The Wedding...!

The wedding day went so fast. For a more comprehensive understanding of the ceremony, I'll be sure to add the YouTube link to my Dad's video! He got some excellent coverage (including morning establishing shots of Rome and the Baths, as well as a tracking shot around us as we said our pieces!) Haven't seen it yet but I'm sure it'll be the video event of the year.

What I can remember...

• Beautiful day. The pouring rain from the day before was nowhere to be seen.
• We had breakfast with Ben's Dad (the rest of the family went to view the Sistine Chapel)
• Sister and I went to get our hair styled. The hairdresser, Enrico, didn't speak any English so we had brought photos of what we wanted. It took an hour each because he was very precise! Would work on one curl for about 10 minutes. He was very sweet though and our hair looked great. 
• We had to race back to the apartment afterwards, grabbing some pizza on the way for lunch!
• Mum did my makeup at the apartment, which I kept trying to wipe off because I never wear makeup and it felt like she'd caked it on! It was actually fine.
• We arranged that everyone should go into the Baths in staggered groups, in case we got into trouble for holding a wedding in a tourist place! Cost everyone €6! No problems though, ticket sellers didn't even blink an eye.
• We waited for Mum and Dad. They were late because Dad had made them walk, refusing to hire a taxi! They were a bit hot and bothered when they arrived, but Dad quickly got out the video camera.
• There were some pesky tourists hanging around "our" spot (the place Ben and I had chosen for the ceremony). After being glared at by 16 sets of eyes they eventually moved on.
• We did the ceremony. I remembered my lines (phew!) My ring got a bit stuck but otherwise it went swimmingly.
• Photos were taken. LOTS OF PHOTOS. I felt like Amy Winehouse (not actually, because I wasn't drugged up to the eyeballs, but it felt like being stalked by paparazzi!)
• The guests wandered around the ancient site. I sat down with some relief for 20 mins!
• We caught the underground to the Spanish steps! Not many weddings can say that!
• I almost got run over by a crazy Roman driver as I was crossing the road. I had a green light on the pedestrian crossing, and this woman threw her arms up at me for inconveniencing her by trying to cross the road! Imagine the headlines if she'd run me over...
• Had a drink at a bar while we waited for our restaurant booking. The waiter was very funny. Sis was asking for the wine list so pointed at the menu and said "vino, vino?" He replies with "Vino vino? Prego prego. Grazie grazie." And he gave us free strawberries because it was a wedding party.
• Restaurant was great (another funny waiter) but there was a misunderstanding about the food. We thought the waiter was going to bring out big plates, with 2 vegetarian dishes (pasta/risotto) and 2 fish (pasta/risotto). Actually they brought out serves for everyone, with 2 courses made up of 2 dishes! So everyone was given a plate with prawn risotto and clam spaghetti, followed by pesto risotto and tomato spaghetti! With a few vegetarians at the table we had to make some adjustments, and everyone got VERY full (SO many carbs!)
• There were drunken speeches given by my Dad, Mum, Ben's Dad, Ben's aunty, LK, Ben's brother and my sister! At a wedding with only 14 guests, that was impressive. All the speeches were lovely though.
• When we were asked to speak, I had a major coughing fit! So Ben had to talk on our behalf (which is unusual, I'm usually the talker!)
• Ben's Mum fell asleep at the table.
• After dinner, we caught a cab to Ben's parents' apartment then walked back to our apartment. However, we got lost and wandered through a street market. If I hadn't been so cold and tired I would have considered it romantic, but as it was, it had been a long day and I wanted to go home! We also had to get up early the next day to catch a flight (Alitalia of course) to Istanbul.

The next installment... Istanbul!