A real bride's insight into planning a wedding in Ravello, Italy
Read all about Laura & Nigel’s magical wedding at Villa Eva, Ravello
We got the chance to catch up with one of our beautiful 2019 brides Laura and chat to her about everything wedding related and how she enjoyed her planning journey.
About you…
How did you first meet?
We first met just before Christmas in a shopping centre, thanks to good old internet dating! I had to finish my Christmas shopping and Nigel decided to join me! I have to say, the funny part is we annoyed each other at first but we felt good every time we met up. A friendship initially that turned romantic over time.
The proposal: was it a complete surprise and where did it happen?
The proposal was out of the blue and typical of our style, not at all planned (thank goodness we found Victoria for our wedding!!) We sat on the sofa one evening listening to music with candles, as we often did and our eyes met, without saying a word, I nodded yes and we both cried! A weird experience but a close moment. That night we went for a walk and saw a shooting star! Then the next day we bought an engagement ring.
The location
Why did you choose to get married in Ravello?
Ravello was our first trip alone together and we fell in love with not just the views, people and wine but with each other. We said if we’d ever marry, it would be in Italy.
What did you love most about Ravello itself?
Where do we start? Refined yet natural beauty, relaxed, diverse, quaint, so beautiful I cried when I first saw the views. Very lucky to have visited Ravello, let alone marry there.
Why did you choose villa eva for your wedding?
Victoria gave us a few options based on what we wanted. She seemed to get it just right with Villa Eva. Stunning is an understatement, the venue, view and grounds actually took my breath away when I saw it. Also Victoria understood we wanted to feel relaxed, our guests to feel relaxed and to be romantic.
which three words would you use to describe your wedding in Ravello?
Exquisite, perfection, beautiful. Can I have more?!
The planners
what made you choose sophisticated weddings?
Victoria was recommended by a colleague of a friend of mine so we called Sophisticated Weddings first and instantly she knew what we wanted. We spent a lot of time and
research looking at other planners, venues, places etc and came back to Victoria. There’s something about Victoria’s personal touch and efforts that helped make our decision. She listened and her dedication and attention to detail made us be very confident we chose the right company. She had a personal touch with all of our emails, always responded, went out of her way for requests without bombarding us with generic emails. Very personal and professional approach yet warm and nothing was too much trouble.
Photography/Videography
who did you use for photography/videography and how did you choose them?
Francesco Quaglia was our chosen photographer, recommended by Victoria. He was so helpful and produced some beautiful pictures. On the day he was exceptional and made us feel very relaxed in front of the camera. We did not have a videographer but we did have a video booth at Villa Eva which was great fun and our guests loved it.
Bridal style
tell us about your dress
I chose my dress (after already buying one ) in the UK, belle of the ball. As I’m nearly 40 it was important to me to choose classic and slightly fitted, yet elegant and to feel comfortable! It was fitted and flared ever so slightly at the bottom, had delicate shoulder straps and was off white with simple detail on the upper bodice and straps.
and the bridesmaids…
My two bridesmaids wore blush pink, simple, long and from ASOS!! My daughter’s dress was from the same shop as mine, to match colours with me, as she was the flower girl and a very important part of the day.
What did your husband wear?
My husband (still feels funny saying that after saying fiancé or partner for so long!) wore a blue, not too dark blue Boss suit that he had tailored, smart yet not too many layers so he felt relaxed. The colours looked lovely on him and worked well with the blush pink. He looked very handsome.
Wedding style
what were your wedding colours?
We chose blush pink as our colour, combined with greenery and white.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS AND BOUQUET?
Our flowers were blush pink, creams and off white. We chose simple arrangements for our U shaped table at the Villa in glass vases.
WHAT INDIVIDUAL TOUCHES DID YOU INCLUDE?
We had the video booth, thanks to Victoria’s help and the guests loved it! We wanted some humour in the wedding and we even all did (or tried to do) a known dance calledthe electric slide and get people involved for some humour! Victoria helped organise all of this. It was a little fun after our first dance! There were so many personal touches Victoria helped to find to make it unique and special for us.
The wedding experience
what was the weather like?
The weather on the day was sunny, warm and barely a cloud in the sky. So lucky.
what pre-reception drinks did you serve?
We had champagne cocktails, Bellini/Rossini/Mimosa and also prosecco and beers for the gents.
what was your wedding cake like?
It was a beautiful three tiered square cake in a soft icing decorated with fresh flowers. The flavour we chose was strawberries with chantilly cream. I later found out, some of my guests had THIRDS!
did you provide any favours?
Yes we provided small personalised bottles of limoncello. You can’t go to Ravello and not have limoncello!
Final comments
what were your most memorable moments from the day?
I really can’t give one answer to this question, from walking to our hotel with my daughter and sister and the reception and cheers from the locals, the moment we said I do with that back drop and all the people I love the most.
Also the moments the photographer Francesco kindly gave us. Whisking us away to have photos, he guided us on a beautiful walk to allow some time for each other, truly wonderful.
My mum’s speech.. we decided not to do speeches, just a thank you to our guests for making the effort to join us on our special day; when my mum stood up to say a few words, not a dry eye in the house and a beautiful moment I’ll treasure forever.
what planning advice would you give other couples?
Well, I have to say what planning? Victoria did it all for us! Haha. On a serious note, decide how you want it be, imagine the day, the guests and what ambience you’d
like. Then I can honestly say, every step of the way, every decision and idea, Victoria makes happen for you. Relax, enjoy the planning without stress as I miss my conversations with Victoria and getting excited and inspired by ideas. Enjoy every moment from which cake, music and dress to endless questions to Victoria which she always answered, it goes so quickly.
Foot note …
The morning of my wedding, the back of my dress came apart (please don’t panic, it was a fault from home) we had no wedding dress fitter or needle and thread and there was a little worried moment, within 20 minutes, Victoria had a seamstress knock at our hotel door and save the day -or dress should I say!
Talk about exceptional service. Simply the best choice we ever made for our wedding was sophisticated weddings and feel we’ve also made a friend along the way. Thank you.
Victoria says…
Laura was a dream to plan with from start to finish and it was an absolute honour to be a part of her and Nigel’s most special day. Thank YOU both so much for the incredibly kind words you have said about us.
With thanks to the following team : Photography - Francesco Quaglia // Celebrant - Carmela Cesarano // Location - Villa Eva // Make up - Zoe Graham // Videobooth - Emmanuel Sound // Music - Marco Cantarella // Floral Design - Giovanni Castellano.
