Jessica Wenger, the founder and owner of digital marketing agency Gray Matter, and Jesse Reinherz, a portfolio manager at a hedge fund, were both in their senior year at Boston University when they happened to meet at a mutual friend’s dinner on the opposite coast in Los Angeles. They started dating pretty much immediately after they returned to school, and five years later, Jesse popped the question on their anniversary during a trip back to Beverly Hills.
A year before she said, “Yes,” the couple vacationed in Capri and absolutely fell in love with the location, people, and food. They also happened to stumble upon an intimate, chic wedding dinner at their hotel, Hotel Caesar Augustus. “Being from Palm Beach, where I knew my wedding would be 200+ people—this small celebration seemed like such dream! Once we got engaged, Jesse and I gave each other this knowing look and, pretty much without discussion decided immediately to have a very small celebration in Capri,” Jessica says. To help with planning overseas, they hired Maria Consilia and Fabrizia of Capri Moments. They returned to Hotel Caesar Augustus for their own welcome dinner and booked a private villa in Anacapri for their ceremony.
Jessica works in fashion, and when it was time to look for a dress, she started exploring more niche showrooms in New York. Once she zeroed in on the designer Flora she tracked down the one place that carried her dresses and found hers at the first appointment. “It felt like what a 1970s cult, princess bride would wear which is exactly the vibe I wanted,” she says. For her rehearsal dinner, she chose a silk slip dress from one of her clients, Fleur du Mal. And she wore a beach-y look from Chosen by One Day Bridal at the reception. Jesse looked handsome in a gray Ralph Lauren suit that they had found on a trip to Paris.
At sunset, everyone gathered for an outdoor ceremony overlooking the Mediterranean. A string quartet played as guests found their seats for the Jewish service. “My father and I rode to the ceremony alone, and all guests were seated, once I arrived, so I truly went from the car to the aisle!” the bride says. After the newlywed’s first kiss as husband and wife, a cocktail reception followed with a four-course dinner.
At the beginning of the meal, the wedding planners surprised everyone with an electric violinist’s solo performance. “He played throughout the night with the DJ and an electric percussionist, but the solo in the middle of our very formal dinner was truly breathtaking and really got guests excited for what else was to come!” Jessica remembers.
The couple took to the floor for their first dance to “Surfer Girl” by The Beach Boys (Jesse’s pick). And after dancing the night away, everyone hashed out everything that had happened the night before and recovered from the festivities with a pool party and seafood barbecue at another villa the next day.
