Among the 200 guests who flew from Los Angeles, London, and Paris for this three-day nonstop celebration, important names in international music and entertainment stand out: in addition to Elton John, a great friend of the couple, there were Donatella Versace, Charli XCX and her husband, The 1975 drummer George Daniel, who landed in Sicily on Thursday. Also present were Tame Impala singer Kevin Parker with his wife Sophie, actor Joe Alwyn, British DJ and singer Mark Ronson with his wife Grace Gummer, Kevin Turner, Laura Vandall, Edgar Kerri, and singer Olivia Dean. Also present, of course, were Dua Lipa’s sister Rina along with her father Dukagjin.
The wedding of Dua Lipa and Callum Turner is part of a well-established trend: Sicily and more generally Italy as a favorite destination for the most elegant and luxurious ceremonies of international stars. Among noble palaces, Baroque villas and historic hotels overlooking the sea, the island has become a natural set for exclusive events with a strong media impact. In Lipa and Turner’s case, the choice was not random: last summer the couple spent several days in Palermo, strolling through the historic center and stopping for an aperitif in Via Alessandro Paternoster, as well as dining in some city restaurants.
The celebrations kicked off Friday in Palermo’s historic center with two super-exclusive inaugural parties. The first was held in the cloister of the Gallery of Modern Art (GAM), with a private tour and cocktail reception for guests. The party then continued with a reception in the sumptuous halls of Palazzo Gangi, with catering from Osteria dei Vespri, a venue in Piazza Croce dei Vespri where the couple had dined last summer.
The reception extended into nearby Piazza Croce dei Vespri, decked out like a movie set with lights, vintage cars, and swing music, all separated from the onlookers by black panels. Here one of the most romantic and significant details was undoubtedly the massive bookcase filled with real books used as a decorative element of the party, a deeply personal tribute to the story that began their relationship: When the couple met, they discovered they were reading the same novel, Trust by writer Hernán Díaz. On that occasion, Turner joked that they were already “on the same page,” since both had just finished the first chapter.