About Us . . .

We’re hitched!

My darling FI and I were married this summer in Ravello, Italy. It was such an exciting time for us, and I picked up so many wonderful ideas and bits of information from fellow Knotties. I'm thrilled to share some of my own wedding details with you . . .

Non-Professional (i.e. somewhat mediocre) Wedding Photos

My brother and I, about to enter the church. . .

. . . and walking me down the aisle

A nice shot of the flower arrangements along the pews. . .

. . .and the urns at the entrance to the church..

Leaving the ceremony to Mendelsohn’s “Wedding March”

Stealing a kiss in the piazza.

Getting pelted with rice.

Our secret Jewish ritual: After the Catholic ceremony, DH and I led our guest to this chuppah, where he broke a glass for good luck.

My sister and her boyfriend, in front of the chuppah.

Cocktail hour on Villa Cimbrone’s Terrace of Infinity.

Getting ready for the bridal party portrait. . .

Mom and my aunt, between courses at dinner – aren’t they hotties?

DH and I, sneaking in a bite to eat.

My aunt and I at the sweetheart table.

Dancing the hora – now that was great fun..

DH and I after cutting the cake.

Planning Bio

The Proposal

FI proposed to me in Capri, Italy. It was truly perfect – we started out the day swimming right off the rocks at the base of the island, and then took a fun, touristy gondola ride into the Blue Grotto. That night, we went to one of the most romantic restaurants on the island, overlooking the water and the Amalfi coastline. Later in the evening, we returned to our hotel, and shared some Prosecco on the terrace – which is where FI asked me to marry him.

A photo of the terrace by day . . .

After Capri, FI and I went to visit my mom in Tuscany. Here’s a photo of them after FI “asked for her permission.” (Yes, it happened AFTER I had already agreed, but it was still a lovely gesture.)

The Rings

Our friend Christopher Roule – an amazing jewelry designer based in NYC – custom-made my e-ring. Christopher is brilliant at dreaming up subtle, unexpected details, like these channel-set diamonds just below the center stone. This is a computer rendition of the ring he designed. (The prongs look like they sit above the diamond, but that's just a shadow.)

A side view of the ring – I love how it’s both very geometric, and very soft.

From a different angle: The ring tapers a bit, and then widens up.

FI’s wedding band, also designed by Christoper Roule, shown here in rose gold. (FI’s band will be 7mm platinum.) This is from Christopher’s “arc” line. Like my E-ring, it’s subtly asymmetrical, but also very elegant and sculptural.

Now, onto the wedding planning . . .

The Dress

This Carolina Herrera was one of the first I tried on, and I just fell in love with it. To be extra sure, I also visited Selia Yang, Blue, The Gown Company and Bergdorf Goodman, but this was the one. I'll be wearing it without the flower.

Another view of my gown from New York magazine -- I love how the fabric drapes so beautifully!

These photos were shamelessly swiped from an eBayer selling a sample of my gown. They’re the only photos I could find that show both the back detail and the train – and no darn flower!

Once again ignoring the flower, this is a nice detail shot of the beadwork.

Veil Ideas

I haven’t finalized a veil yet, but I love the look of these two drop veils. Thanks to Knottie Babychka!

If I decide to go with a high hairdo, this veil would be ideal.

Shoes & Accessories

Our stationery designer included the following page in our save-the-date booklet: “An Important Note on Footwear,” advising our guests against wearing high heels on cobblestones.

Diligently following my own advice, I selected this pair of “sensible” Manolo Blahnik white satin d’orsay heels.

This is my favorite bridal jewelry so far – a deco-inspired pendant from Ben-Amun.

Dramatic, deco earrings – it’s either these Adriana Orsini earrings or the necklace, but not both.
A deco bracelet to go with the necklace.

My wedding gift from FI – a sapphire brooch from the 1920’s (and my “something blue”). I’ll be pinning it to the silk ribbon we’re using to wrap my bouquet.

Bridesmaids & Mother of the Bride

This will be the general idea – long, chiffon and very romantic. The color would be a light, buttery yellow, not the floral you see here.

First fitting photos with my lovely MOH, Amy. The BM dress designer is Christina Kara of Blue in NYC. She’s the doppelganger of Edna in “The Incredibles,” though a bit taller.

Another shot of the BM dresses – I wanted yellow, and this shade worked perfectly with my gals.

Details: the dress is gathered and draped at the bust, and is a replica a 1960’s Dior gown..

My va-va-va-voom mom in her silk-satin mermaid gown, also designed by Christina Kara. The jewelry she’s wearing is vintage Schiaparelli.

Bridal Shower and Rehearsal Dinner Dresses

My Bridal Shower dress, from the Barney’s spring line, which is packed with pretty 1950’s-inspired frocks. This one is hand-painted silk with an open back, boned bodice and full skirt. I’ll be wearing it with gold, strappy sandals.

My rehearsal dinner dress, from the Missoni spring collection. The party is on a beach, so I’ll be wearing it with flats (and nixing the cardigan).

A nice detail shot of the pattern . . . (I’m an Italian girl, and thus a sucker for Missoni.)

The sandals I’m having made (but in gold) to wear with my rehearsal dinner dress. Sandals like these are handmade all along the Amalfi Coast, and are very inexpensive relative to what their price would be in the U.S.

Stationery

All of our stationery – Save-the-Dates, Invitations, Programs and Thank-You Cards – will be designed by Cheree Berry, the fantastic designer of Kate Spade’s paper line. Cheree is now doing wedding stationery for private customers, and I can’t recommend her enough.

The cover of our Save-the-Date! Cheree designed it as a little travel brochure, with information on Ravello, maps of the Amalfi Coast and the town of Ravello, transportation to Ravello, details on hotel blocks, and my “Important Note on Footwear” (I’m discouraging guests from wearing stilettos, as we’ll be climbing stone steps to get to the reception!)

The cover is letter-pressed, and bound by matching pink thread (which, sadly, you can’t see in the scan). The pink flowers wrap around to the back cover. Our envelopes are also letter-pressed, with our return address in the same pink, and a green liner inside.

A map of Ravello, designed by Cheree, showing our ceremony and reception sites.

Our wedding invitations, letterpressed and bound in green silk thread.

Welcome Dinner

Instead of a traditional rehearsal dinner, we’ve opted to host a Welcome Dinner for all our guests. After the ceremony run-through, everyone will meet at the port of Amalfi; there, we’ll board a boat together to the tiny town of Conca dei Marini, about half-way between Amalfi and Positano. The boat will pull up to the beach – one of the prettiest in Southern Italy – and La Tonnarella restaurant, which is right on the sand. I’ll post a menu shortly, but the idea is a buffet assortment of antipasti, followed by grilled fish and lots of local wine. For dessert, we’ll have tiny wild strawberries with lemon and white wine.

This is the boat we’ve chartered – the Mickey Mouse! (Should be easy to find. I hope.)

An aerial view of Conca dei Marini – the beach is on the right side of the photo, hidden by the pines.

I hadn’t loved any the seashell centerpieces until I saw this one – my own Welcome Dinner centerpieces will be similar, but with a round bowl filled with water, floating candles and bougainvillea, all surrounded by large seashells as you see here.

The Ceremony

Our wedding will take place in Ravello, a gorgeous town perched on a promontory overlooking the Amalfi Coast and the Bay of Salerno. And now that we’ve picked the ceremony site and reception venue I can share some photos . . .

FI and will be celebrating our marriage at the Ravello Duomo, a beautiful Romanesque cathedral built in the 11th Century. The Duomo dominates the town square, and it’s traditional for the residents of Ravello to come out and view weddings or wish the married couple well from their windows.

A photo of the Duomo’s facade.

This is Ravello’s town square, with the Duomo in the center.

The interior of the Duomo, set up for a wedding.

Another shot of the Ravello Duomo, also for a wedding.

One of the other Romanesque churches in Ravello (San Giovanni del Toro) – I love the mix of flower arrangements and lemon trees.

An aerial view of the Duomo and Ravello.

The Reception

This is an aerial view of Villa Cimbrone and its gardens, which are considered some of the most beautiful in all of Italy. The gardens close to the public on the afternoon of a wedding. Unfortunately, this view is in the fall, when the flowers aren’t blooming.

The villa can only be reached by foot. This is a photo of the entrance.

Since our ceremony will be performed in a Catholic church, FI and I arranged for a couple of “secret Jewish rituals” to be performed at the reception site. (A Catholic/Jewish ceremony proved to be far too difficult in Italy.) This is the rose garden we’ll walk through on our way to . . .

. . . the Tea Room, where we’ll erect a huppah (the columns will be wrapped in floral garlands) and break a glass,

The cocktail hour will take place on the Villa’s “Terrace of Infinity,” where the view really does seem to go on forever.

A long shot of the Terrace – the statues and busts along it are all original to the Villa.

The view from the Terrace. Can you tell I’m in love with this place? (I can’t get a smiley face to work here.)

After the cocktail hour, as the sun is setting, our guests will be led along this path, lit with floor torches . . .

. . . to the hotel’s restaurant, which also overlooks the sea.

Another view of the restaurant.

And, finally, a shot of one of the villa’s guest rooms. (Not necessarily ours, but a gal can dream. . . )

Every summer, the Ravello music festival takes over the town, and concerts are performed outdoors at Villa Rufolo. (For all you “Talented Mr. Ripley” fans out there, these are the concerts they were all getting ready to go to . . .) I love the views from the concert area – we may end up going to a show as an evening activity.

Favors, Flowers & Decor

For favors, we’re considering bottles of limoncello, personalized with little tags with our names and wedding date.

In keeping with the local flora, our wedding colors will be deep, saturated pink (a color similar to the bougainvillea you see everywhere along the Amalfi Coast) with accents of green and pale, buttery yellow. (The color of my BMs’ dresses.)


These are the bouquets I’m considering for my BMs – all pink orchids.

Another orchid possibility (thanks to orchidbio!).

Alternatively, a mixed fuchsia bouquet for the BMs: gladioli, garden roses and pink salvia.

Yet another pink bouquet possibility – sweet peas, anemones, peonies and ranunculus (thanks Maumeemara!).

And a couple of bouquets I like for myself. . .

Peonies, calla lilies and lily of the valley.

As the churches in Ravello have very white interiors, I like the idea of selecting a single, strong color for the ceremony flowers – I think these large urns of fuschia flowers would be ideal.

After the ceremony, I’d like to use flower cones similar to these for the petal toss.

Our cocktail hour will take place on a terrace lined with antique Roman busts. I love how the statues here were decorated with garlands.

Such a pretty garden photo! The candles strung from the archway are a lovely touch . . . I also love how the flowers were arranged in the bride’s hair.

My favorite centerpiece -- peonies, ranunculus, roses and mint in a silver urn.

A place setting photo from Villa Cimbrone – the mix of silver chargers, hurricane lamps and multiple floral arrangements is so romantic.

Cakes

As for cakes, my options are limited in Ravello. (Outdoor wedding in July, and the focus in Italy tends to be on how the cake tastes, not how it looks, which is a mixed blessing.) So I’m opting to keep things simple: white fondant or buttercream, with real or sugared flower decorations. Here’s one I particularly like.

Another pretty white cake, with peonies. If I do this, I would have the flowers match the BMs bouquets.

A classic square cake, with peonies and begonias.

Hair & Make-Up

So, I gave into my one personal extravagance for the wedding: I booked Nelson D’Leon to do my hair and make-up. This is a nice photo of his work, including the hair accessories he designs.

A photo from my second hair and make-up trial: I’m now leaning toward bigger, fuller hair – when else am I going to be able to get away with it? The new thought is to wear it piled up for the ceremony, and half-up (like this) for the reception. I love what Nelson did with my eye make-up, though I’d prefer the lip color to be more red and less glossy.

Another pretty hair style (in the lofty, big-hair spirit) . . .too many options.

This hairstyle would be fantastic with flowers, though a tricky match with a drop veil – still, it’s FI’s favorite.

A make-up look I love, especially for B&W photos: glamorous eyes, and matte red lips.

This is how I’d want the make-up to look in color, but with darker lips.

The lip-color here is a tad too dark for me – but the overall effect is perfect.

Must-Take Photos

Many, many thanks to Knottie Italybrd! We booked the same photographers she used – they personally shot all the photos shown below. (The last few are from Italybrd’s own bio – you can see more of her gorgeous photos there.)

Honeymoon

For the nights of our rehearsal dinner and wedding, FI and I will be staying at Palazzo Sasso in Ravello – just a few steps from the church where we’ll be getting married. Palazzo Sasso is a 12th-century Italian villa that’s been converted to a 5-star hotel.
Palazzo Sasso by night . . .

Views of the Bay of Salerno from the room terraces . . .

. . . and the edge of the pool.

After the wedding, FI will travel to the Aeolian Islands – a small chain of volcanic islands just north of Sicily

FI and I will be staying at Hotel Raya on Panarea, the smallest inhabited island in the Aeolians.

The Raya is so special because parts of it seem to float above the sea – this is a view from the sun deck, with volcanic islands in the distance.

Love the idea of reading on this shady pergola. . .

After a week in the Aeolians, FI and will charter a sailboat for two nights and make our way to Taormina, a fun resort town on the Eastern edge of Sicily.

In Taormina, we’ll be staying at the San Domenico Palace, a stunning 5-star hotel built around a restored 15th Century monastery

I love this photo – the monastery’s cloisters are still intact, and are now a lovely courtyard.

The SDP’s pool, surrounded by lush gardens

For Reference

Bridal Shower Vendors

Venue: Palma
Photographer: Willi Wong
Cake: Sylvia Weinstock
Dress: Barney’s

Welcome Dinner Vendors

Venue: La Tonnarella
Dress: Missoni

Wedding Vendors

Planners: Marianna & Laura at La Calla
Dress: Carolina Herrera, purchased at Kleinfeld’s
BM and MOB dresses: Blue
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik, purchased at Bergdorf Goodman
Earrings: Adriana Orsini, purchased at Saks Fifth Avenue
Hair, Makeup and Veil: Nelson D’Leon
Wedding Bands: Christopher Roule
Stationery: Cheree Berry at Kate Spade
Ceremony Site: The Ravello Duomo
Reception: Villa Cimbrone
Singer: Deanna Kirk
Photography & Videography: Carlo Carletti & Angelo Governi at Wedding Photos.IT
Wedding Night Hotel: Palazzo Sasso

Bridal Shower Menu

Arugula Salad with Orange, Fennel & Wine-Cured Olives

Crispy Baby Artichoke Hearts Sprinkled with Parsley and Parmigiano

Gnocchi with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Organic Baby Chicken Oven-Roasted with Pancetta, Rosemary and Lemon

Grilled, Sliced Steak, Tuscan-Style, with Arugula and Tomatoes

Farmer’s Market Vegetables on the side (Ramps were in season at the time, and were one of the vegetables served on beautiful platters – I LOVE ramps.)

Bridal Shower Cake

Welcome Dinner Menu

Buffet di Antipasti à La Tonnarella
La Tonnarella’s Antipasto Buffet

Scialatelli alla Siciliana
Hand-cut Pasta in an Eggplant, Tomato and Mozzarella sauce

Risotto alla Pescatora
Seafood Risotto

Grigliata & Frittura di Pesce e Gamberoni con Patatine Fritte & Insalata Mista
Fried & Grilled Fish and Shrimp served with Fried Potatoes & Green Salad

Tagliata di Frutta Stagionale & Piccole Pasticcerie Napoletane
Sliced Seasonal Fruit & Neapolitan Pastries

Wedding Menu

Culatello del Matese con palline di melone, aneto e carta da musica al rosmarino
Matese ham with rounds of melon, dill and rosemary “sheet music” bread

Crespelle di ceci con scampi, julien di verdure brasata e schiuma di cavolfiori
Chickpea crêpe with prawns, braised julienned vegetables and cauliflower foam

Raviolo unico ripieno di mozzarella con pomodoro fresco e misticanza crocante
Single raviolo stuffed with mozzarella and topped with fresh tomatoes and crisp greens

Piccatine di vitello con salsa di limone Amalfitano e flan di polenta
Veal medallions with Amalfitan lemon sauce and polenta flan

Semifreddo al torroncino con salsa al mango
Chilled nougat custard with mango sauce

La Torta Nuziale
Wedding Cake

Falanghina Serro Cielo, Feudi San Gregorio
Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio, Mastroberardino
Taurasi Radici, Mastroberardino
Franciacorta Brut, Ca’ del Bosco

China Patterns

FI and I registered for a mix of two patterns, Faberge “Petit Palais” and Royal Crown Derby “Old Imari.”

Ceremony Readings

Our ceremony will be conducted in Italian, with Old Testament readings in Hebrew.
Genesis 2: 18-23
Psalm 128: 1-6
I Corinthians 13:1-10
John 15: 9-13

Ceremony Music

The ceremony music will be performed by a string quartet and soprano soloist.
Seating of the Mothers: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (Bach)
Bridesmaids Processional: Largo from “Xerxes” (Handel)
Bride’s Entrance: Canon in D (Pachelbel)
Gathering Hymn: Ave Maria (Schubert)
Gospel Reading: Alleluia (Mozart)
Signing: Fratello Sole & Sorella Luna (Ortolani)
Recessional: Wedding March (Mendelssohn)

First Dance

CDBaby.com

Deanna Kirk: "Marriage of Roses" Deanna is a friend, and will be performing this song live at our wedding, for our first dance.