All of us in Matera the Sunday before the wedding
It is tradition in Italy for the groom to serenade the bride the night before the city. Sunday afternoon, a large group of us went to Matera to tour the ancient caves. On our way back, Giuseppe dropped Anna and her mom off at the apartment in Irsina they were staying at, while the rest of us drove to Giuseppe's parents house. Almost everyone who attended the wedding the next day was at his house the night before. After we all hid in the garage, (Giuseppe's dad is a mechanic, so it's a very large garage) they had Anna and her mom come back over to Giuseppe's thinking that she had one last trial of her wedding dress (Giuseppe's mom made it!). While Anna was upstairs, we all came out of the garage and upstairs, Anna was forced out onto the balcony where she was completely shocked to see roughly 100 people below her. Giuseppe sang her the song, "Ti Amo" while one of his friends played the guitar. He then sang her, "Stand By Me" while all of the english speaking people chimed in. Nicola, Giuseppe's dad, popped some bottles of champagne and toasted to the couple-to-be.
Anna and Giuseppe on the balcony after Giuseppe serenaded her
The day of the wedding, the bridesmaids and Anna were up bright and early at 6am. We all had to be to the hair salon by 6:30. I had my hair done first and I absolutely loved it. Giuseppe's uncle did all of our up-do's for us and every girl loved their hair.
Anna, her mom and brothers pre-wedding
I took the girls, at different times, to get a cappuccino and cornetto for breakfast at a bar in town and each time, someone paid for our breakfast...it happened 3 times! I was running around like a mad woman that morning trying to get everyone and everything where it had to be. By the time of the wedding, I was completely exhausted, not to mention hot!! It had to have been more than 100 degrees the day of the wedding. The church stays fairly cool, but not that cool.
Anna and Giuseppe outside the church
Anna and Giuseppe in the church
After the ceremony and taking pictures in the church, we took a charter bus to Villa Schiuma in Matera. It is a beautiful villa with a large entertaining space and a great patio outside. It's hard to even put into words the reception. First, there were cocktails and appetizers on the patio. Then, each person/family got to take a picture with the bride and groom on the lawn. After a few hours, the pictures were ready and handed out to each person as a gift. There was then a 10-course meal, which felt like 20. There were 3 starters, 2 pasta dishes, 2 fish courses (one being lobster), 1 meat course, fruit, cotton candy/gelato, and finally, dessert. I was full after the 3 starters! For each course, there was a presentation done by the waitstaff at the villa...they would come out and dance or do some tricks with the plates...it was really a show. In between each course, everyone danced and mingled.
Abby, Mom and Tom with their bibs on for one of the seafood starters
The wedding cake was served in a gazebo on the lawn in the dark with lights only on the bride and groom. After the cake came a surprise for everyone, fireworks!! The reception was supposed to last until 9 or 10, but people didn't leave until midnight. I know that I will never attend a wedding like this one. Even though it was such a long day, the day flew by. There was so much planning and anticipation that went into this wedding that at the end, I wanted to go back and re-do it because I felt like the day went too fast.
Me and my Rome friends
It was a beautiful day and Anna and Giuseppe couldn't be happier together. After all of Anna's family went back to the US, they left for their honeymoon at a villa in Sicily. I wish for them a lifetime of happiness and joy together :)
Bridesmaids and Groomsmen running on the lawn of the villa
