Last weekend we attended what I like to call my first real Italian wedding. I can't really count our wedding as ours was held in Miami Beach. So NOT Italian to get married on the beach. His mom almost had a heart attack when she heard where we were getting married on the beach because in Italy, it is mandatory to get married in the church. Well it's not a law but it is severely frowned upon if you don't. But in the end, she thought it was beautiful which is a good thing- otherwise, we would never hear the end of it.
Anyway, back to my first real Italian wedding.
It all started when my husband's cousin, Federica, told us she was getting married. Mamma G proclaimed, "Dobbiamo essere molto eleganti!" (We must be very elegant). She wanted to wear the dress that she wore at our wedding but since this wedding was in April (much colder than Miami in September), she needed a jacket to go with it. Plus shoes to match. For all the ladies out there, have you ever tried to find a jacket to match a dress or pants AFTER you bought it? Not an easy task. We searched the stores and the markets for a few months, trying to find not only jacket and shoes that matched but at a good price. Finally, a week before the wedding, the mission was completed. And for me, well my husband had already declared, "Tu hai un bell'abito, vero?" (You have a beautiful dress, true?). I couldn't really argue as he had just bought me a designer purse for my birthday so I just agreed and said, "Si, si, non preoccuparti." (Yes, yes, don't worry).
The day of the wedding arrives and we all climb into the car promptly at 10:15. The day started at Federica's family's house. It is tradition for the bride to host a reception for her family and friends. This is where the eating began. There were pasticcini, prosecco, cioccolato. Of course, I had to try a little of everything. His sister just eyed me and said, "Stai calma" for this was just the beginning of a very long day of eating.
After the 'pre' reception we drove to the church. This is where I learned the difference between Italians from the north and Italians from the south. From 'our' side there were 30 people and from 'his' side there were 120. The biggest difference between Italians from the north and Italians from the south is how loud they are. And I'm not just talking the volume of their voice. It's also in how they dress. It's common to see the women full of tattoos, wearing very short dresses with lots of cleavage showing. The men tend to like to wear colored shirts with shiny jackets with jeans and pointy shoes. Northern Italians on the other hand tend to dress more conservatively and tend not to make too much of a scene.
After the service, we walked to the place where the reception would be held. It was an old building (500 years old) http://www.corterusticaborromeo.it owned in the past by the Borromeo family and it is now a type of catering hall. It was incredibly beautiful. The reception started with cocktails and finger foods. There was mojitos, prosecco, juice and water. So many different kinds of finger foods that of course you had to try each one. Then we went inside to start to each lunch. I say "start" because there are many courses involved in an Italian wedding. First course was actually two different types of pasta - trofiette con scampi e crema di basilico and risotto con pancetta croccante e rosmarino, mantecato al caprino di Montevecchia.
After each course, we would take a break and go outside to enjoy the sun and listen to the DJ. The DJ also had a karaoke machine so the Italians from the south went crazy, gathering in a circle and taking turns singing different Italian songs. It was actually very amusing and I had to admire them because it was obvious they were having fun and enjoying the day. Also, they were burning off a bit of calories from the first course to make room for the second! The picture above depicts perfectly the scene.
Then there was the lemon sorbet. It is Italian tradition to clean the palate in between first course and second course. Then we moved back inside for the second course of: tournedos di vitello ai pistacchi e lardo d'Arnad con patate fondenti. At this point, I knew I was in trouble because I was already full. Thank god not many of us at the table cared for the veal...it seemed a little undercooked so we didn't eat much of it and ended up going back outside for what else? More food and karaoke! Outside there was a cheese buffet of all the different kinds of cheese you can think of. So while the Southerners danced around and sang, the Northerners just sat back and watched.
Finally there was the cake along with a dessert buffet filled with more dolci e frutta. Of course I have to eat wedding cake. I think it's my favorite part of a wedding. Wedding cake is much different here, though. They don't use the frosting we use. It's usually a lighter cake filled with creme and topped with fresh fruit. And it was good. I had no problem eating that cake despite my full belly.
But once the cake was consumed, I think we all hit a wall. Food wall that is. It was 7 p.m. and we were starting to feel tired and all of us had a bit of a headache. We went home, took an aspirin, an antacid and promptly laid down.
Italian weddings are exhausting but I also learned something. Being an Italian from the south is not so bad. They may be loud and a bit obnoxious but they know how to have fun. They taught me that it's okay to eat and drink, as long as you also sing and dance. And whatever you do, don't be afraid to be loud.
