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Your Great Big Italian Wedding – How to Make It Happen
An Italian wedding is a joyous occasion, filled with
traditions and memories. From the walk down the aisle to the last waltz,
planning your Italian wedding can be as much fun as the event itself.
Tradition starts with the engagement and the giving of a
diamond ring as a token of the promise to marry. The choosing of the ring is of
utmost importance, since Italians believe that the flames of love provide the
intense heat to create a diamond. The diamond ring chosen must symbolize the
groom’s love for his intended bride, and the many facets and undiscovered joys
of their life together.
It is also traditional for the bride to be to start
gathering her trousseau and items for her new home. This tradition has become
the bridal shower, and important part of planning your Italian wedding.
A charming Venetian custom is the `obstacle race’, when the
bride and groom take a walk together and obstacles are placed in their path by
friends and relatives. How they react to these obstacles says a lot about how
they will handle the challenges of married life.
Invitations should be issued handwritten or engraved on
linen or parchment paper. It is worth getting these especially made, as Italian
wedding invitations are so beautiful that they will be treasured among
keepsakes for generations to come.
For the bride, nothing is more important that choosing the
right wedding dress, and with an Italian wedding, the bride can wear a dress
exactly to her taste, whether it is the epitome of Italian grace and style, or
a froth of romantic lace. The bride is expected to wear a veil, but no other
gold than her wedding ring, which she receives at the ceremony.
To be truly traditional, the bride should carry a small
white satin bag, called a borsa, in which guests may place small gifts
and money for the couple.
An Italian wedding isn’t over in a couple of hours, so
planning should start well in advance of the event. Because a large crowd is
usually invited, a suitable venue should be chosen. Indoors or outdoors will be
suitable, as long as there is plenty of room for the guests and the groaning
table of food!
The day may start with a church attendance early in the
morning, with the wedding ceremony held in the afternoon and the reception
planned to go on into the wee small hours.
The wedding feast is one of the most important aspects of an
Italian wedding. The traditional number of courses is 13, but can be 14 or
more! Traditionally, Italian wedding soup should be served, made with delicious
beef meatballs and rice, topped with parmesan cheese.
Among the courses should be tasty little appetizers with
mozzarella, crostini, Italian sausage and antipasto. Little sweet nibbles such
as twists of sweet bread dusted with icing sugar should also be offered. There
should be an abundance of salad and a variety of dressings.
Main dishes can include salmon, chicken or lamb with pasta,
of course. Dessert can be a classic dish such as tiramisu or panna cotta with
the wedding cake. Drinks served should include espresso coffee and liqueurs.
The wedding table should include bonbonieres, filled with
pink and white sugar almonds for the guests. These can be tied to the chairs
with white satin ribbon.
Flowers should be abundant and suitable to the season,
placed in vases and tied in bunches around the venue. Fresh flower bouquets
should be carried by the bride and her attendants, and tied to the honeymoon
car instead of beer cans!
Dancing and music are vital to a proper Italian wedding. A
band should be secured well ahead of the event, with a repertoire that includes
traditional as well as modern numbers. Find a band that knows the traditional
Italian wedding music such as the Father and Daughter Dance, and the Tarantella.
The most important ingredient for a successful Italian
wedding should the happiness and joy of the bride and groom. This is an
occasion when young and old gather together to celebrate one of life’s most
precious moments, the start of a life together.
Gail Kavanagh 2006
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