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What began as a surprise proposal turned into an intimate celebration on the Amalfi Coast, with two gowns, one love, and a night to remember.
How did your husband propose? Share the story with us.
I had mentioned to him years before that Amangiri would be the ultimate bucket list destination for me. Flash forward to the proposal trip, he asked me to request PTO for a surprise trip to an “unknown destination.” After a flight to PHX and a 5-hr car ride, we ended up at this dream location! My husband knows that I have a passion for photography, so he arranged a jet-skiing tour through the canyons and hikes around the resort, where I could photograph the landscape to my hearts content. On our last day, he planned a private wine tasting experience at sunset and with Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” playing in the background, he popped the question. It was truly a dream proposal!
Can you share the story of your wedding day?
Neither of us had ever stepped foot in Italy. We both wanted to go for our honeymoon, so we thought, why not have the wedding there too? We ultimately selected Sorrento for its charming town, coastal view, and gorgeous weather. Since we wanted the destination to be a surprise for us as well, we decided to plan the entire wedding virtually. Thanks to our incredible team in Italy (@weddingeventsitaly) they turned our Italian dream wedding into a reality. The wedding festivities were kicked off with a Welcome Reception on the Marina during sunset, where guests can see Villa Astor (the wedding venue) from below. Ristorante Bagni Sant’Anna served an amazing variety of appetizers and put on a great bolognese pasta show for the guests and served the famous lemon dessert of the region, as well before we bid our guests goodnight! The wedding day began with a vintage car photoshoot and red carpet entrance for the guests, who were then escorted to the terrace overlooking the sea to enjoy their welcome Peach Bellini cocktails. They were then escorted to the ceremony area, where we had my two brothers walking down the aisle as our “flower boys,”showering flower petals down the aisle and at guests to the acoustic melody of “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter. Afterwards, my mother linked arms with mine and she proceeded to walk me down the aisle and the ceremony commenced. After the ceremony, guests were escorted to the cocktail hour, where we had setup an Open Bar, featuring 3 signature cocktails: His/Hers/The Dog’s. Our 5-year-old Frenchie, Hina, wasn’t able to attend the wedding, but she was with us in spirit through our “Hina Colada” cocktail. A dozen different hors d’oeuvres circulated the beautiful garden area while our guests mingled, left us “voicemails” on our Audio Guestbook supplied by @afterthetone, and enjoyed the quartet performers who were playing modern pop tracks in classical styles. Meanwhile, our planners were resetting the ceremony area and converting it over to our dinner. We wanted to enjoy dinner during sunset with our guests, with the twinkling lights of Sorrento on either side of the venue, with Mount Vesuvius in the background. After this was set, we got to do a “first look” before guests were escorted to dinner. When they arrived, each guest was greeted by an envelope with their name on it. My husband and I spent days back at home writing thank you cards to our guests, because we wanted them to be greeted by a personalized message from us, knowing we wouldn’t be able to spend quality time with each of our 70 guests. After that, we served truffle pasta, steak, sea bass, and had an assortment of desserts and a gelato cart for our guests to choose from. We ended dinner officially with a champagne toast and tower on the terrace, followed by fireworks and dancing. May 30, 2025 will live on as one of the best day of our lives in our memory.
Can you describe the moment you knew you had found ‘the one‘? How did you feel when you first tried it on?
I had tried on at least 10 gowns from different designers, but it’s true that the styles you *think* you’ll go with are rarely the ones you end up choosing. In the end, I not only found “the one” with Lee Petra Grebenau, I found two! The Bloom gown fit me like a glove and the delicate flower embroidery with the sleeves transported me to the coast of Italy, to our wedding venue, so I knew it was the one. It was also so comfortable, I could run, squat, breathe and live in it all day! When I tried the Kelly gown, I immediately thought that it was jaw-dropping how it enhanced my silhouette and curves and the beautiful pearl detailing was a match for the interior of Villa Astor and its Roman columns and statues — so I was torn between the two! My amazing sister saved the day by gifting me one of the dresses, so I ended up wearing both for my wedding day!
What made you choose this particular gown’s from Lee Petra Grebenau?
My dream wedding gown in my head was from a different designer, but after trying on multiple pieces and feeling like there was at least one thing off, I started to research designers that were similar and that’s how I found Lee Petra Grebenau. The cuts for me, were more modern, but still retained the romantic, delicate, feminine qualities that I was looking for. What ultimately made LPG a match for me personally, was the use of layering transparent fabrics in a way that allowed light to pass through the gowns. As a petite bride (4’10) many gowns consumed me and were too heavy and made me look even shorter. LPG, through transparent layering, allowed for me to not only move around comfortably, but the transparency of the gowns highlighted my silhouette and legs even though the gown was long and had a lot of layers. When I tried on the Bloom gown, I felt like a fairy, floating in my gown. It was remarkable how the dress, despite its non-form-fitting cut, was able to elongate my petite figure via the slit and transparency of materials.
