Marco ed Elsa A Sicilian Wedding in 2011

LOVE. BEAUTY. NATURE. MUSIC. HARMONY.

Words cannot express the synergy which resulted from all the elements which composed this magical event, the ceremony as well as the reception bringing its participants to another world.  Chiesa San Nicola in Trecastagni is perched upon a hill overlooking the hillside towns sprawling down the volcano’s side and leading to a breathtaking view of the Ionian Sea.  Standing up there one feels on top of the world and the peace and silence just add to the majestic feeling.  The music during the ceremony included Bach/Gounod’s Ave Maria, which always touches my heart, Bach’s Jesus Joy of Men’s Desiring, Faure’s Sicilienne Op. 78, Mozart, and Handel.

At the reception, which took place at an old Sicilian mansion, Il Grecale in Santa Caterina, on the Ionian Coast, and not far from Catania, the guests enjoyed the garden of the old villa as well as the majestic dining room.  All details were carefully planned to stay faithful to the traditions of the location and one could just imagine being taken back in time.  The Sicilian delicacies added flavors which go beyond verbal description. The dinner followed Slow Food practices, which is everything that fast food is not.  Slow Food is food that is good for people to eat, to grow and good to the planet. So the Slow Food dinner at the wedding had a focus on traditional Sicilian dishes, offering an array of colors, spices, and flavors.  The menu written in Sicilian dialect included dishes one cannot find everyday. My favorite dish was the risotto, U Risu di Donna Franca Florio, with lobster, orange zest, and Buttarga, tuna roe from tuna caught around the island of Favignana (an island of the western coast of Sicily).  All in all, a perfectly orchestrated event which gave its participants an evening of magic!