Italian Wedding Extravaganza... with FIREWORKS!

To say that this wedding in Italy was the most amazing event I have ever attended, well, that would be putting it mildly.

When we arrived in Rieti, Italy, this is what welcomed us: 

 

Here is our hotel

Because both Jack and Teanna are 'foodies', the food at the rehearsal dinner was better than most wedding food.  Here are Chris and Nick enjoying the festivities

We didn't have much time to explore Rieti... Our only hour to walk around seemed to coincide with the daily siesta so we didn't get to see much.  Our hotel is behind us in this picture

Oh but there is always time for coffee in Italy!

The ceremony started nice and early -- leaving plenty of time to party hard after.

Here is Jack, waiting patiently for his bride to walk down the aisle

Teanna pays so much attention to detail -- these were the programs for the ceremony.  Her sense of humor and fun-loving flair were everywhere.

The mayor of Rieti married them inside the city hall building.  The ceremony was all in Italian but we got the gist of it ;)

After the ceremony we were transported via buses to a beautiful valley where the reception was held.

And more of that fun-loving flair..  This was our table's collage -- Teanna went on the internet and found all these pictures..

This was our table assignment card; inside the envelope were our party favors -- personalized luggage tags.  Notice the airport codes corresponding to where we were coming from (Beijing).  Plus two pictures of Chris and I from facebook, including the picture on the right which was from the night when Chris and I first kissed =)  "Hit the nail on the head" doesn't even really begin to describe it...

 

The menu, with appropriate fun-loving flair

 

I love this picture because it shows that Brian is having such a great time that he doesn't even want to sit down to eat.  He was eating while standing so he could run back out to the dance floor.

Two weeks into marriage and she already has him right where she wants him!!  Please, teach me, Lana!

 It was nice to see they participated in the extremely fun Jewish wedding activities, such as the chair lifting. 

 When dessert was served, J&T ushered everyone outside to enjoy some surprise fireworks.  Then, later in the night, they brought out some tables and cups and set up beer pong for everyone to play.  It was just so perfect -- when the music is loud and everyone is dancing, there is not so many opportunities to just relax and chill and visit with people.  Beer pong definitely provided that opportunity.  It was the perfect ending to a perfect night.

This was the view outside the bus window on the ride back to Rome.

And of course they were front page of the local paper the next morning -- these New Yorkers flying in 100 people for a wedding was certainly the talk of the town.

Firenze for the Day

Our day trip to Florence started out a little rocky... First, without cell phones we had some trouble actually meeting up with PJ and Nick.  But we finally found each other (can you believe people used to live like this all the time???) and found a fast train to Florence.  We ended up having just enough time to do everything we wanted to do, too.

 Absolutely beautiful train ride scenery...

 

Alleyways of Florence

We did go see David, which I was very happy about since the first time I was here he was being "restored" and had scaffolding blocking half of him.  This is, of course, not the real David.  No photos allowed in there.  This one is outside the museum.

Here we are at the Duomo.  

 It was right about now when some giggly young girls recognized PJ from a show he was on (he is an actor).

 Inside the Duomo dome

At the Ponte Vecchio 

 Watching the sun go down from the Uffizi Museum

We had enough time to leisurely enjoy some pasta and wine, then hop our train back to Rome.  By then we were all tuckered out...

Ciao Roma!!

Finally my VPN is working in China so I'm able to catch up on these backdated blog posts.  We went to Italy over 6 months ago so I'm less than thrilled that it's taken me this long to get these up here.  Unfortunately my commentary will have be brief based on the details I can remember...

This was the view outside our window of our hotel.  We stayed in a guesthouse inside an old building in Maggiore Church Square.  I loved where we stayed because it felt like an apartment or something -- it seemed very residential and less hotel-y.

 This is the building our hotel was in, and the square in front of it is Maggiore (church is out of the picture to the right).

Inside the Maggiore church

We were the first of our friends to arrive so we spent Day 1 checking out the Colosseum. 

Then we walked around to check out some other sights, stopping by Mussolini's shrine to himself, or as Jim referred to it, "The Typewriter".

 Here is Chris with the Roman Forum in the background.

Here we are at the Pantheon.

 And arguably the best part of Italy... The coffee!!  1 Euro per cup = beautiful.
 

My favorite from my first Rome visit, Trevi Fountain.

 Spanish Steps.. in the rain

Street action-shot of Chris

We were surprised with how much amazing street art there was in Rome

Pantheon at night

Typewriter at night

Colosseum at night

Chris's friend Jim was living outside of Rome when we visited so we were able to meet up with him

The coffee kept on flowing....

Finally on Sunday, friends starting showing up for the wedding.  Nick arrived and we met him at his hotel and walked around the market near where he was staying (Trastevere).

This is a picture commemorating Nick's very first cup of coffee EVER!  When in Rome...!!! (I had to say it)

 This was our day at the Vatican Museum.

 Including a legitimate mummified body...

 Audio tour!  Yes, please!

 The rooms leading up to the Sistine Chapel were all incredible.  I think we stayed in the Sistine Chapel for about an hour.  The sheer volume of amazing art at Vatican Museum was just staggering.  We were both overwhelmed.  The first time I was in Rome I skipped the Vatican but this time I am so glad I got to not only see it but got to spend so much time inside, savoring it all.

 Here is a much better shot of the Spanish Steps in the sun =)  That was the great part about being there for a whole week -- we could go back again and again to some of the places around town.

Tuesday night Jack organized everyone in town for the wedding to go to a British pub -- here is Lana taking a BJ shot =)  I'm so glad I was able to snap this action shot.

That concluded our Roma times.  The next day we took a day trip to Florence -- separate post to follow, including a post dedicated to the Rieti Wedding Extravaganza.