Location: Ravello, Amalfi Coast, Italy
Setting: Villa
Wedding season: Summer
The number of guests: 80
How long did the couple plan the event: 1 year and half
Never one to believe too much in fate, Vincenzo and Summer now often reflect on how they found each other, and it is too much of a coincidence to have been a simple chance encounter.
Read ahead to see all the gorgeous details of this Ravello wedding, photographed by Elisa Rinadi.
“We met at work in the UK in 2014, introduced by my then boss (someone Vincenzo had grown close to since moving to the UK himself in 2012, as they were both from Naples, Italy) to support a piece of work I was doing.
We hit it off right away once we met and spent 3 hours speaking over coffee when we really should have been working! It is at this time that we came to find out that not only did we live in the same part of town (not too much of a shocker – it was a popular location for young professionals), we lived in the same block (ok, there are some large apartment building on the block)….in the same apartment building (now things started getting weird)….on the same floor (this is strange)…2 doors apart…for nearly a year…and had never met before.”
“Very quickly into the relationship, we were sure this was it…and the rest is history. The beauty of our relationship is the blending of our cross-cultural backgrounds – which, at face value, you may not imagine would mix so well.
Vincenzo was born and raised in Naples, Italy, which speaks to the importance of strong family values and traditions where family and food are at the core. I, a single child to my Zimbabwean mother and British father, grew up in Southern Africa (predominantly between Zimbabwe and Swaziland), before moving to the UK for university. Being raised and living in culturally mixed environments exposed me to different views and broadened my understanding of cultures. The beauty of our relationship is a credit to us being open-minded in learning from each other, accepting new experiences and ideas, and even acknowledging any differences positively.”
After being fortunate enough to spend a couple of months in Italy working remotely during COVID, these two got engaged in January 2021 in Sorrento on the first-day lockdown was eased to a deserted Sorretine coastline (fun fact: Summer’s first-ever diamond was her engagement ring!). Within 2 weeks, the lovebirds identified and secured their dreamy venue on the Amalfi Coast, a special place for them.
“I found my dress by chance in a London boutique after 3 failed outings elsewhere (and a bit of frustration that I still had no idea what I wanted), and it was everything I didn’t know I wanted, matching my style coined by my close friend “elegant, but with a twist”. I was always sure of having my #MarriedinManolos moment in a pair of Hangisis, which I was keen not to have in white so they could be worn again.
We wanted to introduce elements of my African background. So, we did this by sourcing and bespoke our wedding bands through South African jewellers, Browns, whose design studios are based in Johannesburg.”
“We finally got married on July 22nd 2022, saying our “I do’s” in front of our 80 guests at the incredible Duomo di Ravello before our guests got escorted to the wedding reception venue by the venue’s coordinators.”
Given the couple had guests (most of the bride’s family and friends) coming in from Africa as far as Peru, the primary motivation in planning their wedding was to ensure their guests had an experience that they too could treasure and for Summer and Vincenzo that meant having something that felt intimate, elegant, personal, romantic and full of love – leaning on the backdrop of Villa Eva.
“We are both very detailed personalities – Vincenzo the practical one, me the one with the ideas and Pinterest mood boards, and we laboured over everything (within reason), including designing and printing the seating numbers on the chairs and seating charts and designing and hand stamping every menu with personalised name tags ourselves.”
“Other important elements for me were in scenting our reception venue to ensure the emotion and memory of the day could be relieved with the light of a candle as I had researched that scent is directly linked to the area of the brain most closely associated with memory, feeling, and imagination.”
The couple wanted to introduce African music to the wedding, and this was tastefully reflected by their incredibly skilled saxophonist, who they requested to play covers of afrobeat songs during the welcome drinks and afterparty, together with Italian and contemporary covers.
VENUE Villa Eva | PHOTOGRAPHER Elisa Rinaldi | VIDEOGRAPHER AR Wedding Film | FLORAL & DESIGN Starace Evanti | BRIDE’S GOWN JESUS PEIRO | BRIDAL SHOES Manolo Blahnik | MUAH Beyouty | GROOM’S TUX Armani | GROOM’S SHOES Christian Louboutin | STATIONERY Lilac & White UK | SAX Fabio Marziali
