In a twist of fate, the pandemic brought Sarah Kathryn Love, who owns her own creative marketing agency, back home to Arizona. She and Nicholas Martori had gone to high school together and were even introduced again at a golf tournament, but she was living in California at that time. Sarah’s parents live right next door to Nick’s parents, so when she temporarily moved in with them, friends quickly suggested that she and Nick get dinner with them.
Two weeks later, on the evening of a Harvest Moon, Nick and Sarah first said, “I love you,” to each other. “With Nick’s family being from four generations of farmers, the Harvest Moon was very special to us since the moon is supposed to be so bright that you can harvest crops all through the night!” Sarah exclaims.
After six months together, Nick proposed on the Pink Moon. Sarah suspected the proposal might happen then, as the hue is her favorite color. She bought a pink dress in preparation and was later led to Nick’s backyard, where he had set up a Pink Moon viewing station for the two of them. Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” played softly in the background, calling back to the start of their love story, as Nick got down on one knee with an emerald-cut ring.
Once engaged, the couple anxiously started planning their wedding, and after getting overwhelmed by a large guest list, seating charts, and the possibility of bad food, they swiftly made the decision to host a wedding week featuring seven events with 12 family members on the Amalfi Coast.
Being a part of the wedding industry and having worked as a photo editor for five years at The Knot, Sarah worried it might be difficult to design her wedding. “Luckily, I had the world of wedding professionals at my fingertips and I couldn’t be more grateful for the incredible community who literally helped me through everything!” she exclaims. “All my planner friends, photographers, and designers gave some type of input along the way, and it was so wonderful to have their support!”
Callista and Co. stepped in to help plan everything, while Sarah’s best friend, Rebecca Yale, photographed every precious moment throughout the week.
A Pink Moon-themed welcome party kicked off the festivities with a boat ride and fireworks in Postiano. The bride was dressed in an enchanting Alex Perry dress with a Jennifer Behr tiara and Aquazzura butterfly shoes. That event was followed by a lemon grove luncheon at Da Paolino in Capri and a hummingbird-inspired dinner at Palazzo Avino that honored Sarah’s grandmother, who passed away in April 2020.
Sarah notes that hummingbirds are often symbolized as messengers from guardian angels. “My grandmother, K-Mom, loved hummingbirds, and she pops in to say hello on big occasions,” she says. The bride saw a hummingbird on the day she was proposed to, while she was dress shopping, and one even flew into her bridal suite on the wedding day. For this special occasion in Italy, Sarah collaborated with Maria Caruso Martin of The Bella Rosa Collection to create a bespoke clutch embroidered with motifs of butterflies, hummingbirds, and blooming foliage that paired well with her Dolce & Gabbana dress. “I couldn’t have been more honored when she suggested she create all custom bags for our wedding week.”
The night before the wedding, the party celebrated with a melon-inspired rehearsal dinner at Caruso, A Belmond Hotel. The bride wore an Oscar de la Renta halter-neck dress, a hot pink Cult Gaia jacket, Jennifer Behr pearl moon earrings, Jimmy Choo Sacora pearl heels, and a custom clutch by The Bella Rosa Collection.
Sarah had always envisioned herself getting married in a beautiful lace gown, and she had found one already, when her bridal stylist, Gabrielle Hurwitz, suggested she take a peek in Oscar de la Renta. The bride tried on a feather dress for fun, and when she saw herself in the mirror, she started hysterically crying. “I saw myself walking towards Nick on a terrace, overlooking the blue waters of the Amalfi coast, feathers blowing in the wind, and just like that, the lace number was out the door,” she recalls. Sarah completed her ceremony look with vintage sapphire earrings from K-mom and satin Jimmy Choos. K-mom also carried a lily of the valley bouquet, when she got married, so Sarah did the same.
On April 23, 2022, Sarah got ready in a custom Gilda and Pearl robe and slip at Caruso and then headed to the ceremony at Villa Cimbrone. The first wedding she curated for The Knot’s magazine was held at the hotel and shot by Jose Villa. She fell in love with it but would’ve chosen to have her own ceremony on the infinity terrace. Since Sarah’s guest list was so intimate, it was the perfect place to say, “I do.”
Fun fact: the couple’s original venue fell through six weeks from the date, so all the florals from Malafronte Flowers and custom ceremony cushions had to be produced in a shorter amount of time. The terrace also only closed to the public 15 minutes before the ceremony started, so the actual set up was somewhat of a race.
Sarah and her father had a 10-minute promenade from the crypt to the aisle. The Swiftie walked toward Nick, as the song “Love Story” played. During the service readings from the Bible and 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 and “Love Sonnet 17” by Pablo Neruda were recited. The couple had exchanged personal vows at their first look, but Nick loved theirs so much that they recited both traditional and hand-written words in front of their family. The pair also released butterflies at the ceremony—the winged creatures represent spiritual rebirth, transformation, change, hope, and life.
The newlyweds then sat down for their reception dinner in the crypt. White napkins with embroidered moons were placed on top of custom painted chargers, created by Cecile’s Paper & Co., who Sarah worked with to create a special motif featuring iconography from their relationship. “This was definitely one of my favorite design elements,” Sarah shares. “We also had our custom pattern made into a dance floor in the crypt.”
After the Italian feast, an espresso martini and gelato bar accompanied the hummingbird-inspired wedding cake, baked by Made in Cake. Sarah chimes in, “We had our little pup’s face, Mia, on the back of the cake too!”
“I didn’t really want to take off my wedding dress, if we are being honest, but it was going to be tricky to dance in, so I switched it out for…you guessed it…a feather dress that was different shades of pink by Pucci,” Sarah explains. She and Nick had their first dance to “Harvest Moon,” of course. “The night went by really fast, but since we had [celebrated for several days] with multiple events, we all felt like it was the perfect way to end the trip—our family was exhausted and ready to go to bed!”
