A Secret Destination Wedding at Villa de Balbianello in Lake Como, Italy

During their medical training, Jeffrey Coble and Sarah House frequently volunteered evenings together at a free clinic. As the years of caring for patients passed by, they increasingly became attracted to each other’s kindness, charity, and intelligence. After their final shift together, Jeff left the clinic only to nervously return from the rain moments later, emboldened to ask Sarah for a date. Over some Thai food, they decided that they were utterly meant to be.

During a fall trip to Greece, Jeff had arranged for flowers to be delivered to their cliffside balcony overlooking the Aegean after a morning of shopping in the old market of Chania, Crete. Cameras rolling, he proposed to Sarah as the sun was setting and jasmine filled the air. Jeff had one final surprise – he’d hired a photographer to take engagement photos on Santorini in a few days!

Two years later, their jet-lagged guests touched down in Europe from around the world. Four days of festivities went by in a blur, leading up to a secret destination wedding at an undisclosed location. From the commissioned artwork unveiling, evening beach welcome party and guided kayaking tour, to the cave wine tasting and intimate rehearsal dinner on the water, anticipation had been building for the wedding day, as the venue was kept secret and only accessible by boat. With guesses abound, guests boarded the boat at Bellagio and were whisked away to where Skywalker married Amidala in Star Wars – Villa Balbianello.

Rain on your wedding day is known to bring good luck (as the Italians say, “Sposa bagnata, sposa fortunata!”), so the couple was thankful for a quick shower that abated the day’s heat wave. Underneath ivy-covered arches overlooking Lake Como and the Alps, and with jasmine wafting from Sarah’s bouquet, a delegate of the mayor of Tremezzina pronounced the couple married.

“It took lots of research, paperwork, finesse, and time, but one of the most satisfying parts of the wedding was knowing that when we said, ‘I do’ in front of everyone, we were legally married,” says the bride and groom.

Aperol Spritzes and Negronis poured like the past rain as everyone mingled throughout the lush grounds after the ceremony. DJ Tony from Milan Fashion Week had guests dancing even before they had finished digesting their black truffle pasta, or the newlyweds had their first dance to “Beyond,” by Leon Bridges. Bleary-eyed, cappuccinos in hand, but with smiles all around, the guests reminisced about the festivities the following day over brunch at Hotel Belvedere as the sun rose in Italy.

The couple honeymooned on the Amalfi Coast, where they took in spectacular views and honed their cooking skills with a lesson by their hotel's Michelin star chef. Visiting Capri made for another beautiful memory, but they especially loved venturing up into the hills of Amalfi to the Aceto family’s Sfusato Amalfitano lemon orchard, where for centuries the family has maintained the terraces.

“We were in awe of the family’s dedication to growing Amalfi lemons and wanted to support them as they struggle to stay relevant in current times.”