11th May 2011 – Sharon & Steve
We woke to the sound of the daily delivery of fresh bread from the local baker. Both our thoughts immediately turned to the weather, but we needn’t have worried – as we ventured out on to the balcony and looked out across the fountain in the courtyard and the fields to Lucignano in the distance the sun was up, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and hardly a breath of wind.
Breakfast as usual was in the rear courtyard overlooking the wonderful gardens. As we tucked into the fresh bread, croissants and coffee with our two year old daughter, our friends and family who had travelled to Italycame to join us outside. The sun was shining & the birds were singing, we just chilled out under blue skies which was a lovely way to start the day.
Everything had been organised to the finest detail by Rosa from Weddings Made in Italyso we were all pretty relaxed (with the exception of the soon-to-be Mother in Law who was stressing as usual!). I think our only concerns were that everything would actually turn up. However, given that the wine we had arranged to be delivered directly from the vineyard (a fantastic red called L’Assiolo from Rigoli) had arrived a couple of days earlier, we were feeling pretty confident.
In fact everything was so organised that we even had time for a game of table tennis to rid ourselves of any nerves we had and plenty of time to stroll through the wonderful gardens as we had nothing to do!!
The caterers arrived as agreed at 11am halfway through our game. At least we now had food & wine, even if nothing else went to plan. During the morning we had a lunch prepared in the villa’s dining room as we had to leave the kitchen clean and tidy for the caterers to prepare for the evenings feast. It was a typical Italian spread of fresh bread, cheeses, prosciutto and fresh juice.
Soon enough it was time for the bride to start making herself look beautiful (would a couple of hours be enough? Would her helpers last the distance?). We had the beautiful “Camera Suite” with the most amazing bathroom you have ever seen which was a fitting location for the bride and friends to prepare for the main event (with the help of a small glass of Prosecco).
About an hour before the ceremony the flowers had arrived and Sabrina, the owner, went through everything with the groom to make sure all the flowers, chairs and tables were set up exactly as we wanted them. The photographer David arrived not long after. He walked the grounds with the groom and discussed the areas where we would like photographs to be taken. He then went upstairs to photograph the bride and bridesmaid getting ready. (If you would like to see the amazing photos David took that day you can find them on our website www.sandsimages.co.uk/portfolio191816.html andRosa can put you in touch with him).
Fifteen minutes to go and unbeknown to the bride the violinist and celebrant had yet to turn up!! Sabrina received a call – the celebrant who performs the ceremony had got lost. The violinist arrived whilst Sabrina was on the phone and the groom was trying his best not to panic. Would we still be legally married even if he didn’t arrive? After all we had been to the Town Hall in Foiana della Chiana the previous day and signed all our documents.
Thankfully five minutes later the celebrant arrived, he had been in the area but had missed the turning for villa, but Sabrina had directed him in.
When it was time for the ceremony, everything was exactly as it should be. The guests were gathered in the beautiful statue garden which reminded us of an amphitheatre. We had arranged the seating for twelve guests on each side of a natural “aisle”. The guests were positioned facing down the slope towards the ceremonial table and as the table was raised above the seating, it allowed for all the guests to get a good view. The violinist played some beautiful classical music whilst the guests were waiting and just before the entrance of the bride, whilst the mother in law finally managed to find her way to the Ceremony area (the villa was so huge that it clearly was possible to get lost!).
The bride’s arrival was greeted with a change of music and the bride, bride’s father and our daughter the bridesmaid (who was carrying a beautiful basket of rose petals with the wedding rings) took time to pause at the top of the steps leading to the garden for everyone to get over the shock of the bride wearing a dress and to allow for everyone to take photos. As the bride made her way down the aisle the violinist played Ashokan Farewell one of the pieces of music we had chosen. The ceremony was absolutely perfect – not too long or too short. The celebrant was excellent, conducted in perfect English and was extremely genuine and made sure all the guests were involved. The setting was amazing – like something you would expect to see in the movies! The music we had previously chosen fitted perfectly with the ceremony and when our daughter brought up the wedding rings for the exchange of rings, the music in the background made it even more special and intimate and it felt like we were the only people in the world at that moment in time.
The ceremony was followed by a handful of family photos and a champagne reception held in the shade in the front of the house with Prosecco, hot & cold canapes and fruit punch.
Whilst the guests tucked in, David the photographer whisked the bride and groom away to take personal, intimate photographs around the grounds of the villa and a wheat field close to the villa which created some stunning images.
When the photographs had finished and everybody had indulged in the Prosecco and canapés it was time to move to the courtyard at the rear of the villa for the wedding meal and later a wedding party with live music.
Like everything else on that wonderful day, the table for the wedding meal was decorated beautifully with glasses and cutlery which were set out perfectly, wonderful flower arrangements and handmade menus that were designed like scrolls and tied with ribbon.
The caterers brought out the wine from the vineyard and so began the wedding meal. Actually “meal” is a bit of an understatement as it turned into a seven course feast…. local style antipasti followed by various bruschetta; a primi or first dish of homemade ravioli filled with mozzarella and served with fresh tomatoes (which truly has to be one of the best pasta dishes we had ever eaten); this was followed by another pasta dish of handmade tagliatelle with Chianina ragu; then it was the turn of the main course of brasato of Chianina beef (local Tuscan beef) with accompanying vegetables.
After a thankfully short speech from the groom the wedding cake was brought up which was a huge mille-feuille with fresh strawberries and raspberries and even though everyone was full from the previous courses everybody still found enough room for this delicious desert. The meal finished with Vin Santo sweet desert wine and Cantucci biscuits.
It was fast approaching 8.30pm, where had the time gone? The wedding table was cleared and it was time for everyone to drink, dance and be merry. After some music for the children to dance to, the bride’s cousin James got up to play his guitar. Totally unknown to us he had been practicing Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight” and this became our first dance as a married couple.
We had spent months trying to decide on a few songs that we would dance together for the first time, but we needn’t have bothered as James played for about 45 minutes and we danced to all of the songs he played – and this made this moment even more special and precious.
Throughout the rest of the evening and into the early hours we had a mix of music played through a stereo system and the occasional sing-along as James was persuaded to pick up his guitar again (fuelled by more wine!). Then at 3.00am James led a rousing rendition of “American Pie” to end our most beautiful and unforgettable wedding day.
posted by rosa
Filed under: Italian Weddings
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