guest blogger jen - the wedding day!

Italians LOVE weddings. We were told this upon our arrival in Italy. Even knowing this, we could not have anticipated the outpouring of love from all who were involved in our wedding from our planner to absolute strangers on the street. It was an absolutely magical day that makes me smile every time it crosses my mind.

Erika, the owner of the bed and breakfast we were staying at, had some fun filling us in on Italian wedding traditions the day before our Friday wedding. She told us that we should not see each other the entire day before the wedding - which was not until 5pm! The whole crew had lots of fun keeping Vance and I apart that day! We only heard each other's voices once when Vance shouted down to me from a balcony to say hello!
The boys spent the morning doing their thing, and the women spent the morning relaxing! We went out to lunch and had an emotional time filled with happy tears in anticipation for the big evening! Then Vance's mom and I went to get our hair done at an Italian hairdresser - they spoke no English! Luckily, we had consulted with them previously while Erika translated. It began to rain as we got our hair done, but by the time I was getting ready in our hotel room, the sun was shining! In fact, during our wedding was the best weather we had there all week! I told all the girls at The Willows to pray for good weather during my wedding, and they came through for me!

Sergio, the owner of the restaurant where we were having our wedding dinner, picked me up from the hotel in a special car called a "tuk-tuk" to take me to the castle. It was so fun!

Our small, intimate ceremony was done in a private wing of the castle. It was spoken in Italian and then translated to English by Anna. It was very romantic!



After the ceremony, the tuk-tuk car took us through the streets of Malcesine where strangers started cheering and singing to the two of us! It was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced! People were even taking pictures! We rented a boat to take us around Lake Garda after the wedding. It was so beautiful at sunset!

The boat ride wouldn't be complete without champagne and plastic cups!

After the boat ride, we arrived at our restaurant to find a special buffet set up just for us! We toasted, ate appetizers and then sat down for dinner. The restaurant La Pace was so wonderful. They even surprised us by putting our cake out on the end of the dock so Vance and I could have our own special cake cutting ceremony at dark - complete with a sparkler on the cake! It was truly a dream day for the two of us.

Everyone in Malcesine drank these Aperol Spritzers - and they are so, so good! 1/3 Prosecco wine, 1/3 Aperol, 1/3 sparkling water, ice and a slice of orange. Mix and enjoy!

Thank you so much for letting me share my wedding story with you. I have a special surprise for all of our readers tomorrow!