CASTELLABATE – ONE OF THE PRETTIEST VILLAGES IN ITALY
I remember the wedding enquiry landing in my inbox one March morning from a lovely Swedish couple, hoping to plan a wedding in Cilento with My Secret Italy. What I immediately noticed was that they were planning to marry in the very same year with a small planning window. I was not phased by this at all, as I had experienced this before with Claire & Dan who planned a wedding in six months with legalities and all. Michael & Malin were hoping for a symbolic ceremony, which meant they didn’t have to go through the process of obtaining legal documents which did help for sure.
From our very first conversation I was intrigued to hear all about how I could help this beautiful couple. I soon realised that in Sweden, the usual UK traditions did not apply and this would be a very different wedding. From the get go, photography was a very important consideration for Michael & Malin, so I recommended a few photographers.
One of my recommendations was for the wonderful DITA BOWEN whose style they immediately fell in love with. I had not worked with Dita before so we had lots of chats together to make sure she was a perfect fit. Dita’s style is light & Airy. (She is a true professional and was a joy to work with).
After a chat with the couple, I kinda had a plan for what would suit them best. We decided on a wedding ceremony at Torre Perrotti, a beautiful seaside tower dating back to the 16th Century. The dinner was then held in the prettiest of Italian villages, Castellabate. The village is a short drive from Santa Maria di Castellabate and Castellabate sits proudly about the seaside town and from where you get THE most amazing views of Santa Maria, and the Amalfi Coastline.
THE CEREMONY AT TORRE PERROTTI
BRIDAL PREP & FIRST LOOK
A few nights at the incredible Palazzo Belmonte for bridal prep & for their FIRST LOOK. The Palazzo Belmonte is another stunning venue for a wedding, A historic Palazzo dating back to the 17th Century.
In Sweden, quite often the couple see each other for photos before the actual ceremony.
DINNER AT PALAZZO GENTILCORE
What a magical spot for a wedding of up to 50 guests. Seated outside under an ancient fig tree & colourful Bougainvillea.. (for those of you that know me, you know how much this flower is weaved into our branding, and shouts Bella Italia). This beautiful boutique hotel sits on the outskirts of the village of Castellabate, and is breathtaking. The chef is a well known ambassador of the Mediterranean Diet, Pietro Parisi. Everyone sat down for dinner about six thirty and that is when the speeches began. In Sweden most of the guests will stand and say a few words and not much is planned. We had 17 speeches at least during the evening and in between courses, a real celebration of love, memories & congratulations.
After the dinner and the speeches, the party started with a DJ and a Sax player. Everyone partied until 01.00 when buses took the guests down for the after party in Santa Maria at the Cliff Bar. I believe guests saw the sunrise & had a memorable post wedding celebration.
So, take a look at this wedding. This is what we pulled off in a matter of just under six months, so don’t think it is not possible…. Michael & Malin opted for a symbolic ceremony and no documents are required for this type of ceremony as you would typically marry officially in your own town or country before or after the celebration in Italy. Even if you wanted to marry officially in Italy, the process does not start until six months before the date of the weddings, so rest assured it is not too late to plan a wedding with a six month window. Ideally you would give your guests more notice, but this blog post is to help you see what is possible booking a wedding in Italy with a small planning time-frame.
If you would like to find out more about a My Secret Italy wedding, then why not book a FREE Ciao Bella call with me? It is your chance to ask me anything about getting married in Italy. Click on link for a convenient time…
WORDS OF LOVE
It is very difficult to summarize this magical event.
We both had a Wedding and a birthday so it was a two day event.
Julie and My Secret Italy was there from the start and made everything possible and it became very special.
All the guests were super happy with the result and several said it was the best wedding they event been too. Julie is a real talent, she is very accommodating, 100 % professional and very easy to work with.
JULIE really listened to what we wanted although we sometimes were very difficult.
We were her first Swedish couple but Julie was very open to how we marry in Sweden.
The locations were all great, All persons involved were great. The problem now is that we have too many great memories to choose from.
0 Comments