From flickr.com

In Artimino, the church is probably the equivalent of three NYC blocks from the castle. So, it seems odd to have a method of transportation just to bring us to the church and then to the castle for the reception. However, there were a few things that factored into our decision to have some alternate method of transport.

1. I will be in a long, flowing, ivory gown, and I don’t think I will bustle it up until I am in the castle for apperativo (cocktails and hors d’oeuvres)

2. The road from the church to the castle varies between cobble stones, pavement, and dirt so I wouldn’t want to struggle to walk through it in my heels.

3. My dad has had some health issues that make long jaunts more irritating that exciting. I didn’t want him to have to walk anywhere.

4. I love the idea of the dramatic arrival for my father and I at the church before the ceremony and the even more dramatic exit for cotton dude and I to be whisked away after running through flower petals thrown by our friends and family – or simply driven around for a few minutes to soak in the fact that we will now be husband and wife before joining our guests.

From dreamcoachcarriages.com

The reason the question came up was because my wedding coordinator at Artimino offered a beautiful horse & carriage. This sounded amazing until we heard a terrible story about an aggitated horse throwing a bride out of the carriage – I don’t want to risk anything. I also didn’t know how thrilled my dad would be with the idea of hopping into a horse carriage.

So, we looked into other options, and we found an antique car rental service in Florence. We will have an antique white car to drive all of the bridal party to the church from the villa, and then the car will drive Cotton Dude and I around for a little bit after the wedding ceremony. This will be much more my style than the horse & carriage, not to mention more comfortable!