The Palazzo has belonged to the same family for four centuries. It was built as a hunting lodge for the Princes of Belmonte, and the family still keeps a private wing here today.
That is the part I find hardest to explain to couples until they see it for themselves. You are not renting a venue that gets dressed up for weddings on weekends. You are being let into a house that has looked more or less the same since before anyone in your family tree was born.
It sits on the Cilento coast, a couple of hours south of Naples, with the medieval hamlet of Castellabate a short walk away for a sunset stroll or a late glass of wine after the speeches.
The Palazzo has 51 suites, each named for a garden herb. 5 acres of terraced gardens. 3 weddings I have shot here.
The courtyard / Under the bougainvillea / Where the portraits and group images happen
Walled in on all sides with bougainvillea and centuries old stonework, so the light stays soft here even at midday. It works for portraits, group shots, and it could easily hold a ceremony too. Most of my couples so far have married either at Torre Perrotti or at the church in Santa Maria itself, so you have not shot a ceremony in this courtyard yet, but it is hard to picture a better setting for saying vows than four hundred year old walls covered in flowers.
Pool terrace: The pool terrace / Drinks with a view of Torre Perrotti / Where the party starts
A short walk down through the gardens from the courtyard, with the water sitting in clear view of Torre Perrotti, the sixteenth century watchtower on the seafront, and the coastline and rooftops of the old town behind it. This is where the reception often starts, drinks and canapes with that view behind everyone, and it holds a full wedding party well for group shots. With the band playing here too, it tends to be where the atmosphere really picks up before dinner.re smoothly.
It’s easy to lose track of time.
The terrace / Wedding breakfast over the sea / Dinner at golden hour
This is where the wedding breakfast happens, looking straight out over the Gulf of Salerno with nothing between the tables and the water. As the sun drops toward the sea, the whole terrace turns gold, and this is usually where the band brings the couple in for their entrance, guests waving their napkins in the air, the way it is done across the south of Italy. Dinner is served alfresco in that warm evening air, and it runs long here, past golden hour and into the blue hour, with the coast lighting up as it gets dark.
This page can only show you so much. If you want to see how a full day actually unfolds here, from getting ready in the morning through to dancing under the terrace lights, have a look at two real weddings I have photographed at the Palazzo.
