And so we left the castle as husband and wife, riding our tuk tuk through the narrow streets of Malcesine with the crowds applauding. I was overjoyed, giggling like a schoolgirl! When planning our wedding I had of course imagined this day but it felt pretty surreal to be actually living it. Our wedding ceremony had felt so overwhelmingly emotional, intense even, that I felt an odd sense of relief when it was behind us. It had all gone by so quickly that there had been little time to really let it sink in. We were married now! Grinning at each other we waved at the people on the streets.
After months of planning every little detail, it was time to give the reins to Annabel, our wedding planner, to run the show – we could just play our part as the bride and groom and enjoy the day. It felt quite strange for a control freak like myself! What’s more, having spent the last seven months looking after a baby and never leaving the house without packing everything but the kitchen sink in the nappy bag, it was odd but amazing to give up the responsibility for a day. I didn’t even know where my handbag or iPhone was, let alone my baby! And it didn’t matter because everything and everyone was being taken care of.
We headed down to the harbour were we would spend some time with our guests, relaxing and having some more drinks. We had reserved outside tables from Bar al Porto for our guests to sit down and enjoy the lake views. Half way through the afternoon we would all hop on a boat from the harbour and head out for a little cruise before arriving to our reception restaurant.
It was sunny and hot and I think everyone was happy to sit down for drinks in the shade. I don’t drink any alcohol and didn’t fancy an alcoholic drink on my wedding day either but I was happy to toast with the others with a soft drink, as usual. I was bubbling inside even without the champagne!
So yes, I was able to relax and focus on being the bride, but of course I was still primarily Maia’s mum. I had fed her before her dad picked her up in the morning and I had packed a bottle of milk in her bag, but she’s never liked the bottle and because she was a bit poorly and it was hot and I wanted to keep her properly hydrated, I sat down to breastfeed her as soon as her grandma brought her to the harbour. And it was perfectly fine! I don’t know why I had been feeling negative about breastfeeding on my wedding day. I had plenty of time to spend with my husband and our guests even if I took some time away from the crowds every now and the to sit down with my baby girl. It was good for us both. Maia got an opportunity to have some quiet time with mummy and to feed properly. Simultaneously it was an opportunity for me to check in with her which was important so that I could enjoy the day knowing she was fine. My wedding dress had a hidden zipper at the back (and I wasn’t wearing a bra) and it was very easy to just unzip a bit to feed my baby – absolutely no problem at all!
I had not had an opportunity to chat with our guests in the castle and so it was a great opportunity to mingle at the harbour. I was also starving since I had not eaten since very early morning and I was happy to sit down for a spontaneous caprese salad. I love Italian soft cheeses, cured meats, coffee and gelato so you can only imagine my frustration last year when I was there pregnant and couldn’t have any of it! I definitely I made up for it this time.
The weather was getting sticky and humid with clouds gathering in the sky. It had varied between glazing sun and thunderstorms all week and our wedding day was due to be no different. And then the forecasted shower of rain started! We were covered from the rain where we sat but my heart sank a bit thinking about our boat cruise which would have been so much fun had the weather permitted staying outside on top of the boat! Well, at least we had taken our wedding planner’s advice and booked a motorboat which fit everyone inside instead of the old wooden sailing boat I had considered.
Ok, so our boat cruise wasn’t as scenic as initially planned but it was still fun and again, a bit surreal, to have our family and friends in the same boat in Italy. We had some more drinks and I managed to catch up with a few more friends. My husband had Maia in the baby carrier and she slept the entire boat trip (about an hour). Someone had taken off Maia’s dress because it was so warm and she was only wearing her nappy. By the end of the day most kids were running around in their pants!
After about an hour on the lake, we arrived to Val di Sogno, to restaurant La Voglia at 4.30pm. And the rain stopped! At the restaurant our guests were offered (more) prosecco and canapés, while we had a few more photos taken by the lake of us with the ushers and bridesmaids to make use of the improved weather.
I have to admit I was so excited about everything I didn’t look at the tables twice and had no idea whether all the decorations, flowers and menus and whatnot had been laid out the way I had instructed. I didn’t care. It wasn’t even relevant. I was just happy to be there and excited about the evening.
That being said, looking at our wedding pictures it would seem as if everything was more or less as planned. Even the little gift bags for the children were placed at the right seats and they were seemingly excited to go through them (little toys and activities such as bubbles and stickers etc). The miniature limoncello bottles doubled up as wedding favours and place cards. For children we had lemon lollipops instead.
At five o’clock we sat down for the speeches, more laughs and tears (my make-up stayed on unbelievably well!). All of the speeches made me emotional as they were so personal and touching. Even if some of the jokes or messages may have been lost in translation/cultural barriers amongst our guests, we knew what was said and what was meant. Also my husband spoke very well (and made me cry). I knew he was nervous to speak to a large group at such a significant event and felt some pressure to be both witty and entertaining but also personal and romantic but he totally delivered. I’m not sharing his speech here as it’s very personal (I will cherish it in my heart forever) but to think he had even written a poem! And all this from a “numbers guy” who claims to be bad at languages! I’m so lucky…
After the speeches it was time for our wedding breakfast. Our menu was a 6-course wedding Italian menu which we hoped everyone would enjoy (our vegan guests had a different menu, naturally).
I wish I had photos of all of the food, but below you can see snaps of the antipasti and primi – absolutely delicious even if I say so myself! Our friends were helping out and taking turns to push Maia’s pram. She was sleeping but only when on the move, how typical! We had twelve kids at our wedding (six babies and six older children) and in my view it added to the warm and informal atmosphere at our wedding reception. The restaurant had arranged high chairs, children’s menus and even a baby changing mat so it all worked perfectly well!
My husband and I didn’t sit at the top table through our meal but instead we were bouncing around, chatting to people in between courses (which were plenty). But make no mistake, I ate every course! I also nursed Maia a couple of times during that evening. It wasn’t the right day for Maia to practice eating solid food and so we took a break from weaning for one day. The day was quite overwhelming for her as it was.
With the sun back out it got quite hot on the covered restaurant terrace were we sat and to avoid overheating we kept the blinds down until sunset. It was worth the wait – the views over the lake were dreamy.
At 7.30pm the DJ/saxophonist arrived. We had not wanted to pick live music randomly but considered a playlist or DJ alone to be a bit boring. As a compromise our DJ was playing the sax over music selected by us and our guests and it was fab! The song for our first dance was “All of me” by John Legend. My husband is not a dancer and so our first dance was more of a side-to-side shuffle but what it lacked in skill it made up for in love and intention.
Not photographed, ironically, was our photo corner. My maid of honour had had the genius idea of bringing her polaroid camera and creating a guest book for our guests to fill with their pictures and comments. We absolutely loved looking through the book the day after our wedding.
As is the tradition, we also cut a wedding cake – it was yummy! The cake was a traditional Italian wedding cake, heart shaped and made of sponge and cream. And as the photo below suggests, the party was already on!
At 9.00pm we decided to take Maia back to our hotel walking distance away so that we could put her to sleep in her bed. Maia’s grandma had kindly offered to stay with her so that we could return to the party baby-free. Although I say I had not been stressed about the baby during the day, it wasn’t until we walked back to the restaurant to hit the dance floor knowing Maia was sleeping at the hotel that I was able to fully let my hair down and just enjoy. And yes it got a bit rowdy towards the end but isn’t that a sign of a good party?! Late night pizzas were laid out as well, just in case anyone had any space for more food.
We left the party at midnight, tired but happy. What an incredible day! Unforgettable for us and hopefully our guests made some good memories as well.
It was fun while it lasted! Now on to the happily ever after…
xoxoxo,
Sini
PS. Our guests looked so beautiful and glamorous I was tempted to sneak in a few photos of the fabulous crowd we had at our wedding, but decided against it to respect their privacy 🙂
PPS. Rumours suggested some skinny dipping took place in Lake Garda that night and apparently there was a rave at the castle as well!