Our Wedding

June 14, 2025… where do I even begin?

On this day, I married the love of my life on the coast of Italy. Overlooking the sea and Mount Vesuvius, we said “I do” surrounded by our closest family and friends. A small Italian town that many Americans have never heard of, Vico Equense holds a special place in my heart.

In June of 2023, I had a random opportunity to photograph a yoga retreat on the Italian coast. I say random because I only got the job from a friend who was originally hired but had to back out at the last minute. I said yes, packed my bags, called my European travel partner and dear friend, and we headed across the world to Vico Equense! It was my first time in Italy… little did I know I would return year after year.

The retreat itself was a life changing opportunity. It showed me that it was possible to merge my two passions (travel and photography) and make money doing both. My eyes were opened to a world of possibilities that I had only dreamed of before.

Equally, if not more impactful, were the relationships I formed that week. Our generous hosts, the Staianos, immediately felt like family. The way they cared for us, even when we couldn’t speak the same language, is something I will never forget. I formed such strong bonds with the Staianos that I returned the following June to visit them and photograph a new villa they were renovating. Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with Vico Equense too.

I fell in love with mornings overlooking the sea, with espresso bars tucked into tiny streets, with grandmothers hanging laundry from balconies and vespas zipping around corners. I fell in love with the slower pace of life and the warmth of the people. Each visit carved out a larger place in my heart. Little did I know that the next summer I would return for my third June in a row in Vico Equense… As a bride!

My husband and I got engaged in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, where we fell in love and shared many special memories. Naturally, we started looking at venues nearby, but nothing felt right. Everything seemed to miss the mark and, quite honestly, felt overpriced.

Then the thought crept in… What if we got married in Italy?

The more we talked about it, the more sense it made. Both Gabe and I have never loved being the center of attention. A destination wedding would naturally be small and intimate. Travel and an intentional celebration with our closest people? If you know me, you know that’s right up my alley. Thankfully, Gabe was all in!

So the WhatsApp chats to Italy began again. I asked Salvatore and his family if they would ever consider hosting a wedding at their new villa. To my surprise, he responded that their dream was to turn Villa Mare into a wedding venue. Their new business and our new marriage somehow aligning felt too perfect to ignore. God got fancy with this one!

So after a little discussion and a lot of excitement, we started planning. I sent Salvatore inspiration photos, we talked through the vision, and he coordinated with local vendors. When I say I had the least stressful wedding planning process imaginable, I truly mean it.

I’m a perfectionist by nature. But throughout this process, I learned to relax and trust. After all, Salvatore was coordinating everything in Italian, and I don’t speak Italian. There were so many details that I simply had no idea how they would turn out. I didn’t know exactly what flowers I’d hold or what food we’d eat. But honestly? As long as I had white flowers and pasta, I was happy. 

I think that was one of the greatest gifts of the whole experience: to trust and release control. To let yourself be surprised. What a refreshing feeling to have friends across the world whom you trust enough to help plan one of the most important days of your life.

Then suddenly, it was June 2025, and I had somehow convinced twenty of my favorite people (along with my future husband) to fly across the world to a tiny Italian town they’d never heard of.

After getting over how impossibly narrow the roads were and realizing they were wildly underprepared to drive on them, everyone began to fall in love with the town too. We spent a week together laughing, eating, exploring, and soaking in everything this region of Italy has to offer. I was able to show my family and friends the places I loved most while discovering new corners alongside them. We had a rehearsal dinner overlooking the coast and were even surprised by a fireworks show that happened to be taking place the night before our wedding.

Then came June 14.

I woke up in our villa overlooking the sea and journaled in the morning sunlight as the Staianos set up for the wedding. I will never forget taking a deep breath and watching my Italian friends work to create something so beautiful for me. It felt impossible that the place I had fallen in love with years before had somehow become the backdrop of my own story. Soon my three best friends and my mom joined me for breakfast: pistachio cornettos (my absolute favorite) and espresso. We chatted, laughed, and slowly prepared for the day ahead.

I got ready without hurry. My sister-in-law did my hair, a friend did my makeup, and my best friends sat beside me as the ceremony drew closer. The anticipation was almost unbearable. I just couldn’t wait to see Gabe!

Walking down the aisle behind my best friends, arm in arm with my dad, was one of the sweetest moments of my life. I turned the corner and immediately saw Gabe crying. I expected tears, but experiencing that moment in person was something entirely different. It was a dream I had carried since I was a little girl. I never imagined it would happen on the coast of Italy, but I am endlessly grateful that it did.

Our bridal party was made up entirely of siblings – the whole generation of “kids” standing together at the altar. Gabe’s brother officiated, and our friend led worship alongside an Italian violinist. It was personal, meaningful, and entirely us. Standing hand in hand, eyes locked on one another with Mount Vesuvius behind us, is a moment I wish I could freeze forever.

After the ceremony, Gabe led me to a secluded pond. There, he read from the Bible and washed my feet as a symbol of his promise to serve me. We prayed, we cried, we held each other. Of every beautiful moment that week, this one was my favorite.

After aperitivo came the main event of an Italian wedding… dinner! Like I mentioned before, I had absolutely no idea what we were going to eat. Our menu had been sent to us in Italian, and honestly, there was so much going on in the months leading up to the wedding that I never even translated it. I just trusted Salvatore once again. Glass after glass of wine was poured. Course after course was served. And then… The pasta! The best pasta I have ever eaten in my entire life. Seriously. Life-changingly delicious.

Dinner was unrushed. We sat the entire time, made eye contact with every guest, and talked freely from our seats – something almost unheard of at large weddings. There was a moment during dinner when Gabe leaned over and whispered, “This is exactly what I wanted.” It was exactly what I wanted too. Not a production, not a whirlwind. Just the two of us celebrating our union with the people we love most, lingering over dinner as the sun disappeared behind the sea. It was perfect.

Don’t even get me started on the band. Like everything else, the Staianos blew it out of the park. We sent Salvatore a playlist with the vibe we wanted and, I kid you not, he assembled an entirely new group of musicians to perform it. Handpicked artists who somehow captured exactly what we had imagined. We danced, we laughed, and we kept pinching ourselves as we looked over the sea at the lights of Naples sparkling in the distance.

After dancing, a final toast, and dessert, we hopped into our getaway car, driven by Salvatore himself. Our getaway car was exactly what you’d imagine… tiny, white, charming. Cars passing on the street honked and cheered as we drove away into the warm Italian night.

What a day to remember! What a chapter to remember! I share all of this not to say that our wedding was perfect, but to remind you that your wedding can be. Not perfect according to the world. Not perfect according to tradition. Perfect for you!

Whether you dream of getting married close to home or across the world, my hope is that your wedding feels like stepping into a story that could belong to no one else. A day that is fully you – filled with the people you love, the places that make your heart come alive, and moments so meaningful that years later you can still close your eyes and feel them.

Because that’s what June 14 was for me… not just the day I got married. June 14 was the day a place I loved became part of my family forever.

Photos by Natalya Phelps Film

Endless thanks to Villa Salvatorosa, Salvatore, and all of the Staianos – to my Italian family, “Non ti ringrazierò mai abbastanza. Sei come uno di famiglia. Un grande abbraccio e tanto affetto.”

Elizabeth Ann