When Lewis Wright proposed to Marissa Arrows—whom he’d known for more than 15 years and dated for eight—it wasn’t the ring that made the biggest impact. “He proposed with a simple gold band, as he knew I would want to have input into the ring,” Marissa shares. “But he had an antique ring box reupholstered with a pink stripe fabric—my favorite!—and embroidered with ‘Marry me?’ inside. I loved the box as much as the ring.”
A few months later, it was another striped fabric that clinched their wedding venue. After booking planner Simona Parisi of Brilliant Wedding Sicily, the couple began exploring venues around Sicily. At last, they came upon Commenda di San Calogero. “I was walking ahead with our planner whilst Marissa was still taking pictures, and I said, ‘Wait until she sees that tablecloth!’” Lewis says. “I knew she’d want to book it there and then.” He was right. “The venue had everything we were looking for—that perfect mix of Italian charm with an eclectic, modern design—although it was actually an orange striped tablecloth by the pool that sealed the deal for me,” Marissa says.
Photographers Jenny and Fanis of Days Made of Love and videographer By Eva Luna were the next vendors on board. “They were incredible and worked so well [together]; the photography and videography exceeded our expectations,” Marissa says.
Considering her love of fabrics, it’s no surprise Marissa went the custom route for a one-of-a-kind dress. “I went to three shops to get a steer of shapes that suited me and have the experience but was disappointed with the variety of dresses,” Marissa says. “I thought there would be hundreds of different styles, shapes, and fabrics, but it felt quite same-y, and I didn’t feel special in anything.” She discovered Charlotte Sweet-Williams of Sewn Right on Instagram and visited her London showroom for a consultation.
“I told her my vision and said, ‘more is more,’” Marissa says. “She was so excited to create the dress, and we went from there.” The result was a confection of tiered tulle with a strapless sweetheart neckline. Its detachable statement train had more than 30 rows of layered ruffles that, if laid in a single row, says the designer, would measure more than 1,000 feet. On the wedding day, Marissa paired it with Manolo Blahnik heels and got beautified by artists from Blend and Mario Scollo Hair Studio.
On the morning of the wedding, August 28, 2023, both bride and groom were checking off to-dos to make sure things were perfect. “I spent the morning confirming flowers, writing seat numbers, ribboning cans for the car, and doing checks of garden setups, just so I knew everything was how I had pictured and could relax when the wedding started,” Marissa says. Meanwhile, Lewis, a deejay and producer, was outside checking the decks. “My background is in music, so a big focus for me was to make sure all the equipment was there and would flow correctly as guests moved through the venue,” he says. At last, they both relaxed and said I do beneath a statement baby’s breath arch beautifully crafted by florist Mary Fiori. “The guests were seated to classical music, and I surprised Lewis by swapping out the music I walked down the aisle to, using one of his favorite songs instead of what I had originally picked,” Marissa says.
Dinner took place in the olive grove beneath a tunnel of trees. “We had one long table with 100 guests,” Marissa says. “I remember seeing it for the first time and being taken aback! It looked like it went on forever and was exactly how we pictured it.” She and Lewis were seated at the center and surrounded by their parents and wedding party, with a cloud of baby’s breath floating above. “Music is important to both of us, and we had created a playlist of all of our favorite songs from the ’80s through today. It was curated so that the music throughout dinner built momentum, and before we knew it, guests were up singing and dancing.” Meanwhile, La Torre served a five-course meal.
“Lewis and I snuck away to check the courtyard—obviously!—for the party area and waited for our guests to follow,” Marissa says. Custom disco balls by the bride’s friend, Disco by Brodie, were suspended over the courtyard where dancing would ensue. “Everyone said it felt like an open-air nightclub.”
Once everyone was there, the newlyweds cut into a traditional Italian millefoglie, then danced their first dance to kick off the party. The song? “Finally” by Kings of Tomorrow. “It’s not a traditional first dance song, but it’s special to us and certainly gets a party going, so it was perfect,” Marissa says. “Lewis made an edit of two versions to make sure we had a good balance of ‘first dance’ leading into all guests joining us on the dance floor.”
