Alessandra & Andrew WALKER’S LANDING
By Julie Simmons
Photography by Brittany Powell Photography
Maybe it’s the ocean, or the abundant canopies of oaks, or quite possibly the quaint downtown that hooked Alessandra Banno on Amelia Island. Like so many of you, once she found Amelia Island in 1998, it became more home than her Peoria, Illinois hometown. “As soon as we found Amelia, it was where my family spent summers, holidays, and special occasions,” says Alessandra. “And as quick as I could bring Andrew to Amelia Island, I did!” Alessandra met Andrew Bonanno at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in her sophomore year and his senior year. “We’ve been inseparable ever since,” the couple laughs, reminiscing on their lives together in Ohio, Colorado, California, and today, back in Ohio. And many visits to Amelia in-between, the first of which 22 AMELIA ISLAND WEDDINGS
hooked Andrew, too! So much so that he stopped by Robison Jewelers on one visit and picked out a promise ring of opal and diamonds for Alessandra, asking her to promise to marry him one day here on the island. As testament to their love, Alessandra’s mother, Tamilyn Banno, shared that at the end of Alessandra’s junior year of college, she suffered an abdominal tumor that threatened her life and the possibility of having children. Demonstrating his complete love, Andrew, who’d buried his father just a few months before, resigned from his job and moved to be by Alessandra’s side as she recovered. In 2019, Andrew made his commitment permanent when he proposed at Lover’s Cove on Catalina Island. “And, of course, we soon visited Amelia to pick out a venue,” they smile. When Alessandra showed Andrew Walker’s Landing
