We had a bit of a lie in, because we could. I sent a message to Sam, asking what she was wearing, as I still hadn't decided whether to wear the black sequins or the dull burgundy. She was going for floaty. I decided on dull.
We went down for breakfast at about 9am, and joined folks on the balcony opposite where we'd been the night before. The breakfast selection was very good - unexpectedly, they had scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausages, as well as cereals, fruit, yoghurt, and cheese and meat.
Back in the room, we had showers (it was a nasty shower) and got ready, and were downstairs in plenty of time to get marked off, get our passports, and get on the coaches. It was a hot day. The journey to the Agriturismo (down the hill from the Cantina), was uneventful, apart from our coach driver missing the turn and having to go back, just in time to follow the second coach driver up the drive.
We were dropped off, picked up some bottles of water, and we made our way to the seats laid out for the ceremony in the garden, collecting our fans (ladies), handkerchiefs (men) and bags of rice on the way. We sat with Sam and Nick again, and cast aspersions on the cheesy music being played through speakers nearby. David was very overdressed for the conditions, and required much mopping with various handkerchiefs. Jenni was late arriving (by half an hour), but she finally pulled up in a classic red Italian sports car, and made her way to the ceremony. Her dress was ivory satin, and cut and draped beautifully. It suited her perfectly. Her hair was twisted elaborately at the back.
The ceremony was brief, personal, and heartfelt, and conducted by a lovely French guy living in Italy. Both mothers gave readings that were very moving. I found the whole ceremony quite moving. We didn't get our rice open in time (as we'd double knotted the bags to stop it escaping), but there was plenty of flying rice to send the happy couple on their way.
We made our way to the house and formed queues to find glasses of franciacorta, taking seats at one of the tables. A buffet lunch was then served, which was primarily finger food, and really delicious. I ate more than I should have. The climbers decided it would be a good idea to get on a large rock in the middle of the garden for a photo opportunity. It was fun, and only one person fell off in the process.
Around 2.30, the call went up that it was time for our 'mystery excursion'. We trooped back to the coaches, and got on board. Christian had heard where we were headed, and sure enough, we were soon passing the Fenice again, and stopping in the middle of the road in Sulzano. We piled off, and boarded two waiting boats. We took seats inside, where it was extremely hot. I thought we were probably going to just hop across the lake to Monte Isola. The boats finally set off, and just cruised around the island (and each other), and midway, Jenni and David boarded our boat. It was fun, and interesting, but very hot without the breeze. As we got off, I desperately needed water but failed to get any.
We got back on the coaches, and made our way back to the Agriturismo. As we were running late, the staff were itching to begin serving dinner, so we went straight into the beautiful cool hall and took our seats. We were sitting with Suzie, Justin, and Lucien. Our menus were stickers to be applied to our passports, and we eventually managed to prise away the backing and attach them in the appropriate place. I sampled the white wine, but it was too much like chardonnay for me to enjoy it.
And then the food started. The antipasto was sliced bresaola with basil mousse, profiteroles filled with cream of artichoke (delicious), and black bread topped with steak tartare (amazingly good). The excellent staff brought around seconds of everything, and I had more steak tartare. There was a small break before the primi piatti, and the stag do guys started their drinking games (they had to produce small plastic figures or else they had to drink). Strangely, David kept losing. . .
There were then two courses of primi piatti: risotto with bacon and strawberry (yes, it worked), and pancake stuffed with burrata and asparagus - both delicious. And then it was time for speeches and sorbet. We went outside (sadly it wasn't much cooler), and got our tasty sorbets and took seats. Jenni and David began by saying their thank yous, and then Kayleigh made a really beautiful speech paying tribute to Jenni. And then it was time for Chris's speech, which David was dreading. It was actually really lovely, paying tribute to him every bit as much as Kayleigh had to Jenni (though he did manage to sneak a few escapades in).
Then it was time for the secondi piatti: beef carpaccio, and fillet steack served with fig sauce and mustard. Seconds of the carpaccio came round, and I actually declined because I was seriously worried about getting full. I shared my steak with Lucien. It was delicious, but I just couldn't finish it.
Then it was back outside again, and Jenni and David cut the enormous cake and opened a bottle of bubbly (messily). The firepits were lit. Then we took seats again for the impossibly huge range of desserts and fruit. There were pots of chocolate mousse, strawberry cheesecake, and everything else you could possible imagine that's tasty. I went back for tiramisu, and it was definitely worth the wait. I had no room for wedding cake.
By this time, Christian and I were full and exhausted, and ready for bed. We had to wait for the coaches, though. We had a little wander up the stairs that Jenni and David had appeared from (not that interesting), blew a few bubbles, and finally went to the coaches when invited. We sat for about 20 minutes while everyone else was rounded up.
Back in Iseo, the coach driver reversed up the road all the way from the level crossing to the hotel (quite impressively). Most people kicked on in the bar, and many jumped in the lake from the sounds, but we turned in for the night. It was about midnight.
We went down for breakfast at about 9am, and joined folks on the balcony opposite where we'd been the night before. The breakfast selection was very good - unexpectedly, they had scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausages, as well as cereals, fruit, yoghurt, and cheese and meat.
Back in the room, we had showers (it was a nasty shower) and got ready, and were downstairs in plenty of time to get marked off, get our passports, and get on the coaches. It was a hot day. The journey to the Agriturismo (down the hill from the Cantina), was uneventful, apart from our coach driver missing the turn and having to go back, just in time to follow the second coach driver up the drive.
We were dropped off, picked up some bottles of water, and we made our way to the seats laid out for the ceremony in the garden, collecting our fans (ladies), handkerchiefs (men) and bags of rice on the way. We sat with Sam and Nick again, and cast aspersions on the cheesy music being played through speakers nearby. David was very overdressed for the conditions, and required much mopping with various handkerchiefs. Jenni was late arriving (by half an hour), but she finally pulled up in a classic red Italian sports car, and made her way to the ceremony. Her dress was ivory satin, and cut and draped beautifully. It suited her perfectly. Her hair was twisted elaborately at the back.
The ceremony was brief, personal, and heartfelt, and conducted by a lovely French guy living in Italy. Both mothers gave readings that were very moving. I found the whole ceremony quite moving. We didn't get our rice open in time (as we'd double knotted the bags to stop it escaping), but there was plenty of flying rice to send the happy couple on their way.
We made our way to the house and formed queues to find glasses of franciacorta, taking seats at one of the tables. A buffet lunch was then served, which was primarily finger food, and really delicious. I ate more than I should have. The climbers decided it would be a good idea to get on a large rock in the middle of the garden for a photo opportunity. It was fun, and only one person fell off in the process.
Around 2.30, the call went up that it was time for our 'mystery excursion'. We trooped back to the coaches, and got on board. Christian had heard where we were headed, and sure enough, we were soon passing the Fenice again, and stopping in the middle of the road in Sulzano. We piled off, and boarded two waiting boats. We took seats inside, where it was extremely hot. I thought we were probably going to just hop across the lake to Monte Isola. The boats finally set off, and just cruised around the island (and each other), and midway, Jenni and David boarded our boat. It was fun, and interesting, but very hot without the breeze. As we got off, I desperately needed water but failed to get any.
We got back on the coaches, and made our way back to the Agriturismo. As we were running late, the staff were itching to begin serving dinner, so we went straight into the beautiful cool hall and took our seats. We were sitting with Suzie, Justin, and Lucien. Our menus were stickers to be applied to our passports, and we eventually managed to prise away the backing and attach them in the appropriate place. I sampled the white wine, but it was too much like chardonnay for me to enjoy it.
And then the food started. The antipasto was sliced bresaola with basil mousse, profiteroles filled with cream of artichoke (delicious), and black bread topped with steak tartare (amazingly good). The excellent staff brought around seconds of everything, and I had more steak tartare. There was a small break before the primi piatti, and the stag do guys started their drinking games (they had to produce small plastic figures or else they had to drink). Strangely, David kept losing. . .
There were then two courses of primi piatti: risotto with bacon and strawberry (yes, it worked), and pancake stuffed with burrata and asparagus - both delicious. And then it was time for speeches and sorbet. We went outside (sadly it wasn't much cooler), and got our tasty sorbets and took seats. Jenni and David began by saying their thank yous, and then Kayleigh made a really beautiful speech paying tribute to Jenni. And then it was time for Chris's speech, which David was dreading. It was actually really lovely, paying tribute to him every bit as much as Kayleigh had to Jenni (though he did manage to sneak a few escapades in).
Then it was time for the secondi piatti: beef carpaccio, and fillet steack served with fig sauce and mustard. Seconds of the carpaccio came round, and I actually declined because I was seriously worried about getting full. I shared my steak with Lucien. It was delicious, but I just couldn't finish it.
Then it was back outside again, and Jenni and David cut the enormous cake and opened a bottle of bubbly (messily). The firepits were lit. Then we took seats again for the impossibly huge range of desserts and fruit. There were pots of chocolate mousse, strawberry cheesecake, and everything else you could possible imagine that's tasty. I went back for tiramisu, and it was definitely worth the wait. I had no room for wedding cake.
By this time, Christian and I were full and exhausted, and ready for bed. We had to wait for the coaches, though. We had a little wander up the stairs that Jenni and David had appeared from (not that interesting), blew a few bubbles, and finally went to the coaches when invited. We sat for about 20 minutes while everyone else was rounded up.
Back in Iseo, the coach driver reversed up the road all the way from the level crossing to the hotel (quite impressively). Most people kicked on in the bar, and many jumped in the lake from the sounds, but we turned in for the night. It was about midnight.
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