A Wedding in Italy

A wedding in Italy is almost guaranteed to be a wonderfully romantic occasion. The Italians are full of romance, and their wedding celebrations are second to none.
At La Chiesa di Santo Stefano, we have already had our first wedding of the year, and it was a beautifully sunny day at the end of May. The bride looked gorgeous, and every detail went according to plan.
Of course, we spend a lot of time planning, liaising with caterers, florists, musicians, the local council to get the permissions and so on. Nothing can be left to chance.
But the highlight of the day is undoubtedly the food. Never are you likely to have seen so many courses and so many options at a wedding. The canape table is spread with about ten different sorts of "nibbles" - although they're quite substantial. Then everybody moves around to the pool terrace where a long table is heaving with antipasti - from stuffed zucchini flowers to scampi wrapped in pasta kataifi (very thin shreds of filo pastry - delicious). Tables for this part of the event are laid around the grounds, on the lawns, by the pool - so that the bride and groom can circulate.
Then, after an hour or two of eating - the serious business of dinner takes place under an open sided gazebo. Dinner probably consists of two first courses, possibly a pasta and a risotto, and then onto the main course, and finally the dessert buffet.
The whole dinner probably lasts around five hours - but is an absolute delight for everybody. And then, of course, there's time to dance the night away and work off some of that food.
To see images of the most recent wedding, click to see Real Italy wedding gallery
More information about weddings and parties can be found here.