Why Italy?

Because.

Having a destination wedding came to fruition much like our relationship. I may have started it, but Joshua certainly saw it through. When we met, it didn’t take much time to figure out that, between the two of us, I am the idealist and Joshua is the realist. We’ve witnessed the Lord bring these two approaches to life together in some cool ways, not the least of which being this Italian adventure we find ourselves on with you.

It often goes like this: I throw out a crazy idea to Joshua, like a wedding on a coast 5,000 miles away from home. Then, because I make a very bad idealist, I start to think of every complication, every inconvenience, every if, how, and why – and I decide that a wedding on a farm in Franklin or beach in California would suit us just fine. It is, however, too late, for Joshua has heard the dream; for every problem there is a solution and for every inconvenience there is opportunity for a darn good story.

Honestly, it’s hard to retrace the steps from Ravello back to where this idea began. At the beginning of our story, Joshua and I connected over food, art, literature, history (okay well I like listening to what Joshua knows about history), and people. Traveling, we agreed, was a great way to experience all those things, so it became a priority to see the world together. While some couples create a list of movies to watch together during the early stages of dating, we had a list of countries to visit that was growing quicky.

Having been to Italy myself and awarding it as one of my favorite destinations, I soon imagined Joshua roaming the cobblestone streets, a gelato in hand, after a tour of the Colosseum. Rome, Florence, and – for the sake of this California girl’s sanity – anywhere near water, made their way to the top of our to-do list. I must have mentioned it to a friend or two because at our engagement party, people got to talking about an Italian wedding (so it seems that I am not the only idealist around here and y’all are equally to blame).

“Italy here we come!”  I heard amidst the crowd of our loved ones. Yeah, sure. But it did get me thinking, and once that happens it’s hard to stop.  

Just a few days after our engagement, we sat on the floor of my apartment. Reflecting on the special day naturally came with anticipation of another one to come, and that Italian seed began to sprout. As I rambled through the pros and cons of a wedding in Italy, Joshua listening intently, I was quickly ready to uproot the option. Even this idealist could admit that Italy was far, expensive, and over-the-top in every aspect of the phrase.

But Joshua spoke to my fears with an answer that was equal parts logical and dreamy. He said, “if we have the opportunity to give people an adventure, an excuse to do the thing they’ve always said they wanted to do, why wouldn’t we?”  And so we said yes to an adventure ourselves, with our favorite people by our side.

Try as I might, I have yet to find a way to casually tell people that we’re getting married in Italy. As soon as I begin the sentence, I anticipate the raised eyebrows, wide eyes, and invisible string pulling at the corner of their mouth before they offer some iteration of, “Oh, that’s cool!”

You know what else it is? Insane. And I can only think of one thing cooler and more insane than having a destination wedding.  

Saying yes to going to one.