A wedding in Puglia in iPhoneography

It’s hard for me to go beautiful places, let alone to an important event, without a large camera. But we were invited to a wedding on a Saturday night in Puglia, so it was necessary to fly down for the weekend. And we were flying RyanAir, so I could choose between bringing my Nikon or my clothes. I opted against the nudist weekend and shot the whole thing on an iPhone (3Gs, since my Android phone is on death row).

Ostuni Cathedral facade (rose window)

The wedding of my husband’s cousin, Francesca, was held in the “white town” of Ostuni, in the area of Puglia known as the Valle d’Itria (famous for its trulli). While she grew up in Florence, her father (and my mother-in-law) are originally from Taranto, but the wedding was held in Puglia because her fiancée is from there. In either case, this was not our first trip to the area, although we still have much to explore. But the purpose of this particular weekend was the wedding, which I shall now show you with pictures and few words.

The cathedral is at the top of the town, so an Ape Calessino was hired to transport the ladies up the hill in their heels, while men had to walk from the parking lot.

An Ape for a wedding!

We filed into the cathedral of Ostuni – a 15th-century structure with Gothic touches (maybe thanks to the Romanesque church that was on this location before?) that has been much Baroquized. Photos were not allowed inside after the entrance of the bride on the arm of her father.

At the altar inside the cathedral of Ostuni

After the ceremony we all waited outside, ready to throw rice and bags full of pink petals that had been picked that morning. This was a good opportunity to evaluate how everyone was dressed.

Rice out front, ready for throwing

Laura (sister in law) and I plotting the flower toss

Here's the bride and groom getting a bag of petals dumped on them!

There was a pause between the ceremony and reception that we used to rest a bit and horse around for the camera. My husband and his brother, when combined, can be very amusing.

reservoir brothers

Finally, we’re off to the reception. The best part was the aperitivo on the lawn at the masseria (the dinner was inside). You know how there are usually various types of “food stations” at weddings? This one had the best food station ever: the live mozzarella making. Small “nodini” were created on the spot and put into a bowl of ice water for us to scoop out. They were truly delicious, much more flavourful than the bland white stuff you buy in the store.

Live mozzarella making stand

that's a lot of mozza

The aperitivo buffet

The iPhone did not have enough battery to show you everything we ate, but rest assured, we were in Puglia: we did not go away hungry. It was a beautiful experience for the eyes and gullet. By the time we left at 1:30am, after the first dance, the cake cutting, the bouquet toss, the garter removal, and the second dance, the dance floor was just warming up, heels had come off, and I’m sure they were there until dawn’s first light.

With wishes for a happy and long marriage to Francesca and Alessandro!