'Happiness is holding someone in your arms and knowing you hold the whole world' (Orhan Pamuk, novelist)
Events bring us closer to other ways of life, expand our borders and have us meet wonderful rituals of great cultural significance. At Wedding Italy we are always excited when we receive an enquiry for a traditional rite from a far away Country, and even first timers will confirm this, we put our best foot forward to make it happen. When Meera and Adi first emailed us, we were over the moon. An Indian ceremony is a celebration of life. It's extravagant, magical and a lot of fun. But Meera anticipated that the sequence of the many moments required a lot of attention and care for the details, and all the wedding collaborators had to be informed of the steps involved and perform accordingly.
From the beginning, Meera presented herself as a very kind soul, who knew what she wanted and could anticipate the possible issues related to hosting weddings abroad. Their eyes set on Liguria, or so they confessed, because Meera had been waiting to visit the coastal Cinque Terre since she was a teenager, so Genoa seemed the most logical option, and quite rightly so.
Turning dreams into reality
Choosing a venue that could live up to the vibrant colours and ornate tones took a reasonable amount of time, but we received such a positive response from our partnering venues at the idea of hosting an Indian wedding ceremony that Meera and Ali were certainly spoilt for choice. They booked a wonderful early Baroque villa on the edge of town, once they saw and fell in love with the outdoor garden featuring palm trees and a very photogenic lawn, perfect for their idea of a ceremony outside.
The mandap setup looked incredible with the magenta coloured wraps and textiles, a real nirvana moment for the photographer, we were told. And the very intimate mehndi party hosted in one of the ground floor halls of the building turned out to be a feast of sisterhood and fun family chatter. It's incredible to witness how nations which are geographically so distant from each other, deep down can share the same values and treasure similar moments in life.
The tip of the day
We knew that the majority of the guests joining would be accustomed to the tradition, and only a handful was unfamiliar with the sequence of the event. During one of our conversations with Meera, we brainstormed on how to make this information pass easily without having to overwhelm the group with fuzzy order of service cards or a much dreaded word of mouth comunication. That's when we came up with the idea of adding an informal rehearsal lunch the day before the event, where the guests and all the collaborators could see just how we had planned the day to roll. A total success, partly thanks to the very warm, friendly characters of Meera and Adi's immediate family, proud actors of their heritage rituals.
As a thank you to the group, the presentation ended with some delicious gelato served from a vintage ice cream cart to brand the wedding weekend with our beloved Stile Italiano.
