As an actress who has lit up the silver screen alongside Hollywood greats, Victoria Summer knows what goes into creating the perfect scene – which may be why her wedding to Italian Michelin-starred chef Fabrizio Vaccaro looked as though it was straight out of a movie.
"It was a very personal ceremony centred around the story of how we met and how in love we are," Victoria, who played Julie Andrews alongside an all-star cast including Tom Hanks in the Disney film Saving Mr Banks, tells HELLO! as the couple exclusively share their wedding album and memories of the day.
"It was a very emotional moment to see all my favourite people come together so close to where I grew up," adds Fabrizio, 40, who works as a private chef for Los Angeles-based British singer Seal.
Held at the magnificent Palazzo del Capo on the coast of Calabria, just a stone's throw from where the groom grew up, their wedding day on Monday 22 May was the perfect ode to the couple's love story.
MORE: Hollywood couples that have stood the test of time
Just before the ceremony began at 5pm, the beautiful bride emerged, radiant in a duchess satin gown with a Dior-style bodice and tulle skirt, designed by Emmy-winning Austrian fashion designer Birgit C Müller.
© Emily Jean Russell"Birgit and I created my dream dress," says Victoria, 41, who replied "yes" to Fabrizio's romantic proposal in his home town of Paola in July 2020, just four months after their chance meeting at a café in London. A highlight of the ceremony came when the couple's beloved Pomeranian Bentley provided a moment of comedy gold.
"When Sara said: 'Who has the rings?', we'd planned for Timothy to act as if he couldn't find them," Fabrizio recalls. "It was amazing – my father went white." Hero of the hour Bentley – suited and booted in an adorable doggy tuxedo – then came to the rescue, trotting down the aisle with the wedding rings safely fastened to his back.
© Emily Jean Russell"Bentley always runs to me whenever he sees me and it worked perfectly," adds Victoria, who rescued her dog ten years ago, after she had finished filming Transformers: Age of Extinction with Mark Wahlberg.
Victoria changed into her second dress – a mermaid-silhouetted Sebastian Gunawan creation – before she and her guests sat down to dinner. After the meal, the couple kicked off a night of dancing by cutting their five-tier cake, before having their first dance to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. As soon as it was over, Victoria surprised her new husband by serenading him with Etta James’s At Last.
"We wanted to get married in 2021 but we couldn't because of the Covid-19 pandemic. We waited a really long time for this wedding, and I think that made it even sweeter," says Victoria.
To read the full article, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale now. Subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
