Honoring Italian Heritage Month: Old School Italian Wedding Style

In honor of Italian Heritage Month, allow me to pass along a story of a recent wedding involving a young couple from Kenosha.  Maria Patrizzi and Tony Montemurro got married at Holy Rosary Church, on Kenosha’s north side, on a perfect late summer afternoon.  It was in every sense of the term, an old school Italian wedding…but with plenty of new school flavor.  The traditional Italian wedding was at one point the staple of all nuptials in this area, but times have changed and destination weddings and 7 minute ceremonies have become more of the norm.  Well this wedding was an event that was a great testament to the “old school” Italian weddings from days past.

A Catholic Wedding Mass is an undertaking.  So many traditions are observed that one goes in knowing you are there for the duration.  And an hour and 20 minutes goes by in a flash.  The young people dressed in spectacular fashion.  The nerves of the groom as he stands alone in front of the congregation.  The entrance of the bride with her father.  It was all there and it was lovely. The wedding of Maria and Tony was spectacular but it was not a spectacle.  It was class, it honored tradition, it was not in a rush and at the end of the service, it was easy to believe that you were in the presence of love.  Those two young people walked out of that church with confidence. And I believe in today’s society, that is a rare commodity when people get married.

The photographs in the church followed and it should be noted that the photographer from Parisi Photography was impressive to watch to say the least.  Aside from hang-gliding above the horse-drawn carriage, this man was getting the shot!  Much of the group ended up at the parents of the bride’s home for a light lunch.  And for the record a “light lunch” is enough Italian food to feed South Dakota.  The Italian meats and cheeses on locally baked Italian bread are the types of sandwiches us men of size dream of.  There was fellowship, prayer, laughter, introductions and memories being passed back and forth as everyone geared up for phase two of the day…the Italian Wedding Reception.

The reception was held south of the border and was exactly what one would expect it to be..a full-blown celebration.  The meal was a 5 course extravaganza that was highlighted with filet mignon and chicken vesuvio.  And then there was the Italian desert area.  I am not joking, the deserts had their own area of the reception hall and it was roped off as though the Declaration of Independence was in there.  And they were wise to rope it off, it was beyond amazing to see that 14 x 14 square foot area filled with the best the Italian tradition has to offer.  No one could have possibly walked away from there hungry.

And then came the dancing.  If you think that once the lights dim and the music gets kicked into high gear, that you can just disappear into the evening on the dance-floor, you would be mistaken.  Italians don’t get further from one another at dance time, they get even closer.  And the old saying “dance like no one is watching” has no meaning there because they were all dancing with EVERYONE watching and in a big oval that stretched from one end of the floor to the other.  The combination of music was a perfect mix of tradition and a new beat.  The young lady singing Momma Mia and That’s Amore meshed well with the gentleman DJ that mixed the beats at a perfect pace to keep the joint jumpin’.  Folks took their turn in the middle of the oval with the bride and groom..no one was left out of this family circle.  And they were all out there til the close of the evening.

So congratulations to the happy couple.  You have many things going for you.  You are both mature for your years, you both have an amazing support system of family and friends and you have an educated plan for the next phase of your lives together.  I like your chances.  Thanks to the couple and their respective families for putting on a wedding that was worthy of the great Italian tradition it was patterned after.  Having been a part of the Patrizzi/Aiello family for nearly 30 years I can say without hesitation, they are the BEST party throwers in Kenosha history.  I’m relatively new to meeting the Montemurro family and let me say, that bunch was throwin’ down at that wedding.  You all were fantastic to see and to watch and to join with in celebration.  The collective families did an outstanding job of making everyone feel welcome and enjoying the union of these two young people.  Old school Italian weddings are a joy to attend and the wedding of Maria and Tony Montemurro should make anyone celebrating Italian Heritage Month smile.