When it comes to Italian wedding destinations, I think we can all agree it’s pretty tough to compete with Villa Cimbrone. The venue’s timeless, old world romance enchants us every. single. time. That being said, we couldn’t be more excited to share today’s destination wedding at Villa Cimbrone from Events by Paulina. To see all the dreamy details, including an epic hanging floral installation from Malafronte Fiori, head on over to the full gallery – all taken by Bottega53!
How and when did you meet?
From the Bride… We met at a mutual friend’s house in Taipei, where Jimmy was invited to cook for a group of friends. Luckily, Jimmy brought his best and prepared his signature bourbon bbq ribs and sea urchin risotto, because it caught Rachel’s attention. After a few weeks of dating, Rachel told Jimmy that she was moving to Los Angeles to continue her education for the next two years. Jimmy said he was all for it and they started their two year long distance relationship from Los Angeles to Shanghai defying the cliche that long distance doesn’t last. (12/2013)
How and when did you get engaged?
During one of Jimmy and Rachel’s summer vacations to Europe, Jimmy had planned a little surprise along the way. Jimmy cunningly planned his proposal and rented a yacht for the day to take them from Capri to Positano where he would propose during sunset with Positano’s mystic cliffside architecture as a backdrop. However, what he didn’t plan for was a luggage that never arrived at Naples and a high tide on the way from Naples to Capri. The dramamine was in that luggage, and Rachel was so seasick that she told Jimmy she never wanted to get on a boat again. Luckily, the luggage arrived to our resort in Capri, albeit missing a wheel, but with the seasick meds, she was ready to give it another shot. We cruised around Capri, dined at one Michelin-starred Il Riccio and even had Michael Jordon dine behind us. Finally, we boarded our private yacht, headed towards Positano, and paused about 500 yards from the beach for a photo session at the bow. With John Mayer’s “Gravity” playing in the background, Jimmy dropped to one knee and proposed. (07/2018)
Why did you pick this venue? What did you most love about it?
We had considered a number of cities in Italy and researched a number of venues, but we wanted to bring all of our family and friends to the place that we felt was most special, the Amalfi Coast. During our search, we saw surreal, beautiful pictures of Villa Cimbrone online, and Paulina had just so suggested the same venue as one of her top choices. We knew Villa Cimbrone would be the place. Ravello was relatively close to Positano, while being a bit more quaint and dreamy. The number of rooms was perfect for our big family so we booked the entire villa for our family to stay in during our wedding. Villa Cimbrone also had such a wide selection of picturesque spaces across its property that could be used for the ceremony, cocktail hour, reception and after-party. It only made sense, even if we never had the chance to visit the venue or taste the food before our wedding. Our choice was perfect, as the venue was more beautiful than we thought, and all of the hotel staff were top-notch, including the spectacular Villa Cimbrone events coordinator, Donnatella. Looking back, we would make the same decision, hands down.
What was your vision for your wedding?
Our vision of our wedding was to create a journey shared with family and friends, which included traveling from Rome to Positano and hosting a Capri boat excursion with a welcome lunch party in Capri followed by evening drinks in Positano and in Ravello. Literally, we would explore, wine and dine together all the way till the big event. For the wedding itself, we wanted different experiences from the welcome drinks to the ceremony, cocktails, reception and finally the after-party, and Villa Cimbrone offered it all with such an expansive, diverse and beautiful property. We started our welcome drinks with a rooftop lemonade stand at Villa Cimbrone’s terrace where the guests had amazing views of the Mediterranean Sea. The guests were then ushered through the famous Cimbrone gardens passing by a pomegranate tree to eventually reach a cliff-side ceremony filled with white rustic florals where a quintet was playing classical love songs. Once the ceremony was finished, our guests would be ushered into one of many gardens filled with gelato stands, an escort card table with limoncello shots for each guest, and a gift table where we had custom bags and cashmere scarves with hand-ironed logos. The gelato, finger foods, Prosecco and an Italian guitar duo made for a fun way to kick off the evening.
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Photographer: Bottega 53 | Videographer: Giordano | Wedding Planner: Events by Paulina | Florist: Armando Malafronte | Stationary: Letters by Ann | Hair: Alessandro Mancino & Marco Carpentieri | Lighting: RMS | Hotel: Villa Cimbronne | Chairs: Wedding Chairs & Co | Guestbook: Be Golden | Music: Wedding Music | Rentals: FG Eventi