From 20th to 23rd March 2026, the spotlight turns to Sorrento as Italy Inspires returns with its immersive Dreaming Of format, this time set against the cinematic beauty of the Sorrento Coast. With Wedded Wonderland joining as an official media partner, and founder Wendy El-Khoury stepping onto the stage as a keynote speaker, this year’s edition already feels like more than an industry event. It feels like a marker of where the destination wedding world is heading next.
Set at the iconic Bellevue Syrene, Dreaming of Sorrento will bring together more than 60 professionals from the Italian and international high-end wedding industry for four days of conversation, connection, inspiration and experience, all designed to celebrate Italy not just as a backdrop, but as a thriving force in the global wedding economy.
After editions in Palermo and Florence, 2026 marks the format’s first time in Campania, with Sorrento taking centre stage as one of Italy’s most beloved destinations for luxury events and destination weddings.
After five invitation-only editions spanning Lake Como, Sicily, and even a special chapter in Ibiza, Italy Inspires has evolved into something more open, more dynamic and more relationship-driven. Over the past two years, the format has welcomed a wider circle of leading operators from across the Italian and European wedding industry, shifting from exclusivity for exclusivity’s sake to something far more valuable: meaningful access, real exchange and business opportunities rooted in experience.
That is what makes this event stand out. It is not built like a trade show. It is built like a retreat for people who shape the future of weddings.
There are places that host events, and then there are places that elevate them. Sorrento belongs firmly in the second category.
It offers exactly the kind of destination energy that the wedding industry continues to gravitate toward, layered with history, hospitality and that signature Italian sense of beauty. Hosting the event at Bellevue Syrene only heightens that feeling. A true icon of Sorrento hospitality since 1820, and owned by the Attanasio family since 1995, the property overlooks the Gulf of Naples and brings together old-world grandeur, coastal glamour and a distinctly intimate sense of luxury.
For an event designed to spotlight Italy as a wedding destination, the location could not feel more aligned.
Italy Inspires has built its identity around three pillars: experience, network and business. But what makes those pillars feel compelling is the way they are delivered.
This is not networking in the cold, transactional sense. This is connection created through shared dinners, destination-led activities, cultural moments and beautifully considered environments. It is business done through human chemistry. It is education made stronger by context.
Across the program, guests will move through workshops, one-to-one meetings, leisure moments and experiences that highlight the best of Italian culture, from cuisine and wine to venues, landscapes, hospitality and local excellence. A dinner at O’Parrucchiano La Favorita will bring guests into the world of traditional Sorrento gastronomy, while a cultural experience in Pompeii, guided by My Italian Guide, will lead into a tasting lunch at Tenuta Bosco de’ Medici.
It is a reminder that in the wedding world, some of the best partnerships are not formed under fluorescent conference lights. They happen over aperitifs, on cultural excursions, and in rooms where people actually want to stay and talk.
One of the most anticipated moments of the program will be Wendy El-Khoury’s keynote speech, titled:
“Digital Influence, Social Proof & The New Destination Wedding Economy.”
And honestly, the timing could not be better.
The destination wedding industry has changed. Couples are no longer making decisions based purely on brochures, glossy advertisements or traditional prestige markers. They are choosing destinations, planners and venues based on trust, cultural relevance, digital storytelling, social proof and the emotional impact of what they see online.
That shift is reshaping the business of weddings in real time.
As founder and CEO of Wedded Wonderland, Wendy El-Khoury has long been at the centre of those conversations, tracking how digital influence drives bridal behaviour, how content shapes perception, and how platforms are transforming the way luxury weddings are discovered, desired and booked. Her keynote promises to speak directly to the realities of the modern wedding economy, where visibility and community matter just as much as beauty.
What strengthens this year’s edition even further is the wider speaker lineup surrounding Wendy’s keynote. The educational workshop, moderated by Paola Pizzo, Editorial Director of Sposi Magazine, will also feature Kevin Lopez, founder and CEO of Chromata Film, speaking on “AI: The Birth of a Limitless Era,” a topic that feels increasingly relevant as the wedding industry explores how technology can support creativity, efficiency and growth.
Also taking the stage is Nadia Duran, with a session on turning pressure into power, bringing an important conversation around mindset and mental resilience into a high-performance industry that often runs on intensity behind the scenes. Meanwhile, Ricardo Bonacho, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Food Design Lab Lisbon, will explore how meaningful gastronomic experiences are shaping luxury weddings and events in more thoughtful, immersive ways.
Together, the lineup feels current, varied and future-facing, less about surface-level inspiration, and more about giving professionals real insight into the forces shaping modern weddings.
The beauty of Italy Inspires lies in its balance. Yes, there are educational panels and workshops. Yes, there are B2B meetings designed to create real business opportunities. But there is also space for participants to actually experience the destination in a meaningful way.
From the welcome evening at La Pergola Terrace and the Costiera Bar, to the educational sessions at the Winter Garden, to a cultural journey to Pompeii and a wine tasting lunch at Tenuta Bosco de’ Medici, the event has been structured with intention. It alternates between learning and leisure, insight and atmosphere, productivity and pleasure.
Even the B2B experience has been designed to feel unconventional and memorable, with La Neta curating a tasting moment that blends business conversations with live confectionery preparation and artisanal sugared almond tastings.
In an industry built on emotion, aesthetics and human connection, that kind of programming feels not just appealing, but smart.
Sorrento will no doubt deliver the romance. The views, the dinners, the golden light and the coastal elegance are already guaranteed. But what makes Italy Inspires 2026 especially compelling is that underneath all the beauty, there is real substance.
There is also clear intention behind the visual storytelling of the event itself. From high-impact scenography by Ge.ni Maison, to floral direction by internationally renowned designer Riccardo Ciceri, to the event’s creative concept and visual identity by Letterink, this is a gathering designed to feel immersive at every level. Add to that a “The Pool Club” dinner, a “volcanic” gala, and musical entertainment by Blue Notte Band, and the event begins to read not just as a conference, but as a fully realised destination experience.
This is where destination wedding business meets destination wedding fantasy.
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