding by doing a destination wedding. We visited Villa Cimbrone last year for a summer vacation and it was indeed the most beautiful place we had ever seen on our travels. Villa Cimbrone came right into our minds when we were thinking about the place to hold our small and intimate wedding.

The Villa was grand and beautiful, it has so many different sections of garden, so many areas to be explored, as well as being based in the a wonderful Ravello on the Amalfi Coast. Because our family and friends were going to travel so far for us, we wanted to make sure our guests had an amazing and unforgettable experience. We therefore planned the best events we could offer for them, starting by welcoming our guests with sunset cocktails at Belmond Hotel Caruso, then choosing to hold our holy matrimony at The Cathedral of St. Andrew in Amalfi because it is magnificent. The church is dedicated to the Apostle Saint Andrew whose relics are kept there. Then we had our wedding reception in Villa Cimbrone, and the next day we held a farewell boat party with the guests to show the beautiful Amalfi Coast from the sea, with stopover in Positano.

What was your color palette and your style vision?

Dusty blue, blush pink, vintage gold, white ivory, with modern classic style.

What unique elements or DIY details did you include?

The things that we decided to DIY were paper cones for petal confetti, ribbons for menu decoration, seating plan poster, table runner and holy matrimony book. We were very hands on planning the wedding, so that our guests could also feel that the whole wedding was unique in Aston & Stella’s way.

What was your favorite moment?

Our favourite moment of the wedding was the first time we looked at each other for the in the Cathedral for our Holy Matrimony. Aston had never seen me in my wedding gown until then, because he wanted to experience that feeling and ‘first look moment’ when he first saw me in the Cathedral.

What were your favorite details of the day?

For our wedding cake, the wedding designer Made In Cake was from Provence. But we specifically asked her to use Amalfi Lemons for the flavour, to express the essence of our wedding venue.
At last minute, the colour of handmade dyed ribbons for bouquets came out to be very different than what we ordered, so together with my Bridesmaids, we found a solution by making our own silk ribbon for the bouquet.
My husband gave a personalized pin to each groomsman that says the character of that groomsman, the meaning of that was each of the groomsman represents that character of the groom.
For my wedding gown, my bridal store was Truly Enamoured in Singapore. They curate international designer gowns for rent and purchase. When I was looking for the perfect gown, I didn’t seem to find the one that I was looking for. And then I saw this new gown from Berta’s newest collection online, and fell in love with it. A gown that I have never seen in real life, just from some pictures, but I suddenly felt that it was the one. My mom and dad also thought the same. So I, without doubt, ordered it, waited for almost 4 months to get it made and shipped from the U.S to Singapore. And my gut feeling didn’t lie, when I first tried it on, it was magical.
The earrings that I was wearing on my wedding day were really special because they were an engagement present from my parents.
We did luggage tags as wedding favors, because it’s a destination wedding, so we wanted a personalized luggage tags as wedding favours for our family and friends who had to travel across the globe to our celebration. We got ours made with Saffiano Faux leather in our wedding’s colour palette for each guest, very detailed laser-cut with our wedding hashtag’s calligraphy on- it was a perfect choice.

What is one piece of advice that you could give to brides-to-be?

Choose your wedding organiser wisely and take care of your health, as you will need extra stamina because planning a wedding can be tiring, yet it’ll be worth it.

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From the Wedding Planner Catherine Bradfield, Founder of The Wedding Boutique Italy… Stella and Aston’s wedding was, without doubt, a combination of some of the most beautiful locations that the Amalfi Coast has to offer, so that guests had a truly wonderful experience over the three day celebration.

A Welcome Party in the stunning gardens of Belmond Hotel Caruso lined with olive trees, and the infamous Ravello vista, the cocktails flowed complemented by Caruso’s sumptuous canapés. On a previous trip to Ravello, Aston and Stella had loved the amazing gelato by Baffone, so they both wanted this to feature at the Welcome party, complete with Stella’s favourite flavour- Baffoncello! You will just have to come to Ravello to try it…

So we organised a really cute gelato cart with six different, delicious flavours and everyone loved it! Decor wise we opted for a more casual styling, just a few pretty touches to evoke a vibe of Amalfi Coast chic.

For the wedding day itself, although Ravello has really pretty Churches, the Amalfi Cathedral is in a league of it’s own- beautifully ornate within, set high up above the Amalfi Square with many steps to reach it. Stella was very brave in her heels and dress, as climbing the stairs was the only way to reach the doors ready for her grand entrance.

After the Catholic ceremony, we arranged for the guests to line the stairs with pretty petal cones for a fantastic exit as newlyweds- a fascinated crowd had gathered in the square and there was lots of cheers. It was a lovely moment!

Stella and Aston were swept away in their gorgeous classic wedding car, leaving guests to enjoy a spot of lunch in Amalfi, before heading back to Ravello for the evening celebrations.

Anyone who has visited the Amalfi Coast will have heard of Villa Cimbrone, arguably the most beautiful place on the whole of the Amalfi Coast (or maybe even in Italy) and by far one of our most popular venues. We are so lucky that our Senior Planner, Roberta, is local to Ravello and knows the venue inside out.

What better place to hold the wedding reception itself, in a historic castle with the most incredible fairytale gardens and infamous Belvedere Terrace (also know as the Terrace of Infinity)- somewhere that Gore Vidal himself said was the most beautiful place he had seen in all his travels, where the sky and the sea were each so vividly blue it was impossible to tell one from the other.

Oliver Fly (Photographer) and Giorgio Guerrieri (Videographer) were so happy with the location and there are so many amazing photo opportunities within the venue that they didn’t know where to start!

Guests were welcomed with a wonderful Aperitif in the gardens, and were able to wander round the rest of the property to explore and take photos on the Belvedere Terrace.

As the light fell, we put the finishing touches to the dinner tables in the crypt with the wonderful vaulted stone ceiling that Villa Cimbrone is so well know for. The colour palette was delicate and romantic, with gorgeous open blooms complemented by taper candles and wonderful calligraphy and stationary design by Veronica Halim.

As soon as the candles were lit, we invited guests to be seated- it’s always the most magical moment to watch the guests come down the stairs and see the dinner setting for the first time, the look on their faces means we know our work has been worthwhile.

Then we prepared the Bride & Groom’s grand entrance into dinner and a magical evening ensued, surrounded by flickering candlelight, and the incredible voice of Enrico singing and playing the grand piano, the room filled with laughter and delicious dining.

Catherine from Made in Cake designed a gorgeous and delicate cake for Stella and Aston, which was followed by their lovely first dance. After the reception, we had organised a fantastic after party at a great bar down in the square of Ravello so that guests could dance the night away until the early hours of the morning.

The next day, as a farewell, we organised a relaxing cruise along the Coast to Positano for Aston, Stella and their guests and the weather was just lovely. The Amalfi Coast is stunning whilst you are on land, but even more impressive seen from the water so we always highly recommend a boat trip during your stay.

Overall it was a wonderful few days, showcasing the very best that the Amalfi Coast has to offer. There is no doubt that it is the most magical place for a destination wedding of any size, and we love bringing our clients’ visions to life to create memorable and stylish celebrations.