|
SARA HINES &
DANIEL HAWKINS
Protestant Blessing on Lake Garda (MALCESINE)
I must apologize for it having been so long since I've been able to write to you. We received the photographs earlier this week and they are fantastic! I tried to send you a few of them via e-mail but they were returned to me maybe because your box was too full or something. Anyways, about the wedding:
First of all, Silvia, the hotel manager was amazing! We loved her! She was so helpful all the time and just made the experience so much more enjoyable! Do you happen to have her mailing address so that we can send her a Thank You Card??? She had my dress and slip pressed and steamed very well. And my bouquet was fantastic! I was a little nervous about the hairdresser because I have such curly hair I wasn't sure she would know what to do with it. But she washed and dried it and then curled EVERY strand into a beautiful ringlet, it was so amazing! I was very pleased with the result!
The castle was amazing although I must say it was difficult to get to in my dress and heels! On the way there the people in the streets were applauding and cheering, "Molto Buona!" and other sweet thing about "beautiful bride." It was so fantastic!...like a parade and it made me feel so glamorous!
As I walked into the wedding hall Daniel & I just couldn't hold back the tears, it was such an awesome feeling and the aura of it all was overwhelming. The pastor was very friendly and we thought his broken English made it all the more authentic. The ceremony was exactly the way I always wanted my wedding to be. Afterwards the photographer worked very diligently to get us the best shots. Although I must say some of the places the photos were taken were diffiult to get to, it was very humorous for me having to walk up ladders to get to certain places like the tower!
Sometimes the photographer wanted us to kiss or hold each other a certain way and she would laugh like she was embarrassed to have to ask us to do those things, it was funny. She was even willing to take a few shots with our own digital camera so that was nice.
When we finally got back to the hotel Silvia had set up a nice surprise for us on our balcony (which had an incredible view!). She had a bottle of champagne chilled and ready to drink with a bowl of assorted fruits that were fantastic!
That evening we went to the restaurant where she'd had our dinner arranged. The owner was an artist and had some of his paintings on exhibit and they were fabulous! We chose the chef's special 5 course surprise off of the menu which was great although authentic Italian food is very different than the way America has interpreted it! The dessert that followed was exquisite and he gave us an amazing sparkling wine to accompany it. The evening was so beautiful we didn't want to leave.
The next day we got to take the time to walk down the path near the lake into the village and go into some of the shops and cafes. We went back to the castle so we could see all of it and read the history and stuff. It was so incredible. We were very saddened that we had to leave in the middle of the night.
We had made great friends with Silvia and her husband, Michaela, and her father, who owns the hotel, also. It was an amazing experience and we are very grateful to have had it. Molte grazie for all your help!
|
