American Bride Goes to Tuscany

There would be a few words that come to mind when describing the country of Italy, Food, History & lots of Wine. While exploring all the above on my recent holiday to the lush countryside, I had the pleasure of taking some time out from being a Wedding Planner and playing bridesmaid for the day for some dear friends that tied the knot. Hardly a chore when surrounded by the most amazing vineyards on the planet!

And so the journey began, one that took us on an experience of tradition, culture, Love, a lot of Fun, but lets not kid ourselves…the real marriages in Italy revolve around FOOD!

There we found ourselves Castello di Verranzzano, a fairytale castle in the heart of Tuscany’s Chianti region, a place where the only food served was that which was in season, local and grown from the thousand year old land that’s been passed on generation to generation. The only wine that touched your lips was that which was harvested for that season only, and when it was gone, it was gone!

After a few afternoon aperol spritzers, we made our way to the Rehearsal Dinner, of course without the rehearsal. Who needs the practice when there’s a five-course family style meal to be served? The freshest buffalo mozzarella I’ve ever had, procuitto, penne arrabiata, rosemary potatoes, drizzled in the lands richest extra extra virgin olive oil, grilled veal cutlets, fresh greens and a dessert of panna cotta, grappa and of course the always needed, before bedtime espresso! Like the perfect couple in love, the wines paired with dinner were superb, a Sangiovese Brunello , Rose, and for dessert Amaretto liquor with biscotti.

As the waiter explained, the more dunks of the biscotti, the more in love you fall!

The bride wore vintage lace and Badgley Mischka pumps, the groom wore Hugo Boss…American meets European fashion at it’s finest! The couple said their vows in both languages, and I had the honor of reading the English version in church. The curious locals in the small town of Greve came out of their shops and restaurants to see the beautiful bride in white as family and friends sealed the deal by showering them in handfuls of rice as they left the church.

A tour of the wine cellar was in order to begin the festivities, 100’s of generations of wine and over 100 years old, all in one cellar. Hard to put a market price value on this cellar, but it was definitely worth millions. Champagne and aperitivo’s were served overlooking the property. Inside the décor was so natural and beautiful with its oak wine barrels and mahogany furniture, simple yellow wildflowers picked earlier that morning in the gardens filled the unique vases on the tables, simple white linens, and fresh cherries from the cherry tree lining the head table.

Bon Appetito! And that’s when the eight-course, 5 hour dinner began, Panzanella my favorite, a bread, wine and vinegar mixed with peppers onion and garlic. The pastas came in 3’s Farro al Pesto, Pici all’Aglione, and Crespelle alla Fiorentina – that’s correct 3 courses of pasta before the meat even touched the table!

After course three of pasta, the room had turned into a chaotic American/Italian Spanglish mess of communication. I guess we could blame a portion of that on the wines, the Chianti Classico 2008 and Reserve 2007 flowed like water. Following the 3 full portion pasta courses came the Peposo, an Italian beef shank, boiled potatoes, and fresh greens salad. Since the American side was finished after first-course, it took a little persuasion to get everyone to stay on track. So just to get the Californians excited, there was a Buffet di formaggi – you guessed it a "Cheese buffet." A large Parmesan wheel bigger than my head, fresh mozzarella wheel, with other assorted domestic Italian cheeses, served with fresh baked breads, crostinis and the castle garden's most colorful asparagus, cherry tomatoes and Italian string beans.

Thankfully by the time we got to dessert we had a few songs in between to dance it off. Finishing touch, the bride and groom cut the traditional tiered Mille Foglie cake, a flaky puff pastry accompanied by espressos, and grappa.

The end of the evening I was faced with the realization of having to actually leave the fairytale castle to settle into my villa for the night and thought about how after all the 100’s of weddings attended, planned and been a part of in my career, each one does certainly have it’s own special touch and the personality of the couple shines through to make it so unique. Being in the heart of Tuscany, Italy indulging in the most generous food and wine the land and world has to offer, I could so appreciate what I brought back to the California Bride and Groom. It’s so important when deciding your wedding day menu to discuss with your caterer what’s in season, local and the freshest organic produce. This will of course enhance the overall taste and quality you desire and reason why the farm to table concept is so important. In California we are blessed with year-round local produce and really need to take advantage of that!

Congratulazioni to the lucky bride and groom Rachel and Sauro!

Ciao!!