This Couple Followed Their Italian Boat Elopement With a Cinque Terre-Inspired North Carolina Reception

TAngelique and Sarah’s modern-day love story began online with two proposals to match their personalities. When it came time for Sarah to pop the question, she hired a singer-songwriter to put her words into a melody, a song that they would use for their first dance at their wedding. She played the song for Angelique one night after putting their kids to bed, both brides-to-be in their pajamas and sitting in the quiet of the living room. For Angelique’s proposal, she brought Sarah to the spot of their first date, a “boozy mini golf” spot where they played a few rounds, and she pulled out a golf ball-shaped box with the ring inside. “As a lesbian couple, it was important for both of us to have the experience of ‘saying yes,’” they say.

With engagement rings on both of their hands, now it was time to wedding plan. The brides say, “We wanted our wedding to be small and intimate with lots of sentimental aspects. A lot of our wedding was ‘spur of the moment’ with whatever felt right to us [at] the moment.” With Angelique’s Italian background, the two found the perfect venue in Cinqué Terre, a string of seaside villages on the northwest coast. And since Angelique grew up on a boat, incorporating this unique aspect to their day as their transportation was a must.

The day before the destination wedding, the two picked out perfume from a local shop, and the day of, they grabbed their flowers from a local florist before making the trek on the boat for two hours. They had complementary bouquets, with a mix of orange and pink roses, purple florals and pops of yellow and white, which they held during their boat ride and ceremony.

The only parts of the day they planned ahead of time were their gowns, the location and who they’d invite. “Neither of us knew what the other was going to wear. The only thing we knew was that Angelique was going to wear a white dress with lots of lace detail, and Sarah was going to wear a black dress,” the brides say of their monochrome looks. Both chose lace details and long sleeves for their dresses, proving how in tune they were with one another even as they surprised each other with their attire. 

Ten of their closest friends and family attended the Italian nuptials as they exchanged vows at sunset. They say, “We got to enjoy the ride until we found the perfect backdrop where we wanted to stop and say our wedding vows. We had the best time trying to balance ourselves on the bow of the boat while reading our vows and also trying to just “be in the moment.’” The natural beauty of Cinqué Terre provided all the decor they needed for this ceremony on the water.

After their Italian getaway, the couple held an intimate backyard reception in North Carolina while still bringing some of the “authentic Italian magic” with them, they say. Some of that included a food truck serving classic Italian pizza for the guests to indulge in traditional flavors. All of their decor was DIY, from their display of mini alcoholic drinks to their cocktail bar sign featuring their cat and two dogs.

The newlyweds added many personal touches to their backyard reception, including some floral arrangements in Italian ceramic vases, candles and greenery by the pool to evoke the feeling of Cinque Terre. Sarah and Angelique also had a traditional American wedding cake, in a handpainted design that matched the Italian vases, and a traditional Italian cake called a millefoglie. Guests indulged in limoncello before the cake cutting, another treat from The Boot. And for Angelique’s late father, they incorporated a special seat near their guestbook in his honor.

They also add, “Our favorite [moment] though was our champagne toasts done with glitter bombs. Guests received champagne flutes with a little bit of cotton candy in them, but once champagne was poured in, it turned into a beautiful array of (completely edible) iridescent glitter.”

With a ceremony across the pond and their reception back home, both brides loved the spirit of their union and how it stayed true to their wishes. As for what other couples can expect in wedding planning, the two offer some advice: “Your wedding day will never go exactly [perfectly] to how you plan it. Never. But that’s the beauty of it. It will always work out, and as long as you get to marry the love of your life, the rest doesn’t matter.”