A Lemon Grove Was Transformed Into the Cozy, Intimate Backdrop for This Couple's Colorful Wedding in Capri, Italy

Yahoo

29-05-2025

Ingrida Ramanaviciene jokes that she met the two greatest loves of her life in one day—Justin Nappi and hit musician Rihanna. In June of 2015, Justin was hosting a barbecue at his home in West Hollywood, and though Ingrida wasn't technically invited, her friend Jenna encouraged her to come along as her guest. That decision turned out to be one that changed Ingrida's life forever. 'To my surprise, we were the first people to show up and this gave me lots of time to get to know him,' Ingrida says. They connected over poolside drinks and by the end of the night, the two found themselves on an impromptu karaoke outing with friends that led them to a surprise encounter with Rihanna, Ingrida's favorite singer. 'Looking back on it now, meeting the two loves of my life on the same day is all the proof I need to know it was fate,' she says. Three years later, in June of 2018, Justin planned a surprise proposal in Aspen, Colorado, where he popped the question during an intimate moment in front of the Maroon Bells.
Choosing a wedding location was simple: On the night they first met, Ingrida joked to Justin that they'd get married in Italy one day, so Capri felt like a natural fit. In the end, their engagement was longer than they had planned: The couple had to reschedule their multiple times, and the vision of the big day shifted accordingly. When their date was officially set, they invited 80 guests to join them in early September for an intimate ceremony in the garden of the historic Villa Bismarck, followed by a reception under the lemon trees at Da Paolino next door. 'We were able to host a more laid-back and tropical wedding that we were always meant to have,' the bride says. "We wanted this weekend to be about our guests, just as much as it was about us. I pictured our friends and family dining al fresco together and dancing under the stars, celebrating our love."
They worked with Diana Sorensen of Sugokuii Events to design a relaxed yet elevated atmosphere at their wedding celebration, which was inspired by Italian tradition. Read on to see every detail—from the custom-built ceremony pergolas to the hand-embroidered linens—in the photos by David Bastianoni.
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Ingrida wore an A-line wedding dress with a tulle skirt, shoulder ruffles, and white floral beaded embroidery by Monique Lhuillier. The dress originally had colorful floral embroidery details, but Ingrida customized it with white beaded flowers and removed the original dress's ruffle neckline.
Wedding dress shopping was an extremely meaningful experience for the bride. 'Jenna accompanied me to the Monique Lhuillier store in West Hollywood to try on their new collection,' Ingrida remembers. 'Everything sort of came full circle since I have Jenna to thank for introducing Justin and me!'
She styled her bridal look with a matching Monique Lhuillier veil and Manolo Blahnik white lace mules. 'I had been hunting for them in my size for over a year and was finally able to snag them shortly before the wedding!' she says. The finishing touches were a soft gradient French almond-shaped manicure and Le Labo 'Vanille 44,' a fragrance Justin had made for her on their trip to Paris five years prior.
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Ingrida's bridesmaids included her sister, three best friends, and her sister-in-law. They wore a variety of different styles of luxe satin dresses from Jenny Yoo in a soft blush color, which ensured every woman loved her look. 'I wanted them to each pick a style they felt the most confident and comfortable in, paired with nude sandals,' Ingrida says. 'The soft color of the dresses complemented the natural look of the ceremony.'
Justin wore a navy tuxedo with black lapel for the ceremony with a bowtie, black onyx cufflinks, and black patent leather loafers, all Tom Ford. He changed into a white Tom Ford tux jacket with black pants for the cocktail hour and reception, which he paired with mother-of-pearl cufflinks and black velvet loafers. He also wore Maison Francis Kurkdjian 'L'Homme À La Rose" fragrance and a Patek Philippe watch. 'This was a congratulatory gift to himself for filming his last movie for Netflix,' Ingrida says of her husband, who is a film producer.
Justin gifted each of his groomsmen a black Zegna tuxedo and black loafers. The couple also had their nephew, Nathaniel, serve as their ring bearer. 'He wore a blue suit and Stan Smiths to walk our dog down the aisle,' the bride says. 'He said he wanted something blue to match his Uncle Justin.'
The bride and groom planned to have a first look before the ceremony for a quiet moment together and take some photos to spend as much time with their time with their guests as possible. 'After all the cancellations and date changes and years of planning, to have this moment together, just us, knowing what we'd been though to get here, was perfect,' Ingrida says.
At the garden's entrance, specialty carts were brought in to display lemonade, prosecco, Aperol spritz cocktails, straw fans, and flower crowns. The green carts were covered in lush greenery, grapes, and hanging floral wreaths. Woven baskets were also filled with white lace parasols with wooden handles to help keep guests cool under the late summer Italian sun.
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The couple's wedding planner was tasked with creating a custom wooden pergola for their ceremony. 'It was my own version of a chuppah,' Ingrida notes. The pergola was covered in greenery, rosemary, laurel leaf, olive branches, and baby's breath with cascading delphinium, and the display was as practical as it was beautiful: The structure and its flowers created a cooling canopy that provided relief from the sun for the couple and their guests throughout the vow exchange.
Attendees were seated in a circular arrangement around the couple, making the small wedding ceremony all the more intimate. Wooden garden-style chairs with white cushions further emphasized the day's signature aesthetic.
A live quartet set the tone for Ingrida and Justin's ceremony. The bride walked down the aisle with her mom, Victoria, and father-in-law, Sam. The couple exchanged vows they wrote for each other, which included Ingrida's story of meeting Justin and Rihanna the same night. 'Since I'm Jewish, I wanted Justin to break the glass at the end of the ceremony to symbolize the bond of our love and the difficulty to break it,' Ingrida says.
They celebrated back up the aisle to 'Aint Nobody (Loves Me Better' by Felix Jaehn. 'That song came out when we first started dating and I've always imagined it being played the moment after we were officially married,' the bride says. 'Finally dancing to it with our best friends by our side was emotional and surreal.'
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More custom carts were brought in for the couple's cocktail hour—instead of hydration stations, guests were met with a floral-covered cart that displayed each attendee's escort card. String lights, greenery, and lemons further enhanced the look of the display.
Guests also enjoyed cold glasses of Limoncello, Ingrida and Justin's signature cocktail.
As cocktail hour finished up, it was time for the party to move to Da Paolino; the couple surprised their guests with a unique performance by Scaliapopolo, a local band that helped usher attendees to the next location. 'The local folk group is made up of about 20 people dressed up in traditional Caprese costumes, with members ranging from five to eighty years old,' Ingrida explains. 'They were playing instruments, dancing, and singing Neapolitan songs as they guided us into the reception.'
The couple's loved ones walked beneath a vibrant floral arch on their way into the reception space, and it gave everyone a taste of the color they were about to experience inside. 'It was an explosion of fuchsia and pink florals,' Ingrida remembers. 'Peonies, garden roses, bougainvillea, and hibiscus.'
The couple's planner had the perimeter of the reception space lined with green velvet curtains, creating an intimate, enclosed feel despite the fact that dinner was taking place outside. 'I had always envisioned having two long tables for the reception with a centerpiece of lush flowers flowing across their full length,' Ingrida notes, and that vision was finally realized on the big day. The two long tables were topped in hand-embroidered tablecloths with delicate pink flowers to match hand-painted plates from Rome that featured a floral and lemon design. Green floral chargers were also used on the tables, and they paired back to the evening's glassware and flatware.
Ingrida and Justin shared their first dance to 'Can't Take My Eyes Off of You' by Lauryn Hill. Justin also shared a special dance with his mother to 'The First Lady in My Life' by Paul Todd. 'We had a local Italian DJ play a mix of fun dance songs all night,' Ingrida says. 'A minimum of 10 Rihanna songs of my choosing were a must!'
Those two long dinner tables were situated in the restaurant's grove of lemon trees, and guests were able to dine in the open air. The couple served a locally-inspired dinner menu, starting with grilled nectarines with prosciutto and stracciatella, which was followed by pasta with a spicy tomato shrimp sauce and veal Milanese with tomatoes, arugula, and shaved parmesan.
Guests listened to heartfelt speeches from some of the couple's closest loved ones while they dined.
As their wedding cake, Ingrida and Justin decided to serve a traditional Italian millefoglie, which includes layers of crispy puff pastry topped with custard and covered with wild strawberries. As per tradition, dessert was assembled in front of guests, and the couple was called up to put the finishing touches on the treat. 'It was huge and the whole thing took about an hour for the pastry chefs to finish,' Ingrida remembers.
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The couple also served lemon sorbet in hollowed out lemons, a nod to the locale and their venue. But that wasn't all of the dessert on offer: Carts were wheeled around with some of the couple's favorite sweet treats, including cannolis, tiramisu, fruit tarts, and sfogliatelle.
After the wedding, Ingrida and Justin rented a yacht for a week and invited 11 of their closest friends to join them while they cruised the Amalfi Coast. 'It was unforgettable!' the bride says.
Ingrida reminds couples planning their own wedding to trust the process. 'The journey to get to the wedding day is filled with creativity, collaboration, and self-discovery,' she says. 'Slow down and enjoy it!'Wedding Photographer David Bastianoni
Wedding Planning and Design Sugokuii Events
Wedding Ceremony Venue Villa Bismarck
Wedding Reception Venue, Catering, and Favors Da Paolino
Bride's Hair and Makeup BeautyLivery
Flowers Capri Flor
Invitations Fin Fellowes
Music DJ Fabio Vuotto
Transportation Gianni's Boats Capri
Accommodations Capri Tiberio Palace
Videographer Marco CaputoUp Next: 20 Italian-Inspired Wedding Ideas to Transport You to Portofino
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