Tracy & Brian's Wedding or Part Trois

Tracy & Brian's wedding day. About 70 people dressed to the nines waiting in front of Hotel Bristol for the shuttle buses. Everyone looking fab. It was something for the tabloids, if any of them cared, or knew about the wedding. At around 3 pm, we were all picked up and driven to a spot about 30-40 minutes away. We left the buses and then followed Brian behind the building we'd been dropped off at. We walked on various paths and trails and up cobblestone streets until we reached the stairs above. Our collective breath was taken away by this amazing location.... verdant, lush, full of statues and fountains, and at the top, a mansion!

 The service was performed by an Italian city administrator (in the sash) and helped by the translator, next to her. Lucy read a poem by e.e.cummings, and Gillian played "Kiss" on her ukelele and sang. It was the sweetest ceremony... not many dry eyes at this wedding!! Afterwards, there was champagne drunk out of a bottle in the courtyard, and then we
made the trek back (at this point I put my flats on and carried my heels in my hands!) to the shuttle bus, which took us to the pier where we boarded a little cruise boat for a tour of Lake Maggiore.

 The tour was magical... everyone had their cameras out because the view both on and off the boat were special and wonderful! Nearly everyone couldn't resist taking photos... it was like a photoshoot where everyone was a photographer AND the subject matter! It was very unique in that way!

 At this point, however, we were all getting hungry, with champagne being our lunch, and were looking forward to sitting down and having a bite to eat. All the walking, bussing, boating and drinking had made us ravenous little wedding-goers! Luckily for us, when we arrived at the destination island, we were greeted by waiters carrying trays of goodies, and there was a table set with a chipped parmesan wheel with a balsamic vinegar reduction sauce that was delicious! And there were paper cones of deep-friend white bait, a tiny salted fish... yum! And of course, the view was amazing!

 Dinner was several courses, and the toasting had us laughing, crying and "aww"ing, and as the bride visited all the tables, you could feel her joy and radiance emanating from her. You could see it, too. The wedding couple was so beautiful and so happy... you could see that they really enjoyed having their loved ones around them. 

 And after the dinner, we all piled back onto the boat for some champagne, music, and laughter until we reached shore, where we walked in a slightly silly line to the final destination: Loco's Nightclub, which was open only for our dancing pleasure! There are no pictures taken by me of this final leg of the Amazing Wedding Journey. Let's just say that drinks were drunk, dances were dunced, and dawn looked just like this: