Down by the Water

The day of our Greek wedding we were blessed with what my sister deemed "magic lighting". So, it was off to the port once more and these are the best of the best (and what has taken me so long to sort through...because when you have "magic lighting" and Elena Maria LaCuesta behind the camera, there's not a bad picture in the bunch.)

Another Cake Cutting

From the streets of Napoli to Baia

Mimmo and I headed to Baia, our new town, with everyone following once more to eat it up!

You're Greek, now, honey...

Moms

Us with our Mammas.

Part 3

The walk together, united as husband and wife. 3 times around the altar.

Part 2

The second part is when we drink together from a chalice of wine. The chalice represents our life together. Theo Ioanna and Theo Milton gave us as an engagement gift this beautiful silver chalice with our names engraved. It took us awhile to drink it all because the priest was short and when he gave it to me, only a few sips would reach. I remember Mimmo saying "Buono!," after he tasted it.

The 3 Main Parts: Part 1

So, there are 3 main parts to the Greek Wedding. The first is being "stefana-ed" (I just made that word up) which is the crowning. Elena made our crowns which were beautiful. A mix of seashells and decorations, joined together by a type of nautical rope instead of a traditional ribbon. Very special and very fitting of Mimmo and I. She was the koumbara, which meant that she blessed us 3 times by crossing the crowns 3 times and placing them atop our heads.

Beautiful Church

It's a tiny church, but incredibly beautiful and perfect for an intimate celebration like ours.

The Arrivals...

There were 11 of us total at the Greek wedding (including Papa Giorgos), but we still rolled out the red carpet...

What I remember that morning...

Coming down the stairs of our new apartment (we're on the 3rd floor) and seeing the signore sticking their heads out the window, looking down on me and shouting "auguri!".

Trying to find a parking space in downtown Naples.

Waiting as Mimmo parked the car and a tourist bus passed me by with heads sticking out the window. I waved to them.

Waiting in front of this shop as my sister got her film together and people walked by and took pictures of me with their cellphone cameras.

1 down, 2 to go...

Wednesday morning, September 27th we were getting ready for our second wedding. This time in Napoli at the Greek Orthodox Church. Needless to say, I was way more relaxed this day. My sister made a bouquet out of some of the flowers I'd received from the 1st wedding, She also did my hair and loaned me her beautiful veil that she had made and wore the day she was married. Mimmo and I both got ready at the house and drove together in our little corsa. Jill took this pics when they were behind us on the road to the church. That's Castel dell'Ovo in the background...

Recovering or should I say the one-day pause...

We're still doing this. I just went to return a dvd today and Gilda, one of the owners of the shop asked me if I was working alot right now. Nope. "Still on the luna di miele?," she asked. Yep. Our honeymoon has been about taking as much down time as possible since we didn't get a chance to get away yet. Between the Italian and the Greek wedding, we had a one-day pause which we all spent at the wine bar, Capo Blu, sleeping..I mean, celebrating...Theo George cracks me up...

The end of the night...

Mimmo and I were about to pass out by the time it got to the 1st dance (which came at the end of the night!). We made it through and passed out the confetti to the aunts and uncles as Theo George, Tullio, & Elena showed us how they really felt after all that food and dance...

The Cake

After 11 courses (it was a neapolitan wedding after all!), we got to the 12th which was the cake! Mimmo and I ate my gluten-free one when we got home and damn, was it good!

Yes, of course we Greek danced...

How could I not? Theo George even led!

The Band

We had an amazing Neapolitan band for the wedding. Everybody was on the dance floor.

Me & Zia Pina

Zia Pina is my favorite Zia. She's 83 years old and goes to the gym everyday! She's from Naples and she reminds me that it's ok to go against the grain, just be you, and not care what other people I think. I love this woman and am so glad she's in my life right now!

More Family

Mimmo with his cousin-in-law (?) Carmella


Mimmo with his sister, Teresa


Mimmo's dad, Salvatore


Me with my in-laws, Salvatore and Gilda


Mimmo with his cousin, Salvatore and Theo George

The Entrance

When we entered the restaurant, they had the italian music flowing and a flower-adorned tray of prosecco glasses to greet us. I don’t know what kind of face Mimmo’s making there?

Waiting

We made it back to the reception and were told to wait outside until they were ready to announce us. We had enough time to get a toast in with my sister and brother-in-law.

Supermercato Idea

While we were sitting outside at Bar Pina, the owners of the supermarket across the street called out to us "Venite, venite!," (come here, come here!). I guess Gli Sposi bring good luck to a business if we pay them a visit, so I was told...pretty funny stuff...

La Sposa con cafe...

Well, we needed to stop and get a cafe. Yes, it feels a bit like an Illy commercial, no? :-) 3rd pic is with Enrico, our local barista at Bar Pina and the 4th is us waving at all the people as they passed by and shouted "auguri!"

Our Attempt

We finally "opened" the buffet and skipped out of there, prosecco in hand, to try and take some shots by the water. But, it was becoming nighttime and already was a stormy (or as Winnie the Pooh would say, "blustery" day). But, the blue is still nice though...

The Buffet

This one's for Matt...

The Pics

The tradition here is that the bride and groom open the buffet before skipping out to take pics. So, Mimmo & I were one of the first to arrive at the reception and found ourselves with ample waiting time and losing light. So, my sister got right to work and pointed out places outside the restaurant where she wanted to take some pictures. Here's some of the winners...

Il Cielo

The sky that day looked like this:

In the Car

When we got into the car is probably when I really started to relax and truly enjoy the moment. When the car pulled down to the end of the street, 2 of the shopkeepers - Pina, who is my DVD woman and Russo and his wife who own the gas store - both threw petals, rice, and candy at our car. In the car was Mimmo's nephew (also named Mimmo) who was our driver and my sister up front with the camera.

Here we go....

I love this pic with Jill, Kristine, & Nora in the background.


A sea of family and friends rushing to give their "auguri" and kisses.


Mimmo and Zia Nunzia.


Me surrounded by some of my favorite aunts and cousins (aquisiti - most of whom are married into the family)


Mimmo with his cousin, Salvatore.

And now presenting...

After the ceremony & the signing, I remember walking down the aisle and a bunch of elderly women applauding for us from the pews. In Italy, as it also is in Greece and I'm sure many other parts of the world, everyone in the town is technically invited to your wedding in the church. There was one of the women who came from the pew to embrace and kiss us with all her force. She was quite off her rocker, bless her. She followed us outside afterwards as well and as Don Carmine was "presenting us" outside for pics, she kept shouting out as us many different forms of "auguri" (congratulations) which kept us laughing. Last pic is of her on the left.

The Final Blessing and Signing

We made it through the questions & the small-print vows (which Mimmo's eyes were straining to read) to our final blessing which was very beautiful. On to the signing of the book with our testimonie.

And the million dollar question is...

There were parts of our ceremony where I felt like a game show contestant. Don Carmine suprised Mimmo and I both by asking a question of us. I was in such a surreal state, so I'm unsure if I understood him right. Basically, I think he said "Usually the priest gives a homily, but I thought that I would let you both speak," (insert Lisa panicking "What! No. He's not serious, right? Oh god, and he has a microphone!") He went on to say that many people that we loved were not able to make it that day and what would we leave behind for them corresponding to our theme of love? The mic was placed in front of Mimmo first (Thank GOD!) and he answered "joy, peace, serenity..." blah, blah, blah, I can't remember. It was a good answer. I stole the first part and echoed his "joy, peace," and I think I added a new word and then I said I would leave many thanks to all those who were teachers for me and couldn't be here today. I remember hearing Mimmo's dad say something and his mom and brother shushing him and immediately I thought "Oh shit, I didn't understand the question right. I gave the wrong answer. I just made a fool out of myself at my wedding in front of all these Italian people,".

Then when it came time for the rings, again, in a very Alex Trebeck or "Let's Make a Deal" way, Don Carmine presented the rings with a question...yes, if you answer this right, you two can take these rings and wear them for the rest of your lives. The question was "Look at these rings very closely. Where do they begin and where do they end?," Oh, I know, I know! Again, mic was placed in front of Mimmo first (why?! i was ready!) who said very matter-of-factly, pointing to the ring "Well, it begins here and ends there." BEEP. Wrong. Try again. Don Carmine went into an explanation of how they did not begin or end, they were eternal and at the end of his speech, he said "Ok, let's see if you're a little more awake now...which hand do we wear the ring on?," We both showed our left hand. Ding, ding, ding ding. We got it right. Then he had to ask "And, why do we wear it on our left hand?," Mammamia. Stumped again. Ummm....As we didn't know the answer and no one in our bridal party knew, Don Carmine posed the question to the congregation. As no one could answer, he asked us all to make a fist with our left hand and then to slowly, one-by-one, starting with the pinky finger, straighten out each finger. The ring finger is the most awkward to straighten out because that's our most vulnerable finger. Allora, that is why we wear it on that finger,

The good news is, even though we kinda sucked at playing, he gave us the rings and we got to do our vows anyway. :-)

The Readings

Tulio, Mimmo's youngest brother did our first reading from 1 Corinthians 13, followed by Pippo (the ex-mayor of Monte di Procida) of the Psalms and Don Carmine read from the Gospels John 2:1-11 (which is also read in the Greek Orthodox ceremony).

La Ceremonia

Our wedding ceremony was a mix of cultures and again, many suprises. Don Carmine wore an Orthodox stole (epitrachelion) and led a different kind of procession where he went down the aisle with incense just like the Greek priest did at our Greek wedding. We had a unity candle which was an American import. And, we did not have the traditional Catholic mass for our wedding as I could not take communion. Instead we had many many blessings...

A Neapolitan Church Entry

Napoli, for those of you that don't know, is a a city full of beauty and chaos. Such was also my entrance into the wedding ceremony. Don Carmine explained to us before that Mimmo would wait halfway down the aisle for me. Don Carmine would enter at the beginning of the church with the flower girl and ring bearer, behind them would be myself and my mother and then behind us would be my bridesmaids. Huh? I found it confusing before and even more confusing then as quickly Don Carmine said as we entered "Le damigelle?," who were behind me as he instructed now that they should be in front of me. But, it was already too late. The music was going, Don Carmine said "Va bene" and off we went. The expressions on Don Carmine and Jill's face speak volumes to the experience. Most of what I remember is that my mother was crying as she walked me down and several voices told Mimmo that he needed to take my veil off from my face. I remember feeling a deep sense of relief when Mimmo took my hand and we walked down the aisle together. We were in the beauty and chaos together.

My Girls

I was incredibly lucky to have Jill, Kristine, and Nora by my side that day. Jill was a true testimonia. She really went on the full ride with me, witnessing (and supporting me in) everything. Kristine came all the way out from N.Y. the day before the wedding and left the day after! And, I couldn't have imagined getting married without having Nora (who has been on this Italian ride with me since we met 3 years ago in Sicily) next to me. I also want to say that I felt the presence and support from so many of you who couldn't be there that day.

Manuela was born to be a flower girl and took her role very seriously :-). I am so happy to be her Zia.

Btw, my sister (who was plenty busy behind the camera) really shared the role of Matron of Honor with Jill. I can't even begin to explain the magic that my sister made happen, including getting these bouquets done for them the day of the wedding! My sister is pretty incredible.

Allora...le belle damigelle...

Tradition

My wedding day was full of unknowns for me, especially the traditions in Monte di Procida. I say Monte di Procida because I don't know if these traditions are the same in Napoli or Italy. No one explained to me before or after, so I still don't know their significance, but here they are...

Outside the home of Lo Sposa and also La Sposa (in this case, I got ready at my sister-in-law, Teresa's house), there is a ribbon that is tied. Before leaving for the church, Mimmo and his mother and myself and my mom exit the house and untie the ribbon together. Flower petals, money, and candy is thrown at us.

Another tradition is that the mother of lo sposa buys my bouquet. Before she leaves to go to the church, she and her husband come to my house and present the bouquet to me. Also, Mimmo's brothers and sisters and my mother and father-in-law send me huge bouquets of flowers to my house.

I don't have the pics of my mom and I untying the ribbon, but below are the ones of Mimmo and also when his parents came to present the bouquet to me at Teresa's.

La Famiglia

Mimmo's family represents the masculine contingent (3 brothers and his dad), while mine is definetley all estrogen (my mama and my sis). Together now, we are 5 men and 5 women.

Lo Sposo e La Sposa Glam Shots

Here's a sampling of some of our solo shots...

Yia Yia's with me...

My grandmother couldn't make it all the way to Italy, but I got to carry a very special piece of her with me on my wedding day. Thanks to my Thea Ioanna who went through her jewelry to find this. I wore Yia Yia's pearl necklace that she wore the day she was married. It was extremely touching to have it on me.

Getting ready

Mimmo and I both forgot something the morning of our wedding. Mimmo forgot cufflinks and I forgot my coprispalle (the shrug to cover my shoulders in the church) at the cleaners. But, just like my experience in the theater, things do come together...Tulio went to Teresa's and grabbed cufflinks from Aniello and my mom loaned me her scarf and she wore Nora's. Of course, la sposa takes a bit more time to get ready than lo sposo. Allora...there's a bit more of me here....

The Night Before

Mimmo and I met up at Bar Pina and went on a vespa ride to Aquamorta where we walked the pier. We came back to Bar Pina where Jill was waiting. Unbeknowst to both of us, Jill took these pics.

The Views

The views from Emilio's are spectacular...

Food Preview

The day before our wedding we did a food preview for my family with a proper pranzo della domenica at Emilio's. Theo George couldn't get over the amount of food...but, he didn't know that this would be nothing compared to our reception. This of course is just a sampling, but what you see is octopus, breaded mussels, and homemade pasta with clams.

Meet the Family

Here's some days before pics with my dear california clan...oh, how i miss you guys and oh, what fun we had!

And, we danced....

Oh, did we eva....

Aaahh, nesting...

Mimmo is making dinner in our new place as I write this from our new phone line (DSL to come...they said in 10 days :-) Vediamo...

So, we got through 2 weddings in 2 days last week and many many beautiful photos to sort through by my talented, lovely sister. These two I thought were really interesting because they seem to represent the 2 cultures - the first one being from out Italian wedding and the second being from our Greek one...I told Mim, "You even look more Greek in the second one," :-).

I have many stories to share with y'all, but need some time to just let it all seep in...

For now...here's just the first glimpses...


Outside at the Reception of our Italian Wedding, September 25, 2006


After our Greek Wedding at the Port of Aquamorta, September 27, 2006