Inside: Chloe Rose's Spectacular Cliffside Wedding In Sorrento

The Story So Far

Rather than a classic fairytale beginning, our love story began as many modern ones do— with a simple swipe right and a match on Hinge in the early months of 2019.

We bonded instantly, talking for a few days before arranging to meet up over cocktails and a bit of sushi, and the rest was history. Fast forward to winter of 2022: it was my birthday and Chris treated me with a trip to New York. Little did I know what he was plotting….

After an eventful day walking around the city and seeing the sights, I was led up to Midtown in Manhattan for a stroll around Central Park where Chris got down on one knee in a remote part of the park overlooking the lake. It was a perfect day in fall watching the sun go down over the city.

The Venue

We got married at Villa Astor in Sorrento, Italy. We visit the Amalfi Coast regularly and have always loved it, so it was no coincidence that we ended up getting married there!

When I was in Sorrento with my family one summer, we were sitting out on the solarium and I was looking up at the villa, situated on the edge of a cliff. I turned to my parents and said “If I was to ever get married, I would want to get married there”. Little did I know, Chris had enquired about that exact venue just before he proposed later that year— it was fate.

Despite looking at other venues in the region, we just loved Sorrento. It has so much to offer: a magical atmosphere, incredible food and drink, and more hotel options than other areas.

We hosted a few events around the wedding, including fun beach club days, a family welcome dinner, and the main welcome cocktail evening the night before. This was held at the Bagni Sant’Anna solarium which looked up at the villa. We wanted our guests to get a sneak peak of the venue and experience the magic of Sorrento’s Old Town while looking out to the sunset.

We also had a chilled recovery day, after the wedding spent soaking in the sun on the opposite solarium, which was set on a sundeck jetted out to the sea.

The Fashion

My wedding dress was a timeless, chic, and traditional Pronovias number, with a different modern twist. I loved the softer cream of the Mikado material, and how it worked with my skin tone. I paired the dress with a waterfall trim veil which also featured a Mikado finish, and Amina Muaddi courts with a smaller, thicker heel to stay comfortable through the day.

I changed into my evening look— a beautiful mini from Halfpenny London with a Mikado top and tiered tulle skirt— just before the first dance. Comfort is key for the evening to really be able to let your hair down and dance the night away!

Chris opted for a traditional outfit, an off-white dinner jacket which contrasted with his best man, groomsmen and my father, who were all in formal black tie.

The Bridal Party

My bridesmaids’ dresses were a little different from the ordinary, which is what I wanted and for them to match the colour scheme of the florals and venue. I managed to find two different styles of dresses in the same tulle material and rustic peach colour from Karen Millen.

My flower girl’s dress was the perfect little extension of mine— incorporating big bows and a little flower band to dress her hair.

The pageboy outfit also matched as an in-between of the groom’s and groomsmen’s outfits. It was a formal white waistcoat with black trimmings paired with black trousers from Roco Clothing.

The Tablescape

The tablescape was a mix of textures, heights and smells. The mise-en-place was kept classic, but elevated with touches of gold on the glassware and cutlery which matched with the gold chandeliers framing the tables. I wanted the florals to match the venue and feel of Sorrento, so I opted for main centrepieces in rustic urns, with smaller different shapes and sizes alongside.

The candles were a mix of taller dinner candles, and the scent of Jo Malone London’s Peony and Blush Suede filling the air through medium and smaller size candles, which is a fragrance that will always take us back.

The last finishing touches were our dinner menus, created with gold pressed illustrations of the venue on handcrafted cards with rustic silk bow name place cards on top. The name cards all had personal messages for each of our guests on the back as a little keepsake which they all loved.

Food & Drinks

Given the location in Sorrento and our love for Italian food, we were keen to have a classic, authentic menu from the region. Our catering offered a lovely spread of traditional antipasti, and a gelato cart serving our six favourite flavours as a refreshment.

We then opted for a Primi and Secondi Piatti for dinner which was a mix of pasta dishes followed by a choice of a meat, fish, or a vegetarian dish for the main course. Lastly, we kept the Italian tradition of having a mille-feuille cake topped with berries followed by wood-fired oven pizza as a late night snack.

The Entertainment

Our main entertainment was having the pleasure of Luke Burr singing me down the aisle as well as our wedding dinner, which led into a very fun pre-party. He created such a beautiful atmosphere that had every guest singing along (and later on their feet dancing!)

We also had a jazz quartet playing in the garden area of the villa at apertif, so that the guests could enjoy some music during cocktails. In the evening, we had Chris’s uncle (@mariobadbox ) as our DJ, who led the after party.

Beauty Regime & Wellness

I honed into my skincare in the lead-up to the wedding and did lots of beauty prep, including getting monthly facials, laser hair removal, brow lamination and LVL lashes along with Botox.

On day before and the wedding day itself, the Charlotte Tilbury team worked their magic on my makeup, along with Color Wow’s celebrity hairstylist Dom Seeley, who created different looks across the wedding events.

I had two hair changes on my wedding day, and it was so fun being able to go for something different by adding length to my hair and really letting it down in the evening, whilst having that classic and elevated updo for the day.

Favourite Wedding Gifts

Our wedding website was set up via The Wedding Shop, so our loved ones were able to set up any donations they wanted to make towards our honeymoon or house renovations. We also received some other gifts from close friends such as beautiful flowers and home decor, which are lovely keepsakes.

Honeymoon Plans

After our wedding in Sorrento, we stayed in Italy for our mini-moon. We went over to Capri to decompress for a few days, and it was the perfect extension for us to relive the last week whilst enjoying the magic of the coast. We had spa days, beach days, and a beautiful sunset boat trip to round off the most amazing two weeks of our lives.

We’ll start planning our honeymoon very soon…

Advice

My key piece of advice is to invest in the top three things you both agree are key to you. For us this, was a good photography/videography team as these are the people who are going to capture your day forever and be by your side all day. We did a test engagement shoot with them months beforehand in Sorrento, they instantly understood our vision and we got on so well.

The two other key factors for us were entertainment and good food and drink. We found these were the elements guests always remember the most!