In an alignment of fates, Divya Lagisetti and Holden Prosser were constantly placed next to each other in all of their classes, beginning with freshman year at their Atlanta high school. “Maybe teachers were rooting for us,” says Divya. “We were just so comfortable around each other and could sit next to each other the whole day without getting bored.” While the two remained oblivious to each other’s feelings, all their friends suspected the two had a crush on each other.

By sophomore year, Holden finally asked Divya out to the cinema. “She didn’t even realise I meant as a date!” Holden says. They have been together ever since. “We navigated long-distance throughout college, spent all of the pandemic apart, and later balanced medical school and Holden's travel-heavy career,” explains Divya. “Even when life placed us in different cities, we always found our way back to one another.”

After 11 years together, Holden finally popped the question while the couple was traveling through Thailand in 2024. The two were on a private longboat trip through the limestone karsts near Krabi when the boat took a detour after an island lunch. “I thought we’d be stopping at another island, but the boat turned around a corner at the end of the beach and into an inlet that took us to a completely empty lagoon at the heart of the island,” Divya recalls. Holden had arranged this ahead of time with the captain and got down on one knee on the boat. “He said the sweetest words about our time together since high school and asked me to marry him,” she says. “Of course, I burst into happy tears! I couldn’t stop looking at him and the ring against the twinkling water and islands the whole boat ride back to our hotel.” That evening, the couple celebrated with dinner in a cave at Rayavadee.

“Looking back, it feels like fate that our celebration later took place on another cave beach – this time in Sicily,” says Holden. The couple brought their friends and family from the United States and India to the Italian island in May 2026 for a multi-day celebration that blended the couple’s heritage with Sicily’s distinct identity. “Its history is one of cultures meeting and influencing one another over thousands of years, and that became a natural metaphor for our own families,” shares Divya. “Rather than recreating an Indian wedding in Italy, we wanted each event to feel as though it belonged there while still honouring my Telugu traditions and our American upbringing.”

Working with the wedding planners of Stress and Success Events, the couple crafted an itinerary of celebrations in Taormina and along Sicily’s western coastline. “Every venue had its own personality, and we let those spaces guide everything from fashion and florals to menus and music,” shares Divya. “The Ancient Greek theatre, the cloisters of the Four Seasons, the cave beach at Capotaormina, the baroque church, and the gardens at Radicepura all had their own personality.”

Those venues also were the kickoff point for the couple’s wardrobes throughout the wedding. “Once our locations were finalised, I found myself thinking less about individual outfits and more about how each look would interact with its surroundings,” says the bride. “As someone who loves art and design, I wanted every look to tell a story.” Celebrations began seaside for the traditional celebration. “I wanted something light, effortless, and almost windswept to match the coastal cliffs and sea views at Capotaormina, which led me to the airy organza Bhumika Sharma lehenga.” She adds, “Our amazing planners took the coral tones from my lehenga and tied it together with the organic nature of the venue – leaning into salt to conceptualise the design decor.”

There were two parts to the wedding day, beginning with a Catholic wedding in a church and ending with another symbolic ceremony in an ancient amphitheatre. Divya wore an ivory Manish Malhotra lehenga down the aisle of the church, adorned with Raniwala 1881 jewellery and vintage Chanel accessories. As her “something blue,” her bridesmaids each wore soft blue lehengas and dresses. For the symbolic ceremony at the 2,300-year-old Greek theatre, the bride donned a Justin Alexander Signature ivory lace gown with a cathedral veil. “I chose a gown with movement and softness that wouldn’t compete with the dramatic backdrop of Mount Etna and the ancient stone,” she says. “I wanted something classic, romantic, and timeless.”

The bride followed a tradition of wearing red for her Indian ceremony the next day, choosing a red Sabyasachi sari with vintage motifs of rickshaws and gramophones. “I was lost trying to find a sari after way too many when Holden spotted it tucked in one of Sabyasachi’s cabinets in their Delhi location,” remembers Divya. “I was worried it was too bright before draping it, but it’s now one of my favourite looks from the wedding.” The accessories also held special significance to the bride. “Throughout the weekend, I incorporated jewellery passed down as well as new items gifted by family and Holden,” she says. “Some pieces were even redesigned and reimagined using heritage pieces of my mother’s and grandmother’s.”

Holden also approached his looks thoughtfully. “For the Indian rituals, he wore intricately embroidered sherwanis from JJ Valaya and Tarun Tahiliani, accessorised with meaningful details like an elephant temple pendant, a Raniwala 1881 diamond , bracelets gifted by my parents, and a cream Seiko Presage watch for our Telugu wedding,” says the bride. For the Catholic and symbolic ceremonies, the groom donned two bespoke suits by HKT Custom Clothiers – one made from Loro Piana blue linen and the other from Vitale Barberis Canonico tuxedo fabric. Each had their names and wedding dates embroidered in the lining. “My blue Rolex Oyster Perpetual, which Divya helped me choose and find many years earlier, accompanied me throughout the weekend,” says Holden. The bride adds, “I loved that it was his main choice for his wrist. Simple but full of our history!”

The weekend kicked off at the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace with a private ceremony, a traditional Telugu bathing ritual of the bride and groom. The festivities went into full gear that evening at the haldi, which was held at a cave beach beneath the limestone cliffs of Taormina. The bride and groom made their grand entrance by boat, Sicilian food was served, and the ceremony culminated with a dip in the ocean. The couple notes their planners’ true skills were shown that evening, when they wanted to head to bed early while their guests kept partying. “I whispered to one of my bridesmaids that we had to go – she started a conga line at the end of the beach and delivered us to their team waiting on the stairs of the cave,” shares Divya. “They had a car waiting to take us back to the hotel and help us with our turmeric- and salt water-stained outfits so the rest of the guests could continue dancing.”

The Catholic ceremony the next day at the Chiesa di San Giuseppe was officiated by the bride’s uncle, who is a priest in India. “Afterward, a Sicilian folk band led our 160 guests from the plaza through the streets of Taormina to the Belvedere Gardens of the Four Seasons for a Mediterranean lunch, while Holden and I slipped away in a vintage Fiat for a drive along the coastline before rejoining everyone,” says the bride. In the evening, the couple exchanged vows in an ancient amphitheatre surrounded by florals, their guests, and dramatic lighting. A grand Sicilian feast and celebration in the historic cloisters of the Four Seasons ended the night. Still, one ceremony needed to take place. “Our final day honoured my Telugu heritage with a traditional wedding ceremony at Radicepura Botanical Garden – one of Sicily’s largest – where contemporary landscape installations, Mediterranean flora, and sweeping views of Mount Etna created an unforgettable setting,” says Divya.

While the couple notes the three ceremonies involved some extra effort, they truly appreciated all the moments of love throughout. “Each ceremony was so special and paid homage to a different aspect of us – it was only right to bring attention to each facet of our lives that made us who we were,” says Holden.

“All I could think about looking into his eyes was how immensely lucky we were to find our lifelong person so soon in life and be able to celebrate it in such a way,” Divya adds. “It was only after the ceremony that I realised it wasn’t just us crying during our vows.”

Reflecting on the weekend, the bride says: “I’m most grateful that our guests experienced more than just a wedding. They experienced Sicily, our families, and the traditions that shaped us.”