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An Amalfi Coast Wedding Ended With Fireworks and The Bride Jumping in the Pool

By Alexandra Macon | Photography by 

Gianni Di Natale

Consultant Jeffrey Mitchell first saw Cydney Davis, an interior designer, at a wine and cheese housewarming party she and her roommate at the time were hosting in Atlanta. I vividly remember thinking, “Wow, Mia has a really cute roommate, and man, these girls like cheese.”

Their mutual group of friends continued to hang out and Jeff quickly fell for Cydney, but as he puts it, he somehow “fell into the dreaded friend zone.” Thankfully, after a lot of relentless wooing, around five months after first meeting, Jeff and Cydney eventually started dating, and just a few years later, Jeff proposed during a ski trip at the Yellowstone Club in Montana. Cydney was so shocked when Jeff dropped down on one knee, that he had to ask her if she had anything to say! After she finally said yes, the two celebrated with friends over champagne.

Back when Cydney was in college, she studied abroad in Italy and during one trip to the Amalfi Coast, she still remembers the moment when she first saw the gardens in Ravello and thought: “I am getting married here one day.” She even mentioned it to Jeff before they started dating. She thought he might have forgotten that little tidbit by the time of the proposal, but the night they got engaged, Jeff said it was probably time to go to Italy and start planning the wedding. “I cried happy tears knowing not only am I marrying the most amazing man, but a man that is making my dream wedding come true,” Cydney recalls.

The couple eventually chose the Villa San Giacomo as their wedding venue because they knew they wanted a small, intimate ceremony. “We rented two villas, Villa San Giacomo and Villa Santa Croce, for the whole week so by the time the wedding began everyone was really good friends with one another and it was one big family.” They hired a planner at the Regency San Marino and set the date for June 28th, 2018.

For the wedding dress search, Cydney went with her mother and mother-in-law to Bridals by Lori, an Atlanta bridal salon, where she found her Matthew Christopher dress after trying just a few others on. She accessorized her look with a pair of uncut diamond chandelier earrings from her mother, and borrowed a veil from a friend. “It happens to be the traveling veil,” she says. “It has been used in five other weddings and has been to three other countries!” Meanwhile Jeff chose a tuxedo from the Black Tux with velvet slip-on shoes.

The day of the ceremony, the couple and their loved ones gathered in the garden of Villa San Giacomo, overlooking the town of Positano, and Jeff’s dad officiated the ceremony. “It was emotional and heartfelt,” remembers Cydney. “It was also the hottest day of the week while we were there. I accidentally locked my knees and almost passed out. I had to whisper to Jeff to hold me so I didn’t fall!”

An al fresco dinner reception followed, where table settings with napkins, center pieces, menus, and flowers all designed by Cydney were on display. “Having flowers hanging from the ceiling was the biggest struggle,” she says. “The villa had never done anything like this before, and we kept hearing no, no, no. But then on the day of the wedding, the florist just magically made it happen.”

For their first dance, the couple chose Van Morrison’s “Someone Like You,” but one of Cydney’s favorite musical moments of the evening actually happened when the chef came out of the kitchen and sang “O Sole Mio” to the couple on the dance floor. “It was pretty incredible!” For the late-night festivities, Cydney changed into another dress by Self Portrait, and just as things started wrapping up, the newlyweds and their guests all jumped into the infinity pool with their clothes on! Now that’s one way to close out a party.