Your Favorite Wedding Moment and Why
My husband and I wed in Italy on Oct. 2, 2008, and had a vow renewal in the United States (that was just like another wedding) on Nov. 29, 2008. At the wedding in Italy, after I got down the aisle, it started to rain and the lights went out in the church.
What You'd Change and Why
I wish I had been the one to organize the place cards that hung from a Japanese maple tree at our vow renewal. My cousins won't let me live down the fact that no one could find their seat for dinner.
Your Wedding Song
Stai Con Me by Raf - It's an Italian song that literally translated means, "Stay With Me"
My Wedding Story
My husband Antonio surprised me with a trip to Venice, which was a dream vacation of mine, in June 2007. On our way back to Ischia, Italy from Venice, we stopped at the Santuario di Sant' Antonio in Padua. This is the church where my husband's father prayed for a son and promised to name him Antonio after the saint many years before. At the alter while my husband was kneeling down to pray, he called me over and told me he wanted to marry me. I had been joking that I would find another man to marry by January 2009 if he never asked. So, he didn't bother with a question. He just stated that we'd be married.
Our Wedding
Both of our wedding events were lovely. The one in the United States was more meaningful to me because it featured all the traditions with which I grew up in the States -- from my large bridal party filled with my little cousins to the father/daughter dance. My father and I danced to the Twist, which my little cousins had voted on through our wedding Web site. My husband's relatives from Italy and my cousin and his girlfriend from Italy spent a lovely vacation with us in the days leading up to the vow renewal in the United States. It was the week of Thanksgiving, so they celebrated a true American feast. They experienced turkey and all the trimmings and New York as it got dressed up for the holidays. At the vow renewal, we had cornucopias filled with fruit and flowers as the centerpieces, and the cake was filled with fruit and flowers. There were even large cornucopias, filled by my father, on the altar in the church. My mom made banners with our initials and fall leaves and cornucopias with fall leaves on the pews. It was a special day for me because it is one of the rare times that my friends and family would be together in one room for a true celebration. We danced and ate all night long. It was fun for everyone. I'll never forget it. My husband and I sometimes watch the wedding video with glee. These are memories that can never be destroyed. They'll be in our hearts -- and those of our loved ones -- forever.
Advice
- The fun begins at the end of the wedding. There are going to be challenges, but if you love each other and let that love guide you, you two can get through anything. You just have to believe it's possible to overcome the challenges by loving one another. Having and keeping faith is the hardest part of the marriage.
