Andy and Silvia's wedding at the New Forest's Rhinefield House was a sumptuous blend of Italian style, the very best of English architecture and the fabulous wedding traditions of both countries. Andy and his family are English and Silvia and her family are Italian and the combination made for a fantastic wedding.
Unlike most English weddings, during Silvia's bridal prep, she was tended to not just by her mother...but her father too. The language of the bride's prep room was very fast and expressive Italian. We had no idea what was being said but it was gorgeous to listen to with such expressive rising and falling cadences and such emotional articulations.
At first it seemed odd, not hiding the bride's father away until his daughter was dressed...but in this Italian speaking prep room it seemed completely natural.
When it was time for Silvia's father to walk her to the ceremony room, he took her by the arm and led her down the gorgeous Rhinefield carved wooden staircase with tapestries on the walls
...and then led her up the aisle of Rhinefield's Great Hall to find her groom.
A sizeable proportion of Andy and Silvia's guests were non-english speaking Italians...
...but despite the proceedings being conducted in english, everybody seemed to know what was going on...
...especially when it came to the occasional stolen kiss by the newly weds.
When it came to the speeches, Silvia's brother did a wonderful job of translating so all the guests could enjoy...
...the touching moments...
...the jokes...
...the laughter...
...the thanks...
...and the joy.
After the bustle of their wedding breakfast, there were some tender moments on the wood-panelled staircase....
...the magnificence of which really showed Silvia's wedding dress at its best.
Most of the day you would never have known that there were so many guests who couldn't speak english because all the guests got on so well and so easily. It was a lovely day at an amazing venue with lots of laughter and joy.
We wish Andy and Silvia all the very very best for their married life together.
by Steve Dunster
No comments:
Post a Comment