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\nEntrepreneur Gwendolyn R. von Rahn<\/a> and financier Ron Ongaro Jr. are New Yorkers, through and through. And, as such, theirs is a \u201cquintessential New York City love story,\u201d Gwendolyn says. They met at an East Village bar in 2014, where they were both planning to stop in for just one drink at a mutual friend\u2019s happy hour. \u201cBut it turned into a\u00a0classic NYC night filled with dive bars, cheap beers, and late-night Crif Dogs<\/a> on St. Marks Place,\u201d recalls Gwendolyn, the founder of bespoke hat company Heads of State<\/a>. \u201cI was drawn to Ron\u2019s laugh and his kindness\u2014not to mention how handsome he looked in a suit, with his perfectly coiffed blonde hair and cute glasses.\u201d Ron adds: \u201dGwen\u2019s personality<\/a> filled the room. You couldn\u2019t miss her from a mile away.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nThe couple began dating and moved to a condo in Brooklyn, where they eventually got engaged<\/a>\u2014a special moment just the two of them. After Gwendolyn said yes and they enjoyed a romantic dinner at Gramercy Tavern<\/a>\u2014another iconic New York spot\u2014they headed to Arlo SoHo<\/a> hotel for one last Champagne<\/a> toast. \u201cWhen I arrived, both of our families and 30 of our closest friends were all waiting for us,\u201d Gwendolyn remembers. \u201cRon had secretly flown in my family and friends from Atlanta, Florida, and California for a weekend celebration. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nThis was mid-pandemic, so the duo first said \u201cI do\u201d in a micro wedding<\/a> in Montauk, a popular COVID escape for New Yorkers. Finally, after two cancellations, they got their dream destination<\/a> wedding. And, instead of hosting friends and family for just one day, Gwendolyn and Ron made a week of it, celebrating all along the Amalfi Coast<\/a>. \u201cWe both knew we didn\u2019t want a big traditional wedding and, since we\u2019re both such wanderlusts, we wanted to do something more intimate abroad,\u201d Gwendolyn says. \u201cWhen we coupled our love of the beach with Ron\u2019s Italian family roots, the Amalfi Coast was the perfect choice.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nSo, 40 guests traveled for the five-day celebration, which began with a bachelorette party<\/a> in Positano. Next, there was a food and wine tour in Sorrento at Agriturismo Fattoria Terranova<\/a>, followed by a sunset cruise to Ravello, a town \u201csuspended in the clouds on the top of the mountain over the Italian coastline,\u201d Gwendolyn says. There was also a welcome party in Scala, the wedding day of course, and a beach recovery day.\n<\/p>\n \nIn pulling it all together, \u201cit was important to us to work with local vendors<\/a> across the board, from the florist to photographers to hair and makeup to musicians,\u201d Gwendolyn says. \u201cWe didn\u2019t feel it was necessary to outsource any vendors when there was so much beautiful, soulful talent on Amalfi Coast and in the surrounding areas. To do so would have felt like we were sacrificing the local character.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nThey worked with Italian planner Laura Frappa<\/a> from the get-go. \u201cShe was patient with us through two-and-a-half years of planning, two postponed weddings, and the uncertainty of COVID<\/a> when we decided to \u2018just go for it\u2019 during our September 2021 wedding week,\u201d Gwendolyn says. \u201cShe was a miracle worker and has a brilliant eye for design.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nIt was all worth it in the end: Their wedding even went viral<\/a> on TikTok with more than 8 million views on the bride\u2019s posts<\/a>. Read on to see all the incredible, intimate details, as planned by Laura Frappa<\/a> at Exclusive Italy Weddings<\/a> and photographed by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> \nItaly has become a top destination for weddings, but Gwendolyn and Ron wanted to make sure theirs was \u201ca big departure from your stereotypical lemons and greenery,\u201d she says. They opted instead for an \u201cautumnal Victorian romance\u201d aesthetic, incorporating a palette of soft fall colors<\/a>. \u201cOur vision for the wedding week, and especially the wedding day, was to not overdo it and play off of the natural elements of the Amalfi Coast,\u201d Gwendolyn says. \u201cWe also didn\u2019t want to shy away from color. Once we postponed our wedding to September, we knew we wanted to ditch the whites and greenery and go for autumnal elegance, which fit perfectly with Villa Cimbrone<\/a>\u2019s history and gothic<\/a> architecture. It was utterly romantic.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> \nFor their welcome party at Trattoria da Lorenzo<\/a> in Scala, Italy, Gwendolyn wore a custom<\/a> gown made from vintage Christian Dior lace fabric. \u201cWe danced the night away with a five-piece Neapolitan band, and were surrounded by candlelight as friends and family gave toasts of well wishes,\u201d Gwendolyn remembers.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> I tried on hundreds of dresses and nothing seemed to make sense until I found Galia Lahav.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> \n\u201cI tried on hundreds of dresses and nothing seemed to make sense or fit me right until I found Galia Lahav<\/a>,\u201d Gwendolyn says. \u201cThere is just something about how she knows to flatter a women\u2019s body.\u201d She found the ethereal dress of her dreams, then worked with the designer on custom cape sleeves to add on.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> \nFor beauty, Gwendolyn envisioned something \u201cclassic, timeless, and sexy,\u201d she says. “So, I opted for an old Hollywood glamour<\/a> look, and my signature bright red lip.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> \nRon wore a navy blue tuxedo by Enzo Custom<\/a>\u2014but it was his shoes that stole the show. \u201cDel Toro<\/a> made a custom pair of black velvet loafers<\/a> for Ron that included one American flag and one Italian flag on either shoe,\u201d Gwendolyn describes. “Del Toro manufactured them right there in their studio in Naples, Italy, and shipped them directly to our venue. The shoes were a huge hit.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> \nFor guests, the wedding-day experience began before they even arrived at the venue. \u201cVilla Cimbrone<\/a> is only accessed by foot\u2014you cannot get there by car\u2014so our guests met in the Ravello Piazza, the town square, for welcome Aperol Spritz cocktails<\/a> and were accompanied by a Neapolitan band as they made their way up to the gardens of Villa Cimbrone,\u201d Gwendolyn shares. \u201cOur ceremony was hosted in the quaint garden called The Tea Room, with the backdrop of a magnificent gothic column structure, and the sun peeking out from hundreds of trees.\u201d Handpainted fans<\/a> were waiting at each guest\u2019s seat along with flower petals in linen pouches blocked with the wedding crest<\/a>.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> \n\u201cWe had a live string quartet for the ceremony and my father walked me down the aisle to an instrumental<\/a> rendition of \u2018Yellow\u2019 by Coldplay,\u201d Gwendolyn says. One of the couple\u2019s best friends served as officiant.\n<\/p>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> \nWe wrote our own vows and ended up sharing them with each other privately on the morning of our wedding in a sweet, intimate moment on the balcony of Villa Cimbrone,\u201d the bride shares. \u201cWe were able to get the ugly crying<\/a> out of the way and actually make it through our vows once the ceremony rolled around. I\u2019ll forever cherish that private moment, and it is one of the greatest pieces of advice that I could give to couples.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> \nGwendolyn\u2019s other best piece of advice<\/a>? \u201cThrow the wedding rulebook out the window,\u201d she says. \u201cThere is nothing that says you need to do anything about your day a certain way. Make it your own and try to keep the third-party opinions to a minimum. At the end of the day, the people who truly matter and care for you will be there with bells on.\u201d In planning their destination wedding, she adds, \u201cwe were truly celebrating our love and marriage in a way that was authentic to us.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> \nThe string quartet continued during a romantic cocktail hour overlooking the mountains of the Amalfi Coast. Guests sipped Limoncello Spritzes and espresso martinis<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> Our reception decor was something out of a fairytale.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> \n\u201cOur reception decor was something out of a fairytale<\/a>,\u201d Gwendolyn says. The space\u2014Villa Cimbrone\u2019s Crypt\u2014was outfitted in autumnal florals with a palette of rust, yellow, gold, and deep coral. Flower Addicted<\/a> created a hanging installation over the long table of dried foraged leaves and fresh flowers.\n<\/p>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> \n\u201cWe wanted to support local artists in any way we could, especially given the area\u2019s reverence for ceramics,\u201d the bride shares. \u201cWe worked a local artist who hand-blocked our custom tablecloths and handpainted our dining chargers<\/a>, and even had another artist custom paint our initials onto ceramic limoncello bottles and shot glasses for our guests to take home.\u201d The finishing touch? A custom tambourine handpainted by Shhh My Darling<\/a> with each guest\u2019s portrait at his or her place setting. \u201cI\u2019m in still in awe of the creativity all the vendors brought to the table.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> \nDinner was an authentic menu<\/a> of local seafood and fresh, homemade pasta. \u201cWe surprised our guests with an Italian opera singer during dinner as a gift to our parents,\u201d the bride recalls. \u201cWe\u2019ll never forget the look on our guests\u2019 faces when the tenor began to sing.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> \nThe duo danced to \u201cFlowers in Your Hair\u201d by The Lumineers. \u201cWhen Ron and I first started dating, we would frequently play this song on my record player<\/a> in the early hours of the morning, and dance around in my tiny East Village apartment,\u201d Gwendolyn says. \u201cIt’s a special song to us, so it was a no-brainer to choose it as our first dance song.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> \nThey opted for a classic Italian millefoglie<\/a> as the wedding cake. \u201cWe never thought to make our cake cutting moment a focal point, but once we walked over to cut the millefoglie, our DJ played \u2018That\u2019s Amore\u2019 by Dean Martin and the entire wedding burst into song and dance,\u201d Gwendolyn shares. \u201cIt was a moment I\u2019ll remember forever.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Photo by Gianni di Natale Photographers<\/p>\n <\/span> \nThen, the party got going. We danced the night away to a DJ who brought the house down,\u201d Gwendolyn says. But, their perfect wedding week didn\u2019t end there. The next day, they chartered a boat to take their 40 guests from Amalfi to Praiano, where they hosted a recovery day beach<\/a> party at Il Pirata<\/a>. \u201cWe had a custom Aperol Spritz bar set up as guests arrived, and they enjoyed lunch after cliff jumping into the Mediterranean,\u201d the bride shares.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nFollowing their five-day celebration, they brought 20 of their closest friends along for a three-day \u201cbuddymoon<\/a>\u201d in Capri\u2014filled with private chef dinners and yachts\u2014before escaping at last to the island of Ischia for their honeymoon.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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