Sicilian Wedding in a Historical Castle

Our bride and groom Giovanna and Vittorio are a young couple in love with Sicily and its history, the perfect destination for a wedding in Southern Italy! They chose a wonderful Castle for heir wedding ceremony and wedding reception.

Castle is located in the area of Vizzini in the province of wonderful Catania, on Iblei mountains. Camemi Castle is a Fourteenth Century hamlet. A noble family named Ventimiglia built it for them. It used to be a summer residence of the viceroys from 1412 to 1830. Ventimiglia was an important noble family, they owned many castles in Sicily. Today the castle is a luxury hotel and an ideal venue for fairytale weddings.

Symbolic ceremony in the ancient hall of Sicilian castle

For their getting ready Giovanna and Vittorio chose the noble rooms of the castle.
Bride and groom wanted a lovely civil ceremony in wide and elegant garden of the castle. But a summer storm turned everything upside down and we put in action our plan be: wedding ceremony the beautiful old castle hall. An ancient and precious tablecloth embroidered by bride’s grandmother covered celebrant’s table, such a delicate and fine touch for a moving ceremony! Floral designer embellished the hall with ancient Sicilian baskets, aromatic herbs and small roses that gave a touch of romanticism to the whole civil ceremony.
At the end of the ceremony we planned Rice throwing with coloured confetti. As the matter of fact this is a must in every Italian wedding to toss bride and groom after the ceremony! So the party could begin!

A traditional Wedding Reception In Sicily

Bride and groom really wanted to tell their guests their passions through the choice of materials and flowers for their wedding arrangement. They chose a wedding theme: this was is a book that made them fall in love and that speaks of love itself. In every corner of the castle everyone could read love sentences from the book. Such a lovely idea! Large wicker Sicilian baskets with aromatic herbs – great passion of the groom – such as thyme, lavender, rosamary and small roses created a truly romantic atmosphere.

We planned wedding aperitif in the castle courtyard. It is a big square area surrounded by Castle walls. It features a lush lawn and a flagstone pavement. The big carob tree is the centerpiece of the courtyard, and of Castello Camemi itself! It seems to embrace and protect all the court with its leafy fronds. It rises on the spot where the old well used to be, like a Life Tree it is the source of all the magic energy of this place. On its branches we hung lots of dreamcatchers made with ancient Sicilian “dozens”. They really create a even more romantic and timeless atmosphere.
Castle courtyard was enchanting and it inspired country style and noble ambiances from olden times.

We planned wedding dinner the hall that used to be the old granary store of the castle. Here, a careful caterer and a refined decor created a unique and charming setting, made of high barrel vaults, thick walls of white local stone, pitchstone floor from the XVII century, bright colours and large picture windows to admire beautiful Sicilian landscape with Etna Volcano in the background. We embellished each table with small compositions of fresh flowers such as chamomile, small roses and many aromatic herbs. The basis of these floral arrangements was a book by an Italian author. Theme of the books was love!! Couldn’t be different!

A fantastic party in a Sicilian Castle

After the wedding reception dinner the party started with the cutting of a beautiful wedding cake! It was a big white and pink heart to symbolize bride and groom’s love. Around it guests admired several paintings made by the bride, a great painting lover but also a painter herself!

Right after bride and groom’s first dance all the guests danced all night long under a splendid starry sky of Sicily.
As Wedding gift to all guests bride and groom gave their the the “bomboniera”. Bomboniera (wedding favour) is a traditional Italian custom to leave a memory of the wedding. It is usually accompanied by sugared almonds. There are five of them inside that represent health, wealth, happness, fertility and long life. We love this tradition!!

What a great day for a Sicilian Wedding in a Castle! Discover more about this wonderful land and amazing Southern Italy! A wedding in Sicily will never disappoint you!