After a quick nap, the wedding festivities were off to a great start as everyone donned togas to participate in the "Sprad Games". Of course Mike and I couldn't quietly adorn ourselves with store bought white & gold togas....we had to make an entrance with our vibrantly colored home-made togas crafted from margarita-printed fabric we picked up in New York before leaving for Europe (they took up quite a bit of room in our suitcase!). With tequila flown in for the special event, we met new friends and wedding guests while competing in cut-throat games of musical chairs and dodge ball. It was a little difficult to take everyone seriously in togas, and the competition was cut short by a quick Tuscan thunderstorm that re-located our dinner destination to the villa restaurant.
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| I love this guy |
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| Mike with the happy couple! |
We were so excited to spend some time with the bride & groom during the welcome dinner. And after the storm, there was a sunset unlike anything I've ever seen before. It was a night of meeting friends, tasting delicious Italian wine, toasting the happy couple, enjoying cigars, and dancing until the early morning. The first evening was the first time we got a taste of the eclectic group of people we were in the company of for the wedding festivities - and they were ALL fabulous and made for an incredible party, and this was just night #1!
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| Villa grounds |
So it was pretty incredible that we woke up in time to go wine tasting out in Montalcino at 10a....or so we THOUGHT! My amazing husband booked our car for the wrong day, so we had a change of plans to visit a local Chianti winery for a light lunch as our back-up plan - and it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the entire trip. Plus, mixing up our plans enabled us to bring some friends! Our back-up driver took us on what seemed like a 60 mile an hour race through the winding hills of Chianti to Poggio Amorelli where we got to meet the winery owner, Marco, and settle in for a "light lunch" at an adorable little table that ended up lasting 5 courses and upwards of 3 hours long.
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| Oroccolo the horse! |
We snacked on courses of cheese, local olive oil, 21 year old aged balsamic vinegar, fine Italian meats, freshly shaved truffles and home made almond biscotti. They had a fabulous Super Tuscan called Oroccolo - which was the name of the winery pet horse, who we got to meet before departing. His favorite activity is eating and he has no working purpose at the winery, except to be handsome and greet visitors. He was super sweet - but as you can see from the picture, the size of him made me a little nervous. So naturally, after meeting the mascot, and drinking almost 1/2 of the bottle we got to "taste", we walked out of the winery with some of our very own Oroccolo wine to take back to New York!
After the winery, it was time for the the big event. Jason and Mich were getting married!!!! Even though it rained for just a few short minutes, it was a ceremony full of romance, laughter, and touching vows written with love by the bride and groom.
And the reception was more of the same fun! Never have we met a couple like Jason & Mich who embrace the joys of life and take advantage of all that the world has to offer. Their quest for an adventure as a couple is something that we both admire & we feel honored to be included on their special day. There were some amazing speeches and some dancing that lasted for some until 6am! But this crazy wedding crowd was so much fun & I didn't expect anything less!
So it goes without saying that after one of the best parties of the year, Mike and I were slow moving the next morning for our second day of winery tours. When we were in Italy last September, we discovered Brunello, which quickly became our favorite wine in all of Italy. In planning our trip this time around, we made a point to get out to Montalcino to try some Brunello & to explore yet another quaint medieval Italian town.
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| Montalcino Centro |
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We didn't have much time in Montalcino, so we could only fit in one winery. Luckily, we were able to get in to meet the owner and tour the vineyards of the Canalicchio di Sopra winery. And, as expected, we were extremely excited to walk out of there with our very own case of delicious Brunello to bring back to the states to share with our friends and family. The owner, Francecso was also kind enough to make a lunch reservation for us at an adorable little place called the Boccon di Vino just up the road. This restaurant boasted one of the most magnificent views of Tuscany that I had ever seen!
After a quick stop in the Montalcino city center for some gelato (duh!), we returned to Borgo San Felice for a "Farewell dinner" with the rest of the wedding crew - and it was QUITE the send-off. The entire party sat at one long, wooden, dinner table in a cozy, cavernous wine cellar illuminated by twinkling candlelight. It felt like we were having our final meal in Italy with 150 family members! The energy was a bit different as people recounted the events of the previous night and laughed at some of the incredible stories that were shared.
I've said this before, but I want to say again how blessed we feel to have such great people in our lives. During the rehearsal dinner, Mich did a brief speech, and in her speech, she said that "you are all invited because you are awesome, and we wanted you to be in the company of awesome people. So make sure you spend some time with each other, because you are all awesome". It made us all giggle, but I couldn't have put it better myself. Mike and I were so grateful to be included in their special day and we were honored to be in the company of so many "awesome" people. Congratulations to Mich & Jason - we love you both and we love your thirst for LIFE! Thank you for including us in your special day & we can't wait until the next time we see you both!
After a 4am wake-up call (where we arrived at the airport terminal prior to it opening!), we arrived in Tuscany before brunch and were greeted by our sweet Italian driver at the baggage terminal for our drive through Tuscany to the villa. We tried to pry our eyes open during the 60 minute car trip through the hills, but both of us could not keep our eyes open! It was a beautiful surprise to wake up at the incredible grounds of the Borgo San Felice. The villa was absolutely breath-taking and was complete with acres and acres of vineyards, a luscious crystal clear swimming pool, tennis courts, a little Roman chapel, and picturesque views as far as the eye can see. And the best part - the entire villa was reserved for the wedding guests! We had the whole town to ourselves. 
After a quick nap, the wedding festivities were off to a great start as everyone donned togas to participate in the "Sprad Games". Of course Mike and I couldn't quietly adorn ourselves with store bought white & gold togas....we had to make an entrance with our vibrantly colored home-made togas crafted from margarita-printed fabric we picked up in New York before leaving for Europe (they took up quite a bit of room in our suitcase!). With tequila flown in for the special event, we met new friends and wedding guests while competing in cut-throat games of musical chairs and dodge ball. It was a little difficult to take everyone seriously in togas, and the competition was cut short by a quick Tuscan thunderstorm that re-located our dinner destination to the villa restaurant. 
So it was pretty incredible that we woke up in time to go wine tasting out in Montalcino at 10a....or so we THOUGHT! My amazing husband booked our car for the wrong day, so we had a change of plans to visit a local Chianti winery for a light lunch as our back-up plan - and it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the entire trip. Plus, mixing up our plans enabled us to bring some friends! Our back-up driver took us on what seemed like a 60 mile an hour race through the winding hills of Chianti to Poggio Amorelli where we got to meet the winery owner, Marco, and settle in for a "light lunch" at an adorable little table that ended up lasting 5 courses and upwards of 3 hours long.
After the winery, it was time for the the big event. Jason and Mich were getting married!!!! Even though it rained for just a few short minutes, it was a ceremony full of romance, laughter, and touching vows written with love by the bride and groom. 
And the reception was more of the same fun! Never have we met a couple like Jason & Mich who embrace the joys of life and take advantage of all that the world has to offer. Their quest for an adventure as a couple is something that we both admire & we feel honored to be included on their special day. There were some amazing speeches and some dancing that lasted for some until 6am! But this crazy wedding crowd was so much fun & I didn't expect anything less!
So it goes without saying that after one of the best parties of the year, Mike and I were slow moving the next morning for our second day of winery tours. When we were in Italy last September, we discovered Brunello, which quickly became our favorite wine in all of Italy. In planning our trip this time around, we made a point to get out to Montalcino to try some Brunello & to explore yet another quaint medieval Italian town.
After a quick stop in the Montalcino city center for some gelato (duh!), we returned to Borgo San Felice for a "Farewell dinner" with the rest of the wedding crew - and it was QUITE the send-off. The entire party sat at one long, wooden, dinner table in a cozy, cavernous wine cellar illuminated by twinkling candlelight. It felt like we were having our final meal in Italy with 150 family members! The energy was a bit different as people recounted the events of the previous night and laughed at some of the incredible stories that were shared.
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