A gorgeous two-day wedding in Tuscany – day one – the pre-wedding Indian celebration
Ah….Tuscany! I spent the most glorious couple of days in Italy for Som & Jonny’s two-day wedding extravaganza. Colour, food, wine, dancing…lots of dancing, sunshine, swimming and so much more. There was so much to this amazing two-day event that I am splitting the blog post in two. (Here is the post sharing the day of their wedding in Tuscany.)
First up, the Indian pre-wedding party! I arrived on Friday, having travelled from Rome with one of Som’s bridesmaids and her husband. To say we were all bowled over by the venue is an understatement. Borgo-Di-Castelvecchio is a stunning place in the Tuscan hills with views to die for. It really is a perfect spot for a wedding in Tuscany. After dropping my bags into my room it was soon time for the celebrations to start. Som and Jonny had planned for the first evening to a fabulous party to get everyone in the mood for the rest of the weekend. They chose to include a number of Indian traditions, including Jonny arriving on horseback (Baarat) to meet Som, who was waiting under a Dupatta. They provided traditional clothing for all their guests to wear and had decorated the gardens and pool area with colourful rich fabrics, fresh flowers and candles.
After Jonny made his entrance on horseback everyone settled down in the gardens to eat, chat, drink and take in the amazing views and the setting sun. A Tuscan sunset really is something! As the sun slowly sank behind the hills and the sky darkened, Som rounded up all her single friends for the tradition of the Kalire, where the tingling bells which are tied to the bride’s wrists are shaken over the heads of the single ladies. If a bell or charm falls on you, you are going to get married.
The one thing that I really loved about this wedding was the way everyone danced so much. The evening started with a dance by one of India’s leading contemporary dancers, Aastad Deboo. He had put together a special performance piece for Som and Jonny’s celebration. He swayed and turned, moved and swirled by the lit pool. Everyone was silent, mesmerised by his dancing. It was a wonderful thing to have the chance to see.
After this exhibition piece, it was time for the planned dances by Som’s Aunties, Jonny and the boys and then Som and the girls. All the dances were Bhangra style and had been put together over the weeks before. All of the groups had been practising to make sure they could put on a good show. Everything went brilliantly, even when Som had a small wardrobe malfunction (the back of her top unpopped mid swirl!) it added to the fun of it all. As soon as the girls had finished their dance everyone pilled onto the area by the pool and the evening of dancing began. There was lots of freestyle dancing as well as one or two traditional dances, including a Stick Dance (raas).
Knowing we had another full day ahead of us tomorrow I finally slipped off to bed about 1 am, leaving everyone to party the night away.
Thanks for popping by to check out the first day of this two-day celebration. Make sure to check out part two of Som & Jonny’s wedding in Tuscany. It’s definitely worth it for the stunning scenery and for Som’s gorgeous coral coloured Oscar De La Renta dress!
Fiona x
