A wedding in Sicily: three days in Taormina with Maria Vittoria and Andrew
When Maria Vittoria and Andrew decided to get married, Sicily was not a compromise.
It was the answer.
She is Italian, he is Irish, both living in London, with an entire island to share with guests arriving from Italy, Ireland and the UK.
It all began with a photograph. Scrolling online, Andrew found images of Castello Xirumi, a place with an Arab Norman soul, set deep in the countryside near Lentini, far from the usual routes. Something clicked.
From there, a three day celebration took shape. Three completely different venues. Three ways of experiencing Sicily, one beside the other.
The day before, welcome to Taormina
The first day was not yet the wedding. It was the beginning.
The welcome dinner was held at the Excelsior Palace in Taormina, perched above the sea, with the illuminated old town as a backdrop. One of the venues most loved by international guests choosing Sicily, and it is easy to see why.
Lucio Pappalardo and his band carried the evening with live music, while guests met for the first time, recognised each other, and slowly stepped into the rhythm of the weekend.
It was not yet the wedding. But it was already something special.
The day of the vows, Castello Xirumi
The heart of the celebration was Castello Xirumi.
A place that still carries the traces of Arab and Sicilian influence: ancient stone, gardens, silence. The Sicily of the inland, far from the sea and from the more obvious expectations.
The ceremony took place beneath a centuries old tree. A soprano accompanied the Protestant rite with her voice, the notes drifting through the still air of the Sicilian afternoon. Guests then moved to the poolside garden for the aperitivo.
It was only the beginning of the surprises.
A traditional Sicilian band in costume led guests through the castle to the citrus grove, where dinner awaited. Gold candelabras, crystal, candlelight. The enveloping scent of citrus. A quiet elegance, almost unexpected, in the middle of the countryside.
At the end of dinner, another surprise: guests were led inside the castle, completely transformed for the occasion. First the cannoli courtyard, then the Arab garden for the cake cutting, a buffet of Sicilian sweets, and finally an English band to dance the night away.
The soul was deeply Sicilian. The experience, though, was shaped for those arriving from afar: capable of surprising, moving, and telling the story of a place without needing to explain it.
The day after, brunch by the sea
The third day was a breath of air.
At Tao Beach Club, right on the water, guests gathered for a brunch over the sea. Tables on the sand, morning light, the sound of the waves. A completely different atmosphere from the days before. Deliberately so.
The idea was to offer three distinct experiences: the iconic Taormina of the Excelsior, the more secret and magical Sicily of Castello Xirumi, the crystal clear sea of the morning after. Three faces of an island that never stops surprising.
What makes Sicily an extraordinary destination
Sicily holds something few other Italian regions can offer: a density of history, light, flavour and landscape that shifts completely from one province to the next.
Taormina is a natural theatre above the sea, with the volcano as its backdrop. The inland is stone, silence and hidden gardens. The coast is clear water and cliffs. Every venue tells a different story, and it is exactly this variety that makes Sicily an extraordinary destination for a multi day wedding.
Sicilian suppliers are true artisans of hospitality. The food, as you might imagine, is never simply a service, it is part of the experience itself. The flowers, the styling, the music all speak to the character of the island in different ways, whether it is a soprano during the ceremony or a traditional band leading guests through the citrus groves.
The main challenge, as it was for Maria Vittoria and Andrew, is logistics. Transfers between venues, guests arriving from three countries, three days to coordinate seamlessly. It is not simple. But when everything comes together, when each day offers something unexpected, the result is a wedding guests remember for years.
Where to begin
If Sicily is calling you, the first step is understanding what kind of experience you want to build.
An intimate celebration at a countryside masseria. A wedding overlooking the sea. A multi day weekend across different venues. Every vision has its own logic and its own beauty.
What matters is having someone who knows the island, its rhythms, its suppliers, its lesser known places. Someone who can read your story and bring it to life somewhere you will never forget.
Thinking about a wedding in Sicily?
Tell us your story.
