When you think about Sicily as the destination for your wedding, you do not only think about seashores and bays. Though Sicily is best known for its coastal landscapes, its variety of sceneries can surprise you. Of course you can enjoy amazing seashores, but there are also mountains, woods, rural landscapes or urban sceneries. Not to mention the stunning baroque manors or the Eighteenth century villas, or even one of the greatest European theatres: The Teatro Massimo.
Since Sicily can offer a wide variety of landscapes this can be very helpful because it gives the chance to fit to the most different moods and atmospheres couples dream for their weddings.
Unexpected locations
Sicily can surprise you, even when you live there. It can happen, wile searching for the perfect location for a shooting, to come across the most authentic Sicilian rural landscape. This is what happened with an ancient fief dating back to the Fifteenth century. It is a rural location, near the beautiful archeological area oh Himera, called Villaurea. That was the place where Stefanijia and Luigi got ready for their wedding. You can know all the details of this beautiful wedding here.
Later that day, Luigi and Stefanija’s guests had the chance to plunge in the atmospere of the orthodox ceremony in the stunning church La Martorana, in the center of Palermo. There, among gold mosaics and lapis-lazuli tabernacles, bride and groom were crowned with the traditional silver crowns.
A walk through Palermo
A wedding in Sicily, namely in Palermo, can be the perfect chance for a walk among its streets. The centre of Palermo is full of stunning streets and squares to walk through, rich of monuments and landmarks. One of those is the Quattro Canti (Four Corners): an eight-sided baroque square full of symbolism. In the past, it was also known as “the theatre of the Sun”, because at least one backdrop of the square is lit by sun beams during tha day.
Another amazing place in the heart of Palermo is Piazza Pretoria, which was chosen by Dolce and Gabbana for their fashion show in 2017, with the stunning “Fountain of shame”, as it has been called for centuries. Several legends try to explain the origin of its name but what really captures of this fountain is the amount of its baroque details and the rich buildings it is surrounded by: everything in this square testifies the history and the beauties of Palermo.
Furthermore, it can also happen to come across a beautiful field of flowers, a sudden space full of nature amid the city streets, or the chariot of the fistinu, the traditional patronal faest dedicated to Saint Rosalia, one of the saint patrons of Palermo, an ancient feast that impressed the European travellers who visited Palermo during the grand tour of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries.
Our Sicilian weddings
When you plan a wedding in Sicily you can’t also help but think about all that amazing mix of history, cultures and traditions too, and all those elements you can bring into your wedding. It is truly like a rich palette of colors, with infinite shades and variations. Of course, I have had the chance to plan weddings in Sicily for foreign couples and/or Sicily themed wedding design. The most interesting part is finding new elements each time, trying to choose unexpected aspects of Sicilian folklore and culture, moving far away from clichés.
Inspirations
This land Sigmund Freud described as “a stunning orgy of colors, scents, and lights…a great delight“ can be the source of endless inspirations for a wedding decor, always different, each time unique. Thus, when we ask ourselves “what” is really Sicilian we find the answer in our rich culture: our literature and writers or the ancient patterns of Sicilian majolicas, for instance. Moreover, the scents of our citrus fruits, our dessert tradition with its cassata and pasta di mandorle. This is what inspired Rosalba and Riccardo’s Sicilian themed wedding you can read about here.
For instance, you can look at traditional handcraft, namely those traditional examples of feminine handicraft, such as crochet, which can add a precious touch to favors, tableware or to a wedding rings pillow.
Sicilian handicraft is full of symbols and traditions you can show your guets, such as the traditional ceramic pinecone, a symbol of good luck and prosperity, which can be an original idea for your favors, or enrich the decor of the wedding with pinecone shaped vases. Another example of traditional ceramic handicraft that is perfect for a wedding is the matrangela, a delicate feminine figure with angel wings which is an ancient symbol of luck. This candle holder was given to young brides to be as a symbol of the light of love as well.
Folklore
Sicilian folklore has aspects that are not known abroad, which can add a touch of magic to a wedding. Namely, the old tradition of Pupi, that is the Sicilian puppet theatre, which belongs to several centuries ago. Thus you can go back to the glorious past of the paladins of Charlemagne. So, try to imagine those amazing handmade puppets brought to life by the voice and movements of the puparo, the master Mimmo Cuticchio. And those timeless stories of knights and princesses there to enchant aduls and children. Can you figure it out how amazing it could be to give this kind of experience to your wedding guests?
Atmosphere
This is only a brief journey through our idea of Sicilian wedding, each time different as different and unique is the couple we plan the wedding for, and its story and taste. And above all, a wedding in Sicily is not just a feast, is a real experience you can share with your family and friends, an atmosphere you have to fully plunge in and that will “seduce your eyes, your mind and imagination” (Guy de Maupassant).
A sneak peek…
Another Sicilian wedding is on the way: we have been working on it for more than a year. the wedding will be held next July, in the beautiful Torre Garbonagara. There we will create another magic of colors, scents and cultures. Since the groom is from Naples and the bride is Sicilian we are working on a wedding decor and concept meant to merge two culures in one great experience for their guests from both the regions.
If you chose Sicily as your wedding destination, you will find a whole world there for you to admire it and be delighted by. And once you have experienced it all you “can never be quite free from the nostalgia for it” (D.H. Lawrence).
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