A promise of marriage that is worth more than the day of the fateful I DO.
So it was for Maria and Mino who in the heart of the warm Calabria, in Rossano Calabro, sealed the exchange of their mutual commitments in front of the family and all the closest friends.

It’s good to understand that the customs for marriage, and everything that surrounds it, in the southern regions of our beautiful Italy are very different from the traditions celebrated in the northern regions.

While in Northern Italy very often, people limit themselves to make a declaration of wanting to get married in front of the officer of the municipality of residence where the presence of the couple is not necessary (even just one of them with a delegation is enough) and generally occurs during a weekday at the end of a working day or even during the lunch break; in Southern Italy, however, it is a completely different story, it is considered a true and intimate matter, complete with ceremony, reception, guestsbouquets, favors etc, just like the real wedding day.
 
 

 
 
So with immense pleasure I helped this wonderful Calabrian couple to make a small pre-wedding celebration for the request of their civil publications with all the customs related to the event and their town.

Tradition, sentiment, attention to detail; these were the ingredients to make this day of celebration so unforgettable for the future spouses and their guests!

The location we thought of was the historic Cloister of San Bernardino, in the historic center of Rossano Calabro, a former Convent of the 1400s, now the seat of Conferences of the municipal offices of Culture and Tourism and of the municipal library.
 
 

 
 

NATALIA PERFETTO – THE WEDDING PLANNER

The common thread tying together all the moments of the day, was as the Italian tradition dictates, the green color, which here I chose to shade in a more unusual and delicate manner.
Why green? Because according to tradition, green is considered the symbolic color of hope, of fruitfulness, of good luck, of the blossoming of something new. In short, a wish for joy, love and happiness!

 

1. The olive branch, one of the symbols of Calabria

The olive branch, rigorously green and the symbol par excellence of love and peace, was the theme I chose together with the future spouses. The arrangements of the decorations inside the Cloister and of the dinner reception, were designed and created precisely following the chromatic gradations of the olive trees, which are among the most iconic plants of southern Italy and Calabria; the land of origin for both spouses’ families.
 
 

 
 

2. The delicacy of a touch of green

With simplicity and delicacy, I recalled the symbol of peace and love, the olive branch, also on the cake, where with its touch it embellished the simplicity of the pure white of the cake. Not least the bouquet of magnificent fresh peonies supported by the green touch of the olive leaves.
We certainly have not forgotten about the fantastic favors! For the guests local artisan ceramic coasters have been designed, each with different designs and colors packaged with, as is customary at a Marriage Promise Ceremony, traditional Green Italian Confetti (sugar coated almonds), and embellished with olive leaves.
 
 

 
 

3. Placecards with olive leaves

The “icing on the cake” of this unforgettable day for the future spouses and guests were the hand made placecards on the dining tables for the reception: in fact I handwrote the names of all the guests one by one with a calligraphy that married – it is appropriate to say it! – with all the mood of the event…. an extra memory to take home for the couple’s friends.
 
 

 
 

“And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you.” —Kiersten White