WEDDINGS A wedding in paradise for someone very close to our hearts!

You & Me on an island CALLED CAPRI

We always love hearing heart-warming stories about how local couples choose to tie the knot, but this month we feature a bride and groom who are particularly special to us! Pride’s very own Cydney Buck tells us how she enjoyed marrying her partner Charlie on the gorgeous island of Capri…

FROM THE EAST COAST TO ANACAPRI, the story of Cydney (Cyd) and Charlie is particularly special to the Pride team as our own Sales Manager enjoyed her wedding recently on the stunning island of Capri. Quite the loveliest couple of people you could ever hope to meet, the two are also very talented when it comes to performing on stage. Both were raised on the East Coast of Lincolnshire, although Charlie spent ten years in London – during which, incidentally, he also had a small cameo in the Harry Potter franchise’s Half Blood Prince film as one of the house of Slitherin’s top Quidditch players – returning to the area in 2015. Thereafter, he’s worked as a Big Band and Swing Singer vocalist performing at private functions like weddings. Cyd, meanwhile is not only a superstar manager but a professional dancer performing on stage in variety shows for some of the East Coast’s largest holiday resorts. It was when the two were paired together as dancer and singer respectively in a stage show – featuring swing hits and dance routines inspired by dancers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers –that a little bit of showbiz magic rubbed off. “One of my earliest happy memories of Charlie is from a post-show party when the cast were all going out together. It was a really cold night and he was giving a few of us a lift, so he went out and warmed up the car for the girls – so it was comfortable when we all got in – which I felt was really thoughtful.” “It’s typical of his character really. He really is consistently sweet and considerate. We were paired together as dancers in 2015 and when the season finished I found myself realising that I was really missing him.” The season began again in March 2016 and to be around him again was wonderful. Absence had definitely made the heart grow fonder for both of us, and so we both made our feelings for one another known. “We enjoy a really lovely life together and Charlie is not only a really kind guy, he’s also an uncurable romantic, too. After two years together, I awoke one morning to a treasure hunt he’d created around the house. The eighth clue was a passport and he revealed that he was whisking us both away to a secret destination.” “He’d booked a trip via Naples to the island of Capri. Charlie had been there before and reckoned it was one of the most beautiful places in the world. He wasn’t wrong.” “The place is only ten square kilometres –about half the size of one of our local market towns – overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea to the West and the Bay of Naples to the North.”

“It was a real paradise with beautiful electric blue seas and a soaring coastline, which is why I couldn’t work out why Charlie was so on edge. I didn’t realise at the time but he had planned a meal on the terrace of Hotel Caesar Augustus… only for a torrential rainstorm to compromise his intended proposal.” “The restaurant is booked up quite far in advance, so when a table became free the following evening, Charlie couldn’t believe his luck.”

“We went to the restaurant and he took me out onto the terrace and asked me to turn round. He then showed me a video he had made a week or two earlier.”

“One of my favourite films is Love Actually, I used who watch it every Christmas with my grandfather. We were really close to one another and when he died in 2015 I was heartbroken. I’m certain that he and Charlie would have really got on well with one another, but sadly they never met.” >>

>>“One of my favourite scenes in the film is when the character of Mark, turns up at Keira Knightley’s character Juliet’s door to declares his love on a series of cards.”

“Charlie recreated that scene beautifully, and when he revealed the last card it simply read ‘turn around.’”

“I did so, and sure enough he was on one knee, offering me an engagement ring. I’d love to say I was dignified and graceful, but I was so happy all I could do was cry solidly for a few hours, after responding with a resound-ing ‘yes!’ of course.”

That was in 2018 and as Covid scuppered the couple’s local wedding plans (twice), Charlie and Cyd instead opted to marry overseas. 110 The two set about planning their celebration on the island of… where else? Capri!

“I was really lucky in that I found a wedding planner based in Capri called Elisa Prati, who was on the island and was a point of contact locally. With lockdown preventing us seeing anyone face-to-face, we planned the day via Zoom video calls and relied on mail order to find wedding dresses and the groomsmens’ suits.”

“The ceremony took place in Anacapri, the more rustic, authentic part of Capri. My mum Tamara and uncle Chandler walked me down the aisle where Charlie and I exchanged vows at Belvedere di Migrelia.”

“The celebrant for the ceremony was my Maid of Honour, Katie. The fact that she married us made it extra special, and we took our vows overlooking with stunning views of the island’s west coast lighthouse and Tyrrhenian Sea.” “We then went to the Da Gelsomina restaurant, established in the 1950s and now run by the eponymous Gelsomina (the granddaughter of the original owner) and her husband Pasquale along with Gelsomina’s brother Raffaele. We enjoyed fresh grilled octopus, Capresi and prawn ravioli with zucchini flowers and delizia al limone for our wedding breakfast. It was all really fresh and delicious. The table was decorated with locally grown lemons and flowers from the estate’s groves.” “It really is an island paradise and we were really lucky that 35 people – our closest

family and friends – were able to join us. The temperature was around 30°c but there was a storm the evening before so it was lovely and fresh, not at all muggy.” “After the meal we enjoyed the speeches –especially from my mum, Tamara, and from Katie, from Charlie himself and then Matty who is Charlie’s brother and served as his best man.” “We performed the first dance, which Charlie and I had choreographed together, then we just enjoyed the whole evening in a beautiful setting with smiles, laughter and in a really relaxing atmosphere.” “Everyone relaxed as the sun set and the temperature eased off, especially my brother and sister Billy & Vixen, and my new parents-in-law, Gail & Charlie Sr.” “I must admit that I played matchmaker when I threw my bouquet to Charlie’s brother’s partner Emily. The tradition obviously has some merit as my new brother-in-law Matty proposed to her a couple of weeks later.” “There was a third proposal too… my uncle Chandler asked his partner Leanne to marry him at the end of the evening, which was really lovely! So there’s definitely something in the water of Capri that brings out the romantic side of visitors to the island.”

“It’s a phenomenal place. We’re planning to return for our first anniversary, but above all, we’re really grateful that our family and friends were able to experience it with us. It was a day we’ll never forget, with people we’ll always treasure. I don’t think there’s any better foundation for a wedding!” n

Above: Among those congratulating the couple was Zoie & Julian Wilkinson, publishers of Pride Magazine.

Pride Magazine is available to read, for free, on your phone or tablet...

Enjoy the area’s finest magazines, using our App, free to download now!