Bride and bridesmaids climbing the steps to the ceremony

Villa Eva Wedding Photographer | Mykela & Dan

The Amalfi Coast is the perfect location for a destination wedding, and I was really pleased to travel there once again for Mykela and Dan to be their Villa Eva wedding photographer. The beautiful Villa Eva is situated close to the centre of the Italian city’s town square.

Planning your own destination wedding and looking for a Ravello destination wedding photographer? Read on to learn more about Mykela and Dan’s wonderful Italian wedding.

The build up

I’d travelled to nearby Villa Cimbrone last year for a wedding, so I was familiar with the area, but I still arrived 2 days before to scope out the venue and for a cheeky pre-wedding shoot with the Mr and Mrs to be. 

After the first day exploring Villa Eva, chatting to the staff and planning what to shoot on the day, it was time for Mykela and Dan’s pre-wedding dinner. I was delighted to be asked to join them; it gave me time to get to know the guests and to give the couple a mini pre-wedding shoot too. This is one of the reason why I arrive 2 days before because it allows me to get to know everyone before the wedding day which makes for more relaxed photos.

The wedding day

Mykela and Dan were quite relaxed during wedding prep, there’s usually a bit of a holiday atmosphere at destination weddings which makes them all the more fun. The wedding was later in the day, so the build up began soon after lunch – my first stop was the boys. The groom and the groomsmen were chilling by the pool at Villa Eva, soaking up the sun and making time for a bit of pre-wedding grooming in between cold beers. One of the groomsmen, Trevor, was having his chest and back shaved – just one of the very random things I’ve seen as a wedding photographer!

At nearby Villa Maria, part of the same family of wedding venues as Villa Eva, was the bridal party. It was far livelier here, with a team of hairstylists from Alessandro Mancino and local makeup artist Zoe Graham helping everyone get ready. No nerves here either, just everyone getting excited for the wedding – at one point the maid of honour even started dancing!

The venue and Villa Maria are very close to each other so we took a walk through the cobbled, hilly streets for the ceremony – even the bride did the walk! The incredibly beautiful venue was worth the walk – first you go through lush gardens, and as you keep walking there’s a wonderful view of the cliff, tiny villages snaking down the hill and of course the deep blue sea.

The ceremony was really romantic, and Mykela looked great in a simple fishtail gown with her dapper groom Dan by her side. The atmosphere was perfect to, it was great to be able to have the wedding outdoors so everyone could enjoy the scenery.

The wedding reception was nearby in Ravello Town Square, so we took another walk through the little streets to find it. This part of the day was so special – as everyone made their way to the reception the guests could chat away, share their congratulations with the happy couple and get to know the area. I got some really special photos.

After a drink we headed back round the corner to Villa Eva for canapés, which is when I took my couple away for some photos. The venue kindly let us go up to the roof – if you can believe it the views were even better up here! I know Mykela and Dan are going to love looking back on these photos for years to come.

Then it was time to party, and boy it was epic! We started off outside, with everyone getting in to holiday mode pretty quickly. After a few amazing hours it was clear that the al-fresco party wasn’t going to end at midnight as Italian law says it should – thankfully we were able to to take it inside. The wedding party was still going when I left at 1am, I hope their heads weren’t too sore the next day.

I really enjoyed my trip back to the Amalfi Coast to shoot Mykela and Dan’s destination wedding. Italy is one of my favourite countries and I love learning more about each part of it. Villa Eva is the perfect venue too – I’d recommend it wholeheartedly. If you love it too, I’d be delighted to photograph your destination wedding. What do you say? Please get in touch for a chat.

Credits

Venue: Villa Eva and Villa Maria Hotel

Wedding Planners: Ravello Events

Hair: Alessandro Mancino

Makeup: Zoe Graham

Bride walking through the streets of Ravello
Bridal party in Ravello square
A tourist speaks to the bride
Bride and bridesmaids climbing the steps to the ceremony
Bride and groom laugh at the reading during the ceremony
Bride and groom walking through the streets of Ravello
Groomsman joking around in the town square
Bride and groom climbing the steps to Villa Eva
Bride and groom looking at the Amalfi coastline from the roof of Villa Eva
Bride holds the grooms hand during his speech
Guests laughing
First dance outside at Villa Eva
Bride and bridesmaid dancing at Villa Eva

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