Old World Elegance on the Amalfi Coast at Villa Astor

Matt
September 14, 2022
Categories: Photo Shoot, The Blog, Wedding Style

We’re closing out the last few moments of summer with an epic Amalfi Coast editorial planned by Krissy Campbell dripping in old world elegance. High fashion, a fine art aesthetic, jaw-dropping blooms by Lettre a Elise Events and Mediterranean sea views at every turn. If you’re looking for Italian destination wedding inspo, look no further. You’re going to want to spend a little extra time at the full gallery by bonphotage, and don’t forget to pin your faves ;)

The winding roads through the Amalfi cliffside towns led us to the Mediterranean escape of Villa Astor right off the Marina Grande in Sorrento, Italy. The blend of this incredible area (and the view!) with a nod to Neo-Roman architecture, Dominican Monastery remnants and lush gardens made it a perfect choice for a dream couple’s intimate Amalfi Coast celebration. I couldn’t wait to create around the natural elements and beauty of the space, while also speaking to current topics of connection, thoughtful luxury, intimate post-COVID destination weddings, fashion and travel at this stunning location.

I wanted to showcase the versatility and options that a coastal Italian venue like Villa Astor could provide to couples for an entire extended and intimate experience for themselves and their guests. We decided to showcase a few vignettes throughout the property that highlighted the beautiful Pompeiian villa and gardens that could be used all year round. We designed a ceremony, two tablescapes, and a dessert table by the talented Mon Annie Cakes. These paired with portraits highlighting luxuries of the area including a speedboat ride and Fiat 500 getaway. We also included dreamy paper goods by two talented stationery artists, Olumis Calligraphy and Studio Wren.

To bring the vignettes to life, we decided on a spring or summer wedding palette and, again, played to the property and its surroundings. I chose colors that weren’t overly bright, yet felt fresh with touches of the colors seen in the indoor living spaces as well, using soft pinks, yellows, and even subtle greens and blues. It was important for us to keep in line with the fine art aesthetic while adding both personal touches and pops of coastal color. I described the couple and their ideal celebration with descriptors such as “elegant, luxury, exclusive, romantic, intimate, refined, travel, sophisticated, coastal, cultured, delicate yet bold, hopeful and lush.”

We also wanted to create a story for this couple that could be reflected in the experience and details of their time at Villa Astor. This is the story of a couple with a love for travel and culture. They want to reflect their connection to the natural and European-style architecture while inspiring their guests to discover for themselves perspectives and stories beyond their own – to embrace the experience of the coastal slowed pace and seaside escape…to celebrate places and people that may surprise, challenge and inspire. Their celebration speaks of their desire to use their travels to connect themselves and others to the innate beauty found in places and people wherever they go.

All of this gave us a wonderful foundation to work with as we designed the experience.

We began to connect with professionals worldwide that could beautifully bring these elements and values to life. We worked with the incredibly talented French floral designer, Lettre a Elise Events, to create stunning floral vignettes that flowed naturally throughout each space – from a show-stopping ceremony installation flowing over the iconic archways, peering out to the sea to two tablescapes, both overlooking the cliffside water, each lush with pops of softly toned florals and taper candles. She also created the most romantic bouquet for the bride, just perfectly sized for her and her delicate, romantic gowns along with her soft bridal hair and makeup by Samantha Pretto. The touch of florals perfectly enhanced the already stunning natural landscape and architecture.

The color palette softly played off tones of early summer and the subtle tones both outside and inside the venue. We had so much fun weaving these together in each of the table details. The backdrop of the villa with the gardens, sea and mountains in view created the perfect spots for multiple outdoor dinner fetes surrounding the wedding day. One of the villa’s checkered balconies held a glass-top oval table highlighted with matted gold touches, stunning paper details and a center brimming with almost a dozen floral arrangements, softening the palette and keeping the space timeless yet bold and luxurious. The second tablescape was set with old-world chairs and paper details, velvet linens and lush floral, nestled against the seaside backdrop along the cliff’s edge. The invitations and day of paper goods by both stationery artists were a truly personal touch as each guest received a unique menu and personal place card, each assembled together with color, texture and design details custom to each attendee. Muted palette tones, combinations of hand calligraphy and typeface along with wax seals, floral art and personalized gifts gave a nod to the inspiration found in the locations and the thoughtful luxury of the entire experience. The texture in the china and flatware pairings (thanks to G&G Party Service) brought a true nod to the simple, yet elegant look of the venue’s iconic architecture and gardens.

The experience was both intimate yet elevated as we showcased the couple’s high taste for fashion and design in the haute couture gowns of Galia Lahav and romantic, yet bold colored gown by Il Giardino Fiorito delle Spose. The groom was not spared in his regal look as well in two different tux designs by Sergio Nesci Boutique. The couple was adorned with Italian jewelry and accessories by New Milano and a bridal ring by Taya.

Lastly, we also wanted to ensure that we captured the couple taking special moments for themselves throughout the experience. This is one of my top priorities as a planner and designer – to provide our couples with not only a stunning space, but the ability to cherish the beauty of the moments together both alone and with their guests. The bride and groom were captured throughout the property and luxurious villa in its natural element with the most perfect golden light and seaside landscape. They escaped in both a quaint Italian car as they were married off and enjoyed a luxury speedboat getaway from the Marina Grande as well.

As you can see through the beautifully captured photos from the Bonphotage team, each detail of the celebration and experience at Villa Astor was thoughtful from beginning to end. The aesthetic and beauty was only heightened by the intimate moments between them and the intentional touches added for themselves and their loved ones. We hope this project inspires a timeless, yet highly personal and thoughtful approach to luxury celebrations on the Italian Amalfi Coast and beyond!