Italian wedding receptions take the cake when it comes to feasting, dancing, and merriment. Photo by Izabelle Acheson on Unsplash.Italian wedding receptions take the cake when it comes to food, fanfare, and frivolity. Not surprisingly, the feast might include up to 14 courses, including appetizers, main courses, dessert, and more. Then there is the dancing, including a special dance the guests perform for the bride and groom.
Italians and Food
Italians are known for their love of food. They are also known for their elaborate approach to food. An Italian wedding offers the perfect opportunity to pull out all the stops.Guests eat as many as 14 courses of food throughout the evening at an Italian reception. It begins with anapertivo, a co*cktail and finger foods. Next,antipasto, including breads, cheeses, bruschetta, and olives.The first full course,primo, includes pasta or stew.Secondo includes regional meats. Concurrently,servers offercontorno, the vegetable side dish which might include fresh salad or cooked vegetables.Formaggio e frutta follows in an array of cheese and fruits. Following this spread, servers offerdolce(dessert). Dessert includes chocolates, cakes, cannoli, and more. Of course, the wedding cake is served at this point, often with an offering ofcaffe.Although wedding goers drink wine throughout the night, nearing the end of the festivities a specialdigestivois offered. This includes post-dinner liquor, such as sambuca or nocino.
Italian Wedding Reception Fanfare
An Italian wedding reception would not be complete without elaborate fanfare. The night begins with a toast. Guests shout,"per cent'anni,"which means "for 100 years." Then they swallow strong liquor, and the festivities begin.Throughout the evening, the bride receives a kiss from every male guest. Indeed, tradition holds that every man in attendance must kiss the bride at some point during the night.This custom serves two purposes - to ensure good luck AND to provoke the groom to jealousy. Italians love good fortune and intense passion.Furthermore, throughout the evening guests bang on their glasses with silverware, inciting the bride and groom to kiss. As they do, their guests shout, "Evviva gli sposi"- "hurray for the newlyweds!"Perhaps the most elaborate fanfare includesLa Tarantella. For this special dance, the bride and groom stand in the center of the dance floor. Every able-bodied guest then forms a circle around them.As the strains of traditional Italian music fill the air, the guests clasp hands with each other and begin dancing clockwise around the newlyweds. At a certain point, as music speeds up, the dancers must reverse direction.The fervor increases as the music continues to speed up at random intervals.Each time, the dancers must change direction as one. Eventually, the dancers collapse in a heap, laughing and cheering.
Wedding Frivolity
Friends of the bride and groom spend the evening playing little tricks on the couple. For example, they might sneak away to the couple's new home to put itching powder in their bed or wall in the door. Perhaps they hide all the shoes or put fish in the bathtub.Meanwhile, back at the party the bride and groom greet people table by table. The bride carriesla bursa, a coin purse into which guests place money for thecouple to take on their honeymoon.The bride may also cut the groom's tie into pieces. Carried about on a tray, guests exchange coins for a bit of the tie as a souvenir. Later, the groom removes the bride's garter and tosses it into a crowd of bachelors. Likewise, the bride throws her bouquet to her eligible maiden friends.At the end of the night, guests leave with special gifts in hand.Bombonierescontain a small gift and either 5 or 7 sugared almonds for good luck. Typically, these party favors come in tulle baggies tied with ribbon.~Angela Magnotti Andrews
5 years ago
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