Two places a few kilometres apart: the cathedral in Amalfi for the promise, the gardens of Villa Cimbrone in Ravello for everything after.
Pietro and Marina's day started at sea level, in Amalfi: the ceremony in the cathedral, a walk through the old town for portraits, then the drive up to Ravello. At Villa Cimbrone we had the Terrace of Infinity before dinner and the gardens for the rest of the night.
Before you book Villa Cimbrone
- Ceremony and reception don't have to be in the same place. Here the vows were in Amalfi Cathedral and the party up in Ravello: allow time for the road up the hill between the two.
- Save the Terrace of Infinity for the blue hour before dinner. The coast turns soft and the marble busts stand out against the sky.
- Dinner in the villa's crypt is by candlelight under Gothic arches. The lawn outside is where the cake and the sparklers go.
Getting ready
Shoes on geometric tiles, a white robe on a staircase lined with cacti, the last buttons of the dress done up one by one.
With her father, towards the cathedral
Her father walked her out through a doorway framed with greenery and down through the streets. In the crowded piazza he fixed her veil one last time, and a few minutes later they were climbing the steps of Amalfi Cathedral.
The ceremony in Amalfi Cathedral
Inside, a full church and a quiet that I tried not to break. I photographed from a distance and let it happen.
Afterwards, portraits in the old town: the striped arches of the cathedral, a Gothic stone window above the rooftops, the stepped alleys that climb away from the piazza.
The Villa Cimbrone wedding, on the Terrace of Infinity
Then up the road to Ravello. At Villa Cimbrone the terrace hangs over the whole coast, lined with marble busts, and in the blue hour before dinner it felt like the edge of the world.
We had the terrace almost to ourselves for ten minutes, right at the blue hour.
Into the night
Dinner beneath the Gothic arches of the villa's crypt, a kiss between courses, then out on the lawn for the cake among the sparks and the bouquet raised high into the dark.
Amalfi, Ravello, or both?
Splitting the day between two towns takes some planning, but it's worth it. Tell me your date and where you'd like to marry and I'll get back to you within a day. The collections are here.
