The Italian Wedding

In the past, wedding engagements were more of a corporate merger rather than a love affair, and in between the bride and the groom lay the father of the bride. If he said no, then it wasn't going to happen.  These days it's more like the mother of the groom is in charge of the engagement. If mamma doesn’t like the bride, “there’s a gonna be a problem.”

Italians can be superstitious people. To ward off evil spirits, a groom in Italy might carry a piece of iron in his pocket. The bride wears a veil to hide her face from jealous spirits. Sunday marriages are believed to be the luckiest.

The menu of an Italian Wedding might consist of 16 different courses served with wine and other beverages.  The best man will give out liqueurs to the arriving guests and give a toast ending in “per cent anni” meaning, “for one hundred years” of happiness.

At the end of the reception the newly weds usually break a glass.  The more pieces that shatter the more years the happy couple will share together.

An Italian American Tradition

At the Wedding Rehearsal Dinner, the groom is given concrete boots by the bride's family symbolizing his fate if the bride is not taken care of properly. "If she is happy, we are happy."