Inside: Sophie Hamblett’s Chic Sicilian Hen -

Why Sicily?

Not only is Sicily currently one of the trendiest Italian destinations thanks to the White Lotus craze but when deciding where I wanted to celebrate my hen, I knew the place had to have good weather, good food and be the perfect amount of luxury and chic. A Sicilian Hen!

Where we stayed…

We stayed in a beautiful newly renovated hotel called Mangia’s, which was just over an hour from Taormina. It was a perfect peaceful hotel, which had many restaurants and was right on the sea front, which I loved. The bedrooms were spacious and modern and the perfect place to hold the final nights slumber party.

What we did…

I was lucky enough to have the most amazing itinerary booklets made by my talented Made of Honour, which were by far the best I’ve seen (and something I really think she should consider offering professionally). Each day had a mood board page for outfit inspiration, which had been created with me in mind and helped with everyone’s outfit planning.

We started the Sicilian hen with some early morning champagne at the airport, where I was given my choice of veils and bows to wear during the flight. Once we arrived at the hotel, we had a welcome lunch down by the beach at one of the hotels restaurants, where we started our weekend fuelled by aperols.

For the first evening, which was themed ‘Party and Sparkle’ we made a trip to Syracuse, where we enjoyed the most beautiful candle lit dinner, set within a picturesque square glistening under hanging fairy lights. We sipped on cocktails and dined on traditional ravioli stuffed with ricotta and some perfectly grilled octopus with lemon and mint, all while chatting away and listening to live Italian music. Heaven!

The second day, we started with some morning Pilates on the hotels breath taking yoga deck, with a class virtually taken by my good friend and instructor @maia.wellco. We then had a quick change and headed to the stunning town of Taormina, which is built on a hill rising almost perpendicular from the sea. We gave ourselves some well needed time to explore this scenic town and the most gorgeous Sicilian shops and of course eat some proper Italian gelato. We were lucky enough to have a lunch reservation at the famous Four Seasons hotel (where the White Lotus was filmed), which was a place top of my list to visit. The hotel is an absolute dream with views to die for. The pool area entirely decorated by a charming sea of Dolce & Gabbana, perfectly complimented by the blue sea below.

Our second night, themed ‘Frills and Feather’ was enjoyed at the hotel in another one of their restaurants and of course we enjoyed more pasta and more cocktails. We danced the night away thanks to the hotel’s DJ playing the best cheesy Italian hits.

Our third day was originally planned for a boat to sail us around the islands hidden caves of Ulysses, Castle of Acicastello, The Faraglioni of Acitrezza to name a few. Unfortunately, due to some miscommunication the boat was booked for another day but that didn’t stop us having the best time. We instead got a beach cabana down by the sea and some bottles of bubbles and enjoyed some down time all together in the sun, listening to our favourite songs and taking a dip in the fresh Mediterranean Sea.

For our final night, we had what has always been one of my favourite things to do growing up, a slumber party, but this time, a slightly chicer one. All of us in robes and silk headbands, covered in face and eye masks. We popped open bottles of champagne that one of my bridesmaids had snuck over with her from London and we played the sweetest and funniest game of Mr & Mrs, which was edited by my amazing sister-in-law to be. It ended with my soon to be husband leaving me a short yet sweet message explaining how he couldn’t wait to marry me and also how he hoped the girls had managed to get me drunk (typical)! We all laughed so much that night that we cried and truthfully, that’s what I hoped this weekend would be all about.

Where we ate…

Don’t get me started on the food. Italian food in my opinion is if not, one of the best cuisines out there, and Sicily didn’t disappoint. A few of my favourite places we went to included our first night’s restaurant called Regina Lucia in Syracuse, which was the start to our weekend of fresh pasta and Sicilian food. Dishes of homemade pesto freshly caught tuna with capers and sweet cherry tomatoes and not forgetting their beetroot pasta with black truffle.

Our second day at the Four Seasons hotel, we had lunch at their restaurant named Anciovi, which was my favourite of the trip, we opted for the 4-course fish menu. Dishes included White fish filled ravioli with tomatoes and toasted almonds and their take on cheesecake with fresh mango and passion fruit. The food and service here was beyond delicious.

What I packed…

I can hand on heart proudly admit that my whole entire suitcase and I mean whole suitcase was filled to the brim with white and only white items, what can I say, I like white. I also would be lying if I said I didn’t know ahead of the hen the evening themes (I may have had a little input) and so I did have some time to outfit plan. A few of my favourite looks included the first night where I wore the most gorgeous set from @theownstudio, it was super flattering and had some room for pasta (winner). I paired it with a plain veil from @gigiandolive_ to add a little more of that bridal look.

For my Taormina day look, I went for a mini linen dress from @saboskirt and added the cutest white lien bow in my hair from @gigiandolive_ with ‘Mrs C’ embroidered on it. This was my favourite accessory by far!

For the frill and feathers night, I wore a beautiful dress with a hem of white feathers by the brand @delavaliofficial, I paired this with another stunning feathered trim veil, kindly gifted by @gigiandolive_.

My other favourite was definitely my boat/beach day outfit, where I wore a dreamy white swimsuit by @swimbydi with linen trousers and a woven bucket hat from @cosstores. I paired this with some white sandals and the cutest embroidered crochet straw tote bag with my new married initials on it.

Best moment of the hen weekend…

There is no way I can choose one moment, as this was most definitely the hen I had always dreamt of and I truly loved every second of it but, if I had to choose, I’d say our day out in Taormina or our evening slumber party, where it made me realise just how lucky I am and what amazing friends I have.