This Wedding at the White Lotus Hotel in Sicily Was All About Classic Italian Maximalism
Rey Vakili and Jonny Ingham met in London in 2017 through mutual friends, but didn’t start dating until she entered business school. “He was living in L.A. and I was at Stanford,” Rey—who is now the managing director of LTK Australia—remembers. “Somewhat fortuitously one of his best friends was at the law school, so it gave him the perfect excuse to come and visit Palo Alto regularly.” They dated long-distance for two years before moving to Sydney together at the end of 2019 just before COVID.
The two got engaged in May of 2022. “It was very relaxed and ‘very John,’” Rey says. “And, I can honestly say that in that moment I was not expecting it at all!” Rey was at home getting ready for dinner when Jonny returned home and proposed to her in the kitchen. “He sort of came charging at me with a box,” she laughs. “I had no idea what was happening at first, but then he got down on one knee. It was awkward, it was cute, it was perfect. We also have very different recollections of what actually went down. His version is a lot more cool, romantic, and collected. I just know that it happened, and it took place in my kitchen!”
They already had planned a weekend away to Magill Estate in Adelaide the next morning, and so beyond telling their immediate families, they kept the news to themselves for a few days and enjoyed a quiet weekend away together.
The couple began planning their wedding shortly thereafter. “Aussies like to have plenty of time to plan,” Rey explains. “So it was a courtesy we owed our guests.” Quickly, they decided they wanted to celebrate their nuptials in Italy—but that was the easy part. The hard part was trying to decide exactly where. Eventually, they settled on the picturesque town of Taormina in Sicily. “Taormina is a very special place for my family,” Rey says. “We have been going there on vacation for over a decade and both my sister and sister-in-law were married there too. Capri on the other hand is where John’s family have been going for years, and so we landed on something in the middle. A wedding in Taormina with a recovery party in Capri!”
The couple’s guests were making such a huge effort to travel from every corner of the world to be with them, and it was important to the couple that the mood was set from the moment they received their save the dates. “Sicily is such a special place,” Rey says. “The history, the food, the vineyards, the beaches, the people, and the ceramics. We wanted everyone to be excited from the moment they learned of the destination because I think deep down we wanted everyone to love it as much as we do.”
In the early stages of planning, they discovered Emérence of Potesta Designs, who created the save the dates and wedding website. She immediately understood what they were trying to achieve and created a magical, playful space for information that set the tone for what was to come. The couple also enlisted the incredibly talented illustrator Fin Fellowes who worked closely with them to create a suite of invitations for their wedding weekend and designed a logo for the event.
The couple had already planned a trip to Europe that summer—a month after their engagement—so the timing was perfect to start scouting for a venue. “At this point, I started talking to the team at Dolce Gabbana, and they recommended I go see the San Domenico Palace in Taormina, which is where their first Alta Moda fashion show took place in 2012,” Rey remembers. “When we went in June, it had just recently reopened as the Four Seasons, and it was simply spectacular. As the Italians say, it was ‘amore a prima vista!’ The gardens were breathtakingly beautiful, and it was something different from what my family had done before me. Jonny loved it too. We basically locked it in there and then.”
The wedding took place before the second season of the popular HBO series The White Lotus, which was set at the resort, was released. “I’m not sure we would have had as much luck booking it had it been after!” Rey jokes. “When the show first came out, I was a little mortified to be doing it at the same place. I mean the opening scene is literally a dead hotel guest floating in the ocean. That said, by the time the wedding came around, we decided to just lean into the whole White Lotus thing. The song we entered our reception dinner to was ‘A Far L’Amore Comincia Tu,’ which is the theme song and everyone was losing their minds. In the end, the show was the best kind of teaser for guests, who were all dying to see the venue in real life.”
Rey knew from the get-go that she wanted to work with Diana from Sugokuii Events. “I have been a big fan of her work for as long as I can remember,” the bride explains. “I love her attention to detail, the spectacular tablescapes, the colors she uses, her creativity, but above all I love her respect for Italy and going local Italian in all the details. She did everything, from décor to logistics to florals. Unless you have done it before, there really is no way of knowing how much goes into planning a wedding and ensuring it all runs smoothly. We certainly didn’t. Probably for the best too, because I doubt we would have gone ahead with it all if we had!”
For Rey, Sicily and Dolce Gabbana just go hand in hand. “Beyond the designers’ strong affinity with Sicily, no one understands a woman’s body like they do,” she says. “I love the way their clothes fit and flatter every shape and size. I love that every time I wear one of their pieces, I know it’s going to be a good night. I love that they have always felt so true to my own personal style.”
At the time, she didn’t know how she was going to make it happen, or if they even made wedding dresses, but she knew she had to ask. One of her best friends put her in touch with Giusy Cannizzaro, the brand’s head of haute couture, and that’s where it all began. “She and her team were a dream to work with,” Rey says. “We had an initial kick-off Zoom where we discussed all things wedding-related. I mentioned we were thinking of Taormina, and their enthusiasm was one of the factors that pushed us over the line. They suggested we go visit the San Domenico Palace on our next trip over.”
