The Amalfi coast at dusk, the sea flat and a town lit along the cliff

We are getting married

Beatrice & Elias

Saturday 19 June 2027 Villa Cortina, Ravello

With a great deal of joy, and rather less organisation than we had planned, we ask you to spend a Saturday in June with us. Villa Cortina stands above Ravello with the whole coast underneath it, and we can think of nowhere better to say the thing we have been meaning to say for years. Everything you need is on this page: the day itself, the way up the hill, somewhere to sleep, and the form that tells us to lay a place for you.

Beatrice and Elias

Reply to the invitation
Beatrice and Elias holding hands, her veil across his sleeve

Our story

Nine summers, and then this one

We met at somebody else's wedding in 2018, on a terrace neither of us wanted to be on, and spent the whole evening arguing about whether the band was any good. Elias was wrong. We have been going back to the same coast every June since, first for a week, then for two, and last year for long enough that the man who runs the boat stopped charging us the tourist rate.

The proposal happened on the steps below the cathedral in Ravello, in the rain, with a ring that had been in a coat pocket for four days waiting for better weather that never came. We walked up to Villa Cortina the next morning to dry out, asked whether they ever held weddings there, and were told that they did.

Nine summers of coming back to the same place, and now one where we ask everybody we love to come with us.

The place

We will see you at Villa Cortina

A house of pale stone above Ravello, with a cloister garden, a long terrace over the water, and more lemon trees than anybody has ever counted. Everything on the day happens here, so once you are up the hill you can stay put.

Getting there
The town stacked up the cliff above the sea, seen from the water
The day

Saturday 19 June 2027.
Doors at 16:30, and please be seated by 16:50.

The place

Villa Cortina, Via San Giovanni del Toro, Ravello.
Forty minutes above Amalfi, all of it uphill.

What to wear

Summer formal, and shoes you can stand on old stone in.
The terrace is cooler than the town after dark.

A room in the villa, tall arched windows open onto the garden

Somewhere to stay

We have held rooms at Villa Cortina itself and at two smaller hotels five minutes along the same street. Both are holding our rate until the end of March. Mention the wedding when you book, or write to us and we will do it for you.

Children

Yours are welcome at the ceremony and through dinner. There is a room off the cloister with beds in it and somebody watching them from eight, so you can stay for the part of the evening that gets loud.

Speeches

If you would like to say something, say so early. Elias's brother is keeping the running order, and he has been told to be strict about the three minutes.

speeches@beatriceandelias.com

The day

How Saturday goes

All of it at the villa, all of it outside until the light goes. Nothing here needs a car once you have arrived.

17:00 Afternoon

The ceremony

In the cloister garden, in the shade, and short. Please be in your seat by ten to five, because the walk up from the gate takes longer than it looks.

An aisle of white flowers laid between rows of gilt chairs
18:00 Evening

Aperitivo on the terrace

Cold wine, small things to eat, and two hours of the best view in Campania while we are taken away to have our photograph taken.

A long table set under trees, glasses out and waiting
20:00 Evening

Dinner in the orangery

Four courses, one of them the pasta the kitchen here is known for, and the speeches between the second and the third. Seating is on the board by the door.

A dining room under chandeliers, tables laid the length of it
23:00 Late

Dancing

Back out on the terrace until two, with a taxi rank at the gate from midnight and a plate of something fried at one for anybody still standing.

A dance floor late at night, the lights drawn out into streaks

Gifts

Your presence is the gift

Getting everybody we love onto the same hillside is more than we could reasonably have asked for, and it is not a cheap thing to ask. If you would like to do something anyway, there are two things we are saving for.

The long way home

Two weeks going south from Ravello instead of flying back: the islands, a train we have not booked yet, and a week of doing nothing at the end of it.

Transfer to IT60 X054 2811 1010 0000 0123 456

A door of our own

We have been renting the same flat for six years and we would like a kitchen that belongs to us, with room enough to have all of you round in it.

Transfer to IT60 X054 2811 1010 0000 0654 321

Grazie mille, whichever you choose, and for coming this far up a hill for us.

Envelopes closed with wax seals, laid out on a table

Reply

Will you be there?

One form for each guest, so that we know who is coming and the kitchen knows what to cook. Please reply by Friday 30 April 2027.

Questions

The things everybody has asked

How do we get up to Ravello?
Fly to Naples, then either the coast road by car, which is beautiful and slow, or the ferry to Amalfi and a taxi up. The ferry is the better afternoon. We have booked a bus from Amalfi at 15:30 on the day, and there is room on it for everybody.
Is there parking at the villa?
There are eight spaces and they go to whoever is driving somebody who cannot walk the hill. Everybody else should park in the town garage and take the shuttle, or leave the car at the hotel and forget about it for the night.
What happens if it rains?
The ceremony moves inside to the orangery and nothing else changes. It has rained on us in Ravello before and we married each other anyway, so to speak.
Can I bring somebody?
If your invitation names two people, yes, and please put them on their own reply form. If it names one, we would love to have you to ourselves for a night.
What should I wear on my feet?
Something that survives old stone and a garden. Heels sink into the gravel in the cloister, and the terrace is smooth but sloped. Several people will change shoes after dinner and nobody will think less of you for it.
Who do I ask on the day?
Not us. Ask Nina, who is running the day and will be the calmest person at the villa. Anything before you travel comes to us.
hello@beatriceandelias.com