"I do"

The day of the wedding arrived! The ceremony took place at the beach of the Hotel Excelsior. With no cloud in sight and facing the ocean they said: “I do”. The couple walked hand in hand while the Beatle’s “Here comes the sun” made everything official. We walked behind them as they disappeared (for pictures and such) and we continued on to bellinis and hors de oeuvres served by the pool, while “Fools rush in” played in the background. Later on the celebration was transferred upstairs to the grandiose salon! Beautifully decorated and lighted so much so it felt like a 1950’s movie set. A delectable menu was served proceeded by heartfelt speeches, delicious desserts and wedding cake! (I love wedding cakes!)

When it was time to start the party, the now married couple opened the dancing floor to Nina Simone’s “My baby just cares for me”. We went with their lead and danced and partied away till the early hours of the next day! (we got to see the most amazing sunrise while karaoking) 

I really loved that the music played such an important role; it added that touch that only movies have! It was a dream to be a witness to this beautiful occasion! In a tiny card were we wrote down our wishes to the couple, mine said something along these lines: “I wish you good luck…and that your many days and years ahead fill you with love and respect! And I wish that you may always have patience with each other!”

I wish you all the same...and a Happy Monday!

Giannina.    

Before the big day

The great thing about a location wedding is the many events before the magical day.

Since the celebration was taking effect in Lido, we had Venice just a water taxi drive away to explore and enjoy. The day we arrived, being only a few of us, the bride and groom took us to one of their favorite restaurants in Venice. We sipped Spritzes (prosecco, Aperol or Campari and a dash of bubbly water, garnished with an olive!) and chatted away and then had a lovely, casual dinner. The next day, which was part of the wedding program, we had an amazing cocktail party with typical italian hors d'oeuvres at a Palazzo!!! The couple arranged for water taxis to take us there, so we arrived by boat in our cocktail dresses to gather up in the giardino of this beautiful mansion…hours later we ended up partying away in a club, the only club in Venice.

After partying away it was time to go to sleep! If all the events before the grand day were a taste of what the celebration was going to be, it was looking really, really promising!!!
As we all know, traveling far for a location wedding is quite expensive so having amazing, hospitable hosts is priceless. They really outdid themselves and I'm so grateful for it!

Have you ever traveled for a wedding or special occasion? Where was it? Was it as memorable as you hoped it would be?

Giannina.