5 Italian wedding traditions we love

If you’re dreaming of a wedding in Italy but long distance travel is off the agenda for the foreseeable, don’t despair. There are a host of ways to bring a taste of Tuscany, Venice or Rome closer to home and we're sharing some of our favourite Italian wedding traditions today, courtesy of Fine Art Curation member James Furman, who captured this pretty celebration at Villa Agape in Florence.

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La Serenata

Italians are known for their passionate declarations of love and we just adore this old fashioned tradition where the groom serenades the bride outside the window of where she is staying the evening before the wedding. The wedding party is usually in on planning the event, often bringing in musicians and joining the groom in song, keeping it a secret from the bride until she is woken by the serenade.

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The gift of flowers

Whilst the bride can choose her wedding flowers and color scheme, it is traditional for Italian grooms to pay for the bridal bouquet and ensure it is safely delivered on the wedding day. In some Northern regions, the groom hands over the bouquet when his bride arrives at the church.

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Dance the tarantula

Thankfully there's no spiders involved! A traditional Italian dance called ‘La Tarantella’ is a fun part of the festivities where guests hold hands in a circle and move clockwise as the musics speeds up, before reversing the other way.

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Confetti

In Italy, confetti is not what you shower the happy couple with after the ceremony, but rather sugarcoated almonds gift-wrapped in tiny boxes. Confetti are often given in groups of five symbolising health, wealth, happiness, fertility and long life. The confetti form part of the bomboniere (wedding favours) given to guests as a thank you for attending. They typically include token gifts of local produce, such as mini bottles of liqueur, chocolates, olive oil, or pots of jam and honey.

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Festive feast

Naturally, food and drink are a huge part of Italian tradition and wedding feasts are usually a long and noisy sit down affair with many courses. Starting with aperitivo, which takes place before the wedding reception, savoury bites are usually served alongside juices and alcoholic drinks, such as Campari, prosecco and wine. Once the sit down meal commences, antipasti is served, followed by two primi (often a pasta and a risotto); two secondi (often meats and an array of vegetables); a finally a dessert table with a wide selection of sweets to be washed down with espresso and liqueurs.

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