Gina & Philip
By Sandra Mardenfeld
Photography By Alfonso Longobardi
When Philip, and Gina got engaged on July 5th, 2009, while vacationing on the beautiful island of Ischia, they knew they found a special place. That day, after a boat tour of Positano and Amalfi, Phil arranged an intimate dinner with homemade Italian wine on their terrace in the Hotel Poggio Del Sole and asked Gina to be his wife as the sun disappeared into the Mediterranean. The lovely setting, just off the coast of Naples, Italy, would also become the site of their August 11, 2010 wedding.
The two, who met at Atlantic Records where Gina is Director of A&R and Phil serves as Vice President of Video Content & Programming, both loved the beauty of Forio, Ischia. Gina and Phil felt it would be the perfect place for their wedding. They employed a wedding planner who helped them find a local florist, harp player, DJ, priest, and bus services. She also helped organize the church ceremony.
On the day of the wedding, a green runner colored the space from the door to the altar and the local flower, purple lisianthus, decorated the church. Inside, stained glass windows filled with images of boats and fish complement the roughhewn wood statues, pews, and the goldtrimmed altar.
The bride wore an ivory strapless Priscilla of Boston gown with an empire waist. The pearl-encrusted dress swirled to the floor. The bridesmaid’s also wore Priscilla of Boston, peacock blue strapless outfits that fell just below the knee and silver, strappy shoes. The men appropriated a more casual look, embodied by the leather flip-flops and Khaki J Crew chino suits they wore. Phil did don a suit jacket, over the white shirt with the top button open that he and all the
groomsmen sported.
The priest, Don Vincenzo, married the two Italian Roman Catholics in a full mass ceremony, with both Gina and Phil saying their vows in Italian. Finally, the two signed their marriage papers in front of the congregation—a traditional Italian conclusion of the religious ceremony.
After a group shot of all the guests and the happy couple on the church steps, it was on to the reception. Phil and Gina drove in a flower-filled convertible. “Our driver took us through the small narrow streets of the town honking the horn,” said Gina. “All of the locals were standing on balconies and children rode their bikes behind the car screaming, ‘Auguri! Auguri! I Sposi!!’ (Meaning, ‘Congratulations, the husband and wife!’). The festivities took over the small, familyrun hotel and the reception was held in the outdoor garden patio of the restaurant, La Casereccia. Encased by a wall of gorgeous, multi-colored flowers and trees draped in white lights, the patio contained long tables with white linens brightened by purple lisianthus centerpieces. The dance floor was full the entire night—and the bride and groom honored their Italian heritage with a tarantella. “There was one moment when we looked at each other and said, ‘Isn’t it amazing that all our family is here in Italy on the dance floor, dancing with all of our friends from the States.’”
The reception menu featured homemade Italian mainstays such as bruschetta with tomatoes, fried calamari, peppers & aubergines, octopus salad, mussels, parmigiana di melanzane (aubergine pie), Ravioloni Mama Tina, and risotto al pescatore, followed by a main course choice of grilled seafood plate, fillet of swordfish, or scaloppina casereccia.
A bride and groom riding off on a Vespa, much like the one the couple rented when staying on the island, topped the couple’s 2½- foot lemon cake, an island specialty adorned with white icing and purple sugar flowers. When the bride and groom cut the cake, the Colella family, who owned the hotel, surprised the twosome with a fireworks show launched from the roof as a gift. Because most of the guests were staying at the hotel, the party didn’t stop until around 4 am, even though the Italian DJ, who played American and Italian favorites, packed up at midnight; everyone kept dancing to the music of a small stereo. At the end of the evening, the guests took home locally made ceramic ornaments as favors.
After spending so much time in Italy, Gina and Phil decided not to take their honeymoon immediately. Instead, they spent five days at the Royal Hideaway in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, in November. Gina advises brides-to-be not to worry about the dress, hair or makeup on their big day, “Nothing is more beautiful than a photo of everyone relaxed and truly smiling because of a genuine good time. So let it all go and just have fun on this special day in your life.”
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