Getting Married at Belmond Hotel Caruso, Ravello

In Ravello the light arrives late and leaves slowly. This day followed it, from a bright morning to a long dinner under the olive trees.

Tyler and Alexandra got married at the Belmond Hotel Caruso, about as high above the Amalfi Coast as you can get in Ravello. The bridesmaids got ready with her on a terrace over the sea, we did portraits under the hotel's pergolas, and dinner went on long after dark.

Notes on the Belmond Hotel Caruso

The palazzo has quiet corners inside, frescoed rooms and white arches open to the sea, that are perfect for a minute alone before you join your guests.
The gardens are made for walking: long green steps, pergolas, old stone towers. Portraits here are more a walk than a set-up, so leave time for it.
In Ravello the light arrives late and leaves slowly. A dinner under the olive trees that starts at dusk gets the best of it.

Getting ready, with the coast below

The morning started in the suite, with make-up in soft window light, then moved outside: the bridesmaids in floral robes raising their glasses on a terrace with the whole coastline behind them. Inside, the dress waited by the window until the last moment.

Make-up artist finishing the bride's make-up in soft window light

Bridesmaids in floral robes raising their glasses on a terrace above the Amalfi Coast

Bridesmaid holding up the wedding dress by the window of the suite

The Belmond Hotel Caruso wedding, between frescoes and gardens

Before joining the others, Alexandra had a quiet minute alone in a frescoed room of the palazzo, and then under the white arches that open onto the sea.

Bride standing alone in a frescoed room at the Belmond Hotel Caruso, Ravello — A quiet minute before joining everyone.

Later the two of them walked the gardens together: down the long green steps towards the water, under the vine-covered pergola, past the old stone towers of Ravello.

Bride and groom walking down the garden steps towards the sea at the Belmond Hotel Caruso

Bride and groom walking under the vine-covered pergola at the Belmond Hotel Caruso

Bride under the white arches of the Belmond Hotel Caruso, the Amalfi Coast behind her

I gave them very few instructions. Mostly we walked through the gardens and I followed.

Bride and groom embracing with the stone towers of Ravello behind them

Black and white photo of bride and groom kissing, a bell tower of Ravello behind them

Bride and groom holding each other on a terrace above the gardens of Ravello

Dinner under the olive trees

At dusk the long table lit up under the olive trees, with lights strung through the branches and candles down the middle. A hat left among the glasses, conversations that carried on course after course.

Long wedding dinner table under olive trees strung with lights at dusk, Belmond Hotel Caruso — Dinner under the olive trees, as the light turned blue.

Black and white photo of a hat left on the dinner table among candles and glasses

Black and white photo of the bride talking with guests at the dinner table

Black and white photo of bride and groom walking through the garden in the evening

One last kiss in the dark

Late at night, a glass still in hand, one last kiss on the terrace. The way the day ended says a lot about how it went: nobody was in a hurry.

Bride and groom walking back down the aisle after the ceremony in the garden

See the full wedding gallery

Thinking about Ravello?

If the Caruso, or somewhere like it, is on your list, send me your date. I'll tell you whether I'm free and how I'd plan the light up there. My collections are a good place to start.

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