The Romantic Elopement That Opened my 2026 Season

An Unexpected Winter Sun and Two Promises: The Romantic Elopement That Opened my 2026 Season

Almost on the eve of Valentine’s Day, I had the privilege of inaugurating the 2026 season with an intimate and delicate ceremony: the romantic elopement of a young English couple, shy and in love, who chose Cagliari as the setting for their “forever”.

For days, Sardinia had been shrouded in a capricious sky, heavy with rain and wind. Yet, that morning, something happened that you never truly dare expect, but hope for with all your heart: the sun appeared. A full, warm, bright sun, capable of restoring colour to everything it touched. Because without light, colours do not exist, and yet we had them in abundance: in their gazes, in their clothes, in the ribbons of the handfasting ritual, at once ancient and timely. Each colour carries a meaning, a chosen word, an intention. And then two hands seeking each other, a knot uniting them, a promise taking shape.

But what moves me most, in every elopement, are the promises.

I never set time limits when a couple chooses to marry like this, in an intimacy that belongs only to them. The vows must be the beating heart of the ceremony: a suspended moment, in which everything else fades. Even I take a step back, literally, so as not to enter the trajectory of their gazes. To let them find each other, to listen to each other, to say things they perhaps have never spoken aloud. Their words often come as shy, awkward, fragile whispers. But that is precisely where the truth is born.

I stay close, invisible enough, present without intruding. I let only their laughter reach me, their breaths broken by emotion, the silences needed to find their voices again. And when I sense that the circle has closed, that the vows have found a home, I slowly step forward to take their hands again and guide them towards the final moment: that kiss, that embrace they have shared a thousand times, but which now holds new meaning.

Thank you, Luke and the Angels, for allowing me to experience all this with you.
For opening the new season with such sweetness.
For reminding me, once again, why I celebrate love.

Beautiful photos of Ilaria Corda