Jenna and Shane’s Destination Wedding in Ravello | Part III: Engagement Session in Positano, Italy, Fine Art Engagement Photography

Adding an engagement session to your destination wedding is the perfect way to kick off the celebration of the weekend and have a moment alone for just you and your fiancé amidst all the excitment of the wedding.  Jenna and Shane were married last Fall surrounded by an intimate group of their closest friends and family on the Amalfi Coast.   Their wedding celebration lasted the whole week starting with a private romantic tour of Positano just for the two of them to have a moment of relaxation before their guests arrive.  In the Summer Positano beaches are crowded with hundreds of tourists, but during the Fall months the city is much less crowded and we had the whole beach to ourselves and a gorgeous moody backdrop as the rain clouds rolled in over the cliffside.  View the wedding on Martha Stewart and Part 1: The Welcome Dinner and Part 2: The Wedding

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Bride’s shoes: Manolo Blahnik
Hair and makeup: Manola Spaziani
Film Lab: Richard Photo Lab

Jenna and Shane’s Destination Wedding in Ravello | Part II: Wedding Day at Villa Cimbrone, Ravello, Italy, Fine Art Wedding Photography

Jenna and Shane wedding week continued…..See part one, the welcome dinner, on the blog here and the entire wedding on Martha Stewart Weddings.  Jenna and Shane were married on October 20, 2016 surrounded by 24 of their closest friends and family at the historic Villa Cimbrone, an 11th Century Manor on the Amalfi Coast, in Ravello, Italy.  The bride always dreamed of getting married by the sea and chose her sapphire engagement ring as the blue reminded her of the ocean, and of course of Princess Diana’s ring, which she was in love with as a child.   The bride kept the styling for the day very classic and fashion forward choosing a simple white silk dress with leaf embroidery on the bodice and accessorizing both herself and her groom in touches of black velvet in both his and her shoes, the ring box, his jacket, and black velvet was later used in the ceremony seating and the runner on the wedding banquet table.  The bridesmaids (the bride’s sister and best friend) both wore structural black gowns and the groomsmen wore black tux’s and black bowties, contrasting with the groom’s white tie.  Lotta of Mint Design created a large oversized bouquet of green and white with trailing black ribbons for the bride and smaller versions for the two bridesmaids.  The couple had their first look on the famous infinity terrace that overlooks the ocean followed by portraits around the property.The ceremony took place under the vaulted arches of the Crypt while the bride’s childhood friend April Kry, just named one of Country Music’s top 5 rising artists, sang to them.  Instead of a stage, Mint Design created a wild semi circle floral installation for April to perform in.  Instead of traditional chairs the guests were made to feel cozy and intimate with black velvet couches and ottomans, which later doubled as lounge furniture during the reception.  The aisle was lined with black candles in clear hurricanes and wrought-iron candelabras dripping in greenery, which also creeped up the pillars.  The bride and groom did not want a particularly religious service, but made it personalized by writing their own vows in Velvet Raptor vow books and by lighting three candles to represent the joining of their two souls, while also remaining strong independent people.  The bride had promised her late grandfather a front row seat at her wedding years ago before she was even engaged, so to honor his memory and the memory of others they had lost, they left an empty seat for photographs wrapped in silk in the front row and light a candle during the ceremony in their memory.  After the ceremony the bride and groom enjoyed a few moments alone to walk around the property and take in the magnificent sunset while guests enjoyed a cocktail hour with champagne and local hors d’curves typical of Ravello including mini jars of fresh octopus.

After sunset guests were welcomed back to the Crypt, which had been transformed into a romantic candlelight banquet dinner.  A long black velvet runner ran the length of the table with cut crystal bud vases and tea light holders scattered in between oversized crystal candelabras and large marble vases overflowing with eucalyptus.  Instead of escort cards the bride had Written Word Calligraphy create custom envelopes with each guests name written on them with the menu placed inside, which were placed over grey silk napkins on the table.  The bride and groom sat in the middle of the table positioned so they could look out at the incredible view of the Amalfi cliffs and had the table set so no one was sitting directly across from them to give themselves an unobstructed view.  For dessert guests enjoyed a buttercream cake and of course more limoncello and champagne.  April sang the night away as guests danced into the wee hours of the morning.  View Part III the Engagement Session in Positano.

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Location and Catering: Villa Cimbrone
Event planning: Ebb & Flow (event stylist); Honey and Cinnamon Wed (event coordinator)
Flowers: Mint Design; Flower Sourcing by Domenico Ruggiero of Capri Flor
Officiant: Rosa Pauli
Stationery and calligraphy: Karla Lim of Written Word Calligraphy
Music: April Kry (singer and guitarist); Weddingmusic (string quartet, pianist, and Neapolitan quartet)
Rentals: R&nt Venice
Bride’s attire:  Elizabeth Fillmore
Bride’s shoes: Manolo Blahnik
Hair and makeup: Manola Spaziani
Bridesmaids’ dresses: Neiman Marcus
Groom’s suits: Hugo Boss
Menswear: The Black Tux
Groom’s accessories, Tom Ford bowtie; Salvatore Ferragamo loafers
Bouquet ribbon and gray silk napkins: Seidenband
Vow books, Velvet Raptor
Film Lab: Richard Photo Lab

Jenna and Shane’s Destination Wedding in Ravello | Part I: Wedding Welcome Dinner at Hotel Caruso, Ravello, Italy, Fine Art Wedding Photography

 Jenna and Shane were married on October 20, 2016 surrounded by 24 of their closest friends and family at the historic Villa Cimbrone, an 11th Century Manor on the Amalfi Coast, in Ravello, Italy.   Their wedding celebration lasted the whole week on the Amalfi Coast starting with a private romantic tour of Positano just for the two of them to have a moment of relaxation before their guests arrive (photos coming soon to Style Me Pretty).  Guests were welcomed to theBelmond Hotel Caruso with a welcome package in each room featuring a program of the weeks activities in a wax sealed vellum envelope, fresh lemons and limoncello, which Ravello is famous for.  Guests spent the day exploring the pedestrian only medieval town of Ravello and lounging by the hotel’s famous infinity pool followed by cocktail hour under a grove of olive trees and a dinner on the great lawn overlooking the cliffs of Amalfi as the sunset over the ocean turning the sky around them pink and yellow.  The third day was spent watching the bride and groom say their I Do’s in the Crypt of Villa Cimbrone followed by another candlelight banquet dinner and an evening of dancing.  Stay tuned next week on my blog for photographs from the wedding day and see both now on Martha Stewart Weddings.The bride and groom live together in Westport, CT, with their one year old daughter Camilla Rose.  Camilla did not attend the wedding, but they paid homage to her throughout the day with white roses which grow on the terrace where the welcome dinner took place and were used as an emblem on the wax sealed envelopes that contained the wedding dinner menus, they were also present the evening Shane proposed, which inspired her name.  In typical Italian fashion the best laid plans went out the window and the original plan for the rehearsal dinner was to use all white marble plates and vessels, but with an Italian shipping error the shipment with the brides items ended up in Lake Como instead of the Amalfi Coast and the bride, who runs a destination weddings and events company, had to improvise along with the floral designer, Mint Design, to create a new tablescape for the welcome dinner.  Luckily the bride had brought over some of the essentials in her suitcases and they were able to create a stunning tablescape using autumnal florals and beautiful bottles of limoncello, which guests were able to keep at the end of the night as a favor.  It was the perfect introduction to Ravello.  Guests enjoyed passed hors d’ouerves, champagne and a signature punch cocktail under the olive groves while being serenaded by a guitar player who had been flown in from Nashville to accompany singer, April Kry, the following evening at the wedding.  Part II: Wedding at Villa Cimbrone. Part III: Engagement Session in Positano.

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Event planning: Ebb & Flow (event stylist); Honey and Cinnamon Wed (event coordinator)
Flowers: Mint Design: Flower Sourcing by Domenico Ruggiero of Capri Flor
Location and Catering: Belmond Hotel Caruso
Bride’s attire: Tamara Mellon
Bride’s shoes: Jimmy Choo
Hair and makeup: Manola Spaziani
Rehearsal dinner paper goods: The Wells Makery
Rehearsal dinner rentals: Wedding Solution
Rehearsal dinner table runner: Silk & Willow
Film Lab: Richard Photo Lab