On an italian island Beth Shepherd to Robert Buccini Capri, Italy

After a bad date, Beth Shepherd, a coowner of a boutique in New York City, said to a friend, "Dating is not worth my time. I'm just going to focus on the store." To which her friend made an improbable reply: "You have to meet Rob Buccini!"
Beth succumbed and went out with Rob, a hotel and realestate developer, soon after. Despite the fact that the date was hardly intimateshe brought friends; he brought his brother and sisterinlawthe two felt an almost immediate connection. "By our third date it was serious," says Beth. So serious that one month later, when they were on separate vacations, all they could think about was how much they missed each other.
Rob proposed a year later, while the couple was in Anguilla i! I. celebrating New Year's 2001 with Beth's family. After dropping to one knee on an evening stroll on the beach, Rob took Beth back to the house where her parents were waiting, ready to toast them with Champagne. The couple called Rob's parents right away, who had also been anxiously waiting. 'Apparently, I was the only one who didn't know about the proposal!" says Beth.
The tropical setting of their engagement was an excellent precursor to the balmy Mediterranean locale of their reception, on June 9, zooi, on the isle of Capri, off Italy's Amalfi Coast. "My family has gone to Capri every summer since 1 was 15," says Beth. "It's the most special place in the world to me?
Though the event was far from home, Beth's familiarity with the island made planning the wedding easy. The only glitch was a rule that states that nonresidents of Capri can't marry in any of the island's Catholic churches. Instead, Beth and Rob wed in Positano, a fortyminute boat ride away. "The ride back to Capri was amazing," says Beth. "Since we had our own boat, Rob and I had time alone together to savor the day that we wouldn't have had if we'd been married on the island?'
At the outdoor hotel reception, guests feasted on a sixcourse meal. A singer crooned love songs. And the night was capped by a gift from the bride to the groom, whose birthday happened to be that very day: "I had asked the people at the hotel if we could have fireworks, and they said, 'We haven't had fireworks on the island since 1963!' " says Beth.
But it is just like Italians to get behind a wedding. A close friend on the island arranged for Beth's husband to get his blazing birthday surprise. So, as the first bursts of light erupted in the night, Beth and Rob looked skyward, surrounded by family and friends just as they had been on their very first date.

Special thanks to Gianni Chervatin and staff at Capri Eventi,
011-39-081-837-6895 or www.capriwedding.com, and Enrico Morgano and staff at La Scalinatella.
Flowers at Reception, from Federico Fiori Flowers by Mimmo,
011-39-081-837-0865.
Flowers at Ceremony, from Posaflora,
011-39-089-811-668 or www.posaflora.it
Reception at the Grand Hotel Quisisana,
011-39-081-837-0788 or www.quisi.com
Band, Confrey Phillips and His Music 561-655-8775 (Florida) or 011-44-20-7834-1192 (England)
Bride's Dress, by Richard Tyler Boutique, 323-931-9678
Bridesmaids' Dresses, by Belenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière.
Bride's and Bridesmais Shoes, by Jimmy Choo,
866-524-6687.
Invitations, by Mrs. John L. Strong Fine Stationery,
212-838-3775.
Calligraphy, by Bernard Maisner Calligraphy & Fine Stationery, 212-477-6776

Photographs by Andrea D'Agostino Text by Malia Boyd