Bella Sposa

You're not a client. You're the reason.

Sorrento, Amalfi Coast, Italy

The planner who married into the job.

Cheryl Pagano married in Sorrento in 2012 and founded Bella Sposa the year after, once she had seen from the inside what a foreign couple actually needs to marry well in Italy. Thirteen years on she still takes a maximum of 25 to 30 weddings a season, still charges a flat fee rather than a percentage, and still handles the legal paperwork herself rather than passing it to a junior. Her own words for the job: 'I am definitely more of a hugger than a handshaker.'

Cheryl Pagano

Cheryl Pagano is originally from the UK. Before weddings, she danced professionally on cruise ships across Europe and the Caribbean, then moved into entertainment management and tourism, the kind of work that teaches logistics under pressure rather than in theory. She married in Sorrento in 2012 and founded Bella Sposa the following year, once she had lived the gap she later built a business around: bespoke planning that understands both what an international couple expects and how Italy actually runs.

She caps herself at 25 to 30 weddings a season and works with at least two of her own staff on site, plus a chosen team of local suppliers, so that she is personally present rather than represented. Clients describe a planner who learns their names before the contract, who calls the best man to remind him about the rings, and who treats a wedding week the way she would want her own treated.

Weddings We Have Planned

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The Season

25 to 30 a year, and she says so.

Cheryl Pagano states her own ceiling rather than implying it: a maximum of 25 to 30 weddings a season, published on her own directory listing. It is the reason a couple should ask about the date before the fee. Once a season is full, no flat rate changes that.

The Paperwork First, Then the Party.

The engagement starts with a conversation rather than a questionnaire. From there, Cheryl sources the venue, curates a vendor team rather than assigning one, and builds the week around whichever ceremony a couple wants: civil, legally recognised at home, or symbolic, with more creative freedom. For foreign couples, the translations, the documents and the town hall appointments are handled as part of the service, not discovered in month six. On the day, she and at least one colleague are on site directing, bilingual in English and Italian, with a wider team of local suppliers she has worked with for years.

Full-Service Planning

Venue, vendors, design and logistics, built around a flat fee rather than a percentage of what you spend. Cheryl caps her season at 25 to 30 weddings so she is never planning more than she can attend personally.

Design and Styling

Mood, palette and table design, chosen to suit the venue rather than repeated from wedding to wedding. Her own team of florists, stylists and lighting suppliers execute it on site.

Legal and Ceremony Paperwork

Civil ceremonies legally recognised at home, or symbolic ceremonies with more creative freedom. The translations, the documents and the town hall appointments are handled as part of the service.

Multi-Day Celebrations

Welcome parties, the wedding day itself, farewell brunches, and the concierge care that keeps guests looked after between them. Built for weeks, not single days.

Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast and the Islands

Her home ground. Cliffside terraces, cloistered courtyards and a harbour full of the boats that carry guests to Capri, Ischia and Procida. The deepest of her supplier relationships live here.

Puglia

Masserie and whitewashed courtyards further south, a destination named on her own Locations page alongside Sorrento, Tuscany and Rome.

Tuscany

Wine estates and walled gardens inland, reached from the same planning process and the same flat fee as a Sorrento wedding.

Rome

City ceremonies and receptions for couples who want the capital rather than the coast, the fourth destination on her published list.

Harriet Dury

Client Review, Bella Sposa

Luxury Wedding Directory

Editorial

Investment

A Flat Fee. No Percentage of Your Budget.

Weddings at This venue typically represent a total investment of Bespoke, depending on guest count, season, and the level of bespoke elements chosen.

Bella Sposa charges a flat planning fee rather than a percentage of what a couple spends on their wedding. Cheryl Pagano confirms this directly when asked how she charges: a flat fee. No figure is published in advance because every wedding she plans is multi-day and bespoke, from an intimate civil ceremony for two to a week-long celebration for over a hundred guests, and the fee reflects the scope of that specific week rather than a fixed package. It is quoted after the first conversation, not withheld indefinitely.

All pricing is indicative. Final investment varies by date, guest count, menu, and bespoke requirements. Contact the venue directly for a tailored proposal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Bella Sposa