{"id":43558,"date":"2006-10-09T11:05:46","date_gmt":"2006-10-09T15:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.topweddingsites.com\/wedding-blog\/?p=43558"},"modified":"2017-08-04T11:12:50","modified_gmt":"2017-08-04T15:12:50","slug":"great-big-italian-wedding-make-happen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.topweddingsites.com\/wedding-blog\/multicultural-themes\/great-big-italian-wedding-make-happen","title":{"rendered":"Your Great Big Italian Wedding \u2014 How to Make It Happen"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Gail Kavanagh<\/div>\n

In every sense (much like its famous Greek counterpart<\/a>!), an Italian wedding<\/a> is a joyous occasion with a big heart. And fortunately for the bride, every aspect of planning it \u2014 from strategizing the walk down the aisle to envisioning the last romantic waltz \u2014 can be as much fun as the wedding itself.<\/p>\n

As with other Western weddings, the whole affair starts with the proposal, when the man offers his bride-to-be a diamond ring as a sign of his promise to marry. Choosing the ring is an immeasurably important task. After all, according to an old Italian tradition, it\u2019s the flames of love that fuel the intense heat that creates a diamond. (Italians show no signs of waning as the most romantic people on earth.) And what\u2019s more, the diamond ring doesn\u2019t just symbolize the groom\u2019s adoration, it also represents the future facets and joys the couple\u2019s life is bound to hold for them.
\nSee Also\u00a0Shop Italian Wedding Favors<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0The Ultimate Guide to Italian Wedding Traditions<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Another early-stage wedding tradition, this one for the bride, involves gathering up the trousseau and special items for the couple\u2019s new home. Over time, this practice merged with the Dutch bridal shower, but remains a crucial part of any Italian wedding.<\/p>\n

A charming pre-wedding custom from Venice is the obstacle race, a humorous tradition seen in other spots on the continent (Russia, for one). You could call it the original version of \u201cThe Great Race\u201d \u2026 which involves friends and relatives planning a little walk for the bride and groom and laying obstacles in their path. How the couple react to them says a lot about how they might handle the ups and downs of married life (unless, of course, the obstacles include something fairly atypical like a 9 foot wall of frosting).<\/p>\n

To set the tone for your Italian wedding, send out invitations that are either traditionally engraved or even handwritten, on linen or parchment paper. Italian wedding invitations set the standard for beauty, and they\u2019re worth getting professionally done. Many are so gorgeous that friends and relatives actually save them as keepsakes for generations to come.<\/p>\n

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