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| beautifully behaved-and dressed- children |
Last weekend as the only foreigner at a family wedding in Vetralla I was able to catch some of the important moments from the sidelines.
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| plaque, dated 1512, shows the town's English connections |
The wedding took place in the City Hall, directly across from the main church. Most young couples seem to prefer civil weddings nowadays, much to the chagrin of the local priest.
The sister and brother in law of the groom came down from London and were surprised to find the coat of arms of King Henry VIII adorning the stairwell of our City Hall.
The bride and groom enter the City Hall while crowds of friends and curious fill the piazza
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mother and aunt of the groom
note the wedding gawkers at bar tables and balcony |
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| Champagne and chilled white wine awaited the guests for a post-ceremony aperitvo |
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| tableaux with table assignments |
Then guests and the wedding party moved on to a nearby location for the wedding banquet dinner: La Branda agriturismo on the outskirts of town.
Parking attendants helped organize the cars under the olive trees and the resident donkeys were surprised at the traffic, for over 200 guests were present.
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| a rich antipasti buffet was served in the garden |
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| one of the marquees set up in the garden |
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| half way through dinner, jackets were discarded |
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| midnight -time to cut the cake |
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| dessert table at the end of the 3 hour dinner |
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Scene from the wedding ceremony --with the ever present telefonino
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One thing I will never get used to is the battalion of bridesmaids and groomsmen that appear in American weddings. All matchy-matchy, they ook like a small, well dressed, wedding day army. Oh, and the tongue-in-cheek group pictures (everyone jumping, groomsmen holding up the bride...)
ReplyDeleteI think all of these things are slowly making their way into Italian weddings because of movies and tv shows.
thanks for your comment, Giulia. There are bridesmaids (witnesses) in this wedding...see the three girls with flowers in their hair in the last photo... but they are dressed as individuals.
DeleteI can't resist temptation of showing you the pictures of my wedding!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/joyfulit/7588872560/
Daniela, what beautiful photos... I am sure readers will be very happy to see what a church wedding in the Veneto area is like. Your dress is magnificent!
ReplyDeleteSimilarities to a recently attended wedding in the UK but the registrar made sure to remind everyone to turn off their mobile phones before the bride arrived!
ReplyDelete