Raymer Wedding in Cortona, Italy

A couple of my friends decided to get married in Cortona, Italy. Sidenote: Can destination weddings please become the new norm? They actually turn out to be a lot cheaper than you’d expect and the combination of travel + nuptials ensures a special time for everyone involved. So needless to say I was ecstatic when they announced their wedding details because this was an opportunity for me to travel to some of the places I’d always dreamed of. Like London, Paris, Amsterdam, the Amalfi Coast and Canada as an added bonus.

So, after missing our train in Rome and arriving an hour later than anticipated, we walk out of the train station at Camucia to an empty parking lot. No taxi’s no nothing! It was beautiful but it was empty. Luckily there was a lady closing down her shop, which is extremely common in the middle of the day in Italy, she called us a cab and we were on our way to Hotel Italia. As we unloaded our bags and walked down the hill to our hotel, we passed right by Fufluns Pizzeria where the dinner party we were now 45 minutes late for was. But there were no complaints, everyone was just happy we made it. We went upstairs, showered and changed in record time for 3 women. As soon as I sat down, I ordered a glass of wine, took a deep breath and told Dole and Kenya that I needed this change of pace after the clusterfuck that became our Rome trip! Although the series of events that transpired were completely out of my control, they still had me on edge. But now I was beginning to feel recentered.

At dinner we drank and shared stories about our travels. I finally got to meet Dole’s parents. It was awesome to see how uncomfortable he was as I talked to his mom. I guess he thought I was going to say something inappropriate. I didn’t, but I was happy enough knowing that he did not approve of this conversation. lol She turned out to be the saint I always heard she was. And his dad is the kind of guy you could enjoy a beer with. I couldn’t believe that they birthed Dole. They’re good people and they didn’t deserve that. Haha! Everyone was very friendly and conversational. It felt good to recalibrate to the good vibes. After dinner the group migrated to the center of the town where we grabbed gelato and enjoyed a live band that was playing. I was a band geek in school, so after a few glasses of wine seeing this got me hype! #clarinet lol

The next day I woke up early and decided to walk around the town. I needed a nice clutch for the wedding so I decided to visit a few shops in the town. Cortona is unlike anything I have ever seen before. It’s situated on a hill and completely surrounded by a stone wall. I found myself walking around for awhile just admiring the views and taking random pics of everything. Then I decided to check out a few art galleries and jewelry stores until I found a beautiful handmade, Italian leather clutch for €35! [WIN!] After I made my purchase I grabbed a snack and headed back towards the hotel. I ran into a few other members of the Raymer Party in town and laughed at how surreal it was to be running into people I “know” while I was walking the streets alone in a tiny town across the world from everything and everyone I know.

When  I got back to the room I packed up my things and we headed for the bus. They had someone pick up all the guests in town and drive us to Osteria Borgo Syrah where the wedding would take place. When we got there, we split up. Boys in Dole’s townhouse, ladies in Kenya’s. We sipped bubbly and snacked on finger foods while we got dressed. Everything and everyone was so laid back and peaceful. I slipped back upstairs just in time to watch the bride slip into her wedding dress. I distinctly remember this moment because it was filled with love, laughter and light. Moments like these are my favorite.

Once we all got dressed, we headed outside to where the wedding would be. It was a perfect day. The sky was clear, weather was perfect and the view was breathtaking.We only waited a few minutes before the ceremony began and the bride was on her way down the aisle. The wedding was short and very sweet. We lingered for awhile to take pictures with the beautiful landscape as the backdrop.

Then we made our way to the cocktail area where we ate some hors d’oeuvres, mingled and of course, drink more wine. To kill some time the owner of the vineyard gave us a mini tour of how and where they make their delicious wine.

By the time the tour ended, the reception was ready to begin. The music was very intimate and I could tell the song selections were personal. I smiled as I watched the bride and groom dance to “Adorn” by Miguel because I knew it held a certain significance to their relationship. When they finished their first dance dinner was served with more wine 😀 . I don’t have a lot of pictures from the reception because if you haven’t noticed, I’d been drinking all day at this point lol. But I did get a couple videos. We all partied and drank some more then stumbled back to our respective hotels to sleep it off and prepare for our next adventure… The Amalfi Coast!

These two were so freaking cute!!

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