Amalfi Coast Wedding in Maiori, Italy - Part II

The beautiful church where the ceremony was held. 
S. Francesco Chiesa (it also happens to be the name of the groom)

So, I promised you a story of an Italian Wedding and here it is. This is the wedding of our friends - Francesco and Paola. This is the second Italian wedding that I've ever attended, and this experience was quite different from my first experience. An Italian wedding is similar to that of a North American wedding; however, they throw rice instead of confetti; there are no bridesmaids or groomsmen; and there's heaps more food involved and guests are given gifts in memory of the wedding. 

Bride and Groom defending themselves from the hard rice 

being thrown at them.

One of many group photos with the happy bride and groom.

Unexpectedly on the morning of the wedding, I fell ill and I actually thought I wouldn't be able to go. I had woken up with a sudden and intense pain during the wee hours of the morning.  After hours and hours of pain and pain killers, a muscle relaxant and a heating pad, the pain subsided and we were on our way....albeit quite late. 

The street outside the church is the main coastal road that joins all the small towns along the Amalfi Coast. It was quite treacherous to cross. We also had to walk along the side of this road to get to our parkade.

Dark clouds mar the sky in which was otherwise a gorgeous day.

A beautiful view of the coastline from Maiori.

Eventually, we arrived at the hotel in our grubby travel clothes and bumped into other guests from the wedding who were all decked out in their Sunday bests already on their way to the church. Another guest had mentioned that we were late (as if we hadn't figured that out already). The hotel was not in the same town as the church (as I had somewhat dimwittedly thought). We had to change and get ready at the hotel and then drive to the town of Maiori (which technically wasn't very far - 15 to 20 minute drive). My wise husband said that since we were already late, we shouldn't stress about it because I'm good at stressing out (this is one of the many reasons why I adore him). The drive took longer because of the very narrow road that is the "Amalfi Coast." We arrived just in time for the closing ceremony of the wedding and take photos of the bride and groom as they walked down the aisle out of the church. 

Name of the castle which is now a restaurant.

View of the Castle (Restaurant).

Waiting for the valet to park our car.

Still waiting for the valet to park our car. There's only one valet guy....which is causing a bit of a traffic jam.

All the guests are waiting to valet park their car and the parkade is a few kilometres up the road. 

A smart guest - I was envying her comfortable chic shoes. 

Bride and Groom walking down steep steps towards the castle.

The reception and dinner banquet were held in a castle (a restaurant that caters to wedding and events) on a cliff a few miles away from the church. The day had begun bright and sunny, but by late afternoon, the weather had turned and the wind had really picked up. I'm so glad that we hadn't taken the motorcycle to the Amalfi Coast. By the time night fell, there was thunder and lightening and it felt like a scene right out of a Dracula movie. The clouds had rolled in and the wind was blowing and howling madly; and for the grand finale, dessert was served at the top of the castle where we were treated to fireworks (common in Italian weddings). The newlyweds were very fortunate because once this was all over and the guests were ready to leave, the black clouds and lightening turned into a mini-tropical storm. We were treated to a heavy, heavy downpour which made our return journey along the windy, dark, busy coastal road an absolute harrowing experience. Images of death flashed through my mind as we slowly made our way back to Salerno. By the time we had got to the hotel we had passed some mini floods and were ready to close our eyes and say goodnight.

Us.

Waiters standing in the corridor waiting to greet guests for the reception. It was hot, hot, hot. 

There was no air conditioning in this room. 

I think all the women felt like their make-up was melting - I sure did.

The dinner.

A well known Pugliese pastry "Sospiro" was served in place of a wedding cake.

Sitting at the top of the castle eating pastries.

Wedding Finale - Fireworks


One last note: there is an Italian wedding tradition where the ceremony and festivities are held in the bride's home town or city. The bride was from Salerno, the region of Campania (along Italy's west coast) and the groom was from the region of Puglia (on the southeast coast of Italy). However, both live in N. Europe. 




Thank you Francesco and Paola for the lovely wedding.