Historically, weddings in Italy do not include the role of the bridesmaid.
Italian brides have witnesses, but the main role of the witness, that is usually the best friend of the bride, is simply to sign the marriage register. In Italy, therefore, the American movies and the English wedding magazines have made known the charme, the elegance and colors of this romantic role. How to forget, for example, the idealistic and romantic character of Katherine Heigl in the movie "27 Dresses", with her closet full of 27 bridesmaid dresses for different wedding themes and styles?
Nowadays the Italy wedding habits are changing and we start seeing bridesmaids also in local weddings, but when I started my wedding passion, about 10 years ago, it was not common. I can not forget the first time I coordinated an English wedding back in 1999. It was a garden Lake Como wedding at Villa Erba and I was dazzled by the beauty and poetry that shed from these young and happy ladies dressed in brown, that were walking solemnly in front of the bride.
I still remember the string quartet playing the Wagner bridal march and all guests looking at this graceful procession with smiling eyes. It was a moment, but it run like a slow motion in my soul and I clearly had the feeling that I was doing the right thing starting my new life of wedding planner.
Since then my passion allowed me to join countless of weddings and my memories guard many different bridesmaid characters and stories. I cannot forget, for example, a wedding ceremony in Montarfano, near Lake Como, that started 1 hour late because the bridesmaid (not the bride!) was not ready; it was really embarrassing for me to explain the officer what was going on. When she finally arrived her entrance was greeted with a burst of applause by the audience: she indeed took the stage that day and I am not sure the bride appreciated it!
And I well remember a big wedding in Lake Garda in a private villa. The bride and the bridesmaids got ready together at the hotel and they enjoyed a few glasses of champagne before the ceremony; then the bridesmaids took an elegant Venetian boat to reach the villa. Unfortunately the private jetty was pretty small and the weather a bit windy. No, do not worry, none of the bridesmaids fell into the lake, but one shoe did it. The photographer did not miss the moment and I still have a couple of photos of this floating shoe, before it sunk into the lake! (nonetheless I have to admit that she had a really graceful carriage, a few minutes after, when she walked barefoot down the aisle).
I have many romantic, joyful, happy, funny stories about bridesmaids, but every time the bridal march starts and the bridesmaids procession enter the marriage hall, I am charmed by the romance and the elegance of this fairy moment and my memories go back to the time when my wedding planner adventure started and I was enjoying my first Lake Como wedding.
