Italia: il Matrimonio de Sem e Briana

This is my longest post ever, but it is one of my proudest moments in life. I have one sister and I was so happy for her on her wedding day. I honestly thought this day would never come because Briana has always been a free-spirit. I love her husband Sem and her sweet little step-son, Luca. I love being married and I hope she'll have the same happiness that Damian and I have.

My mom made Briana's dress/veil (and mine). She did a great job and Briana LOVED it!!

Briana borrowed this cute little Fiat for her wedding day. Her friend only taught Briana how to drive it, so Briana chauffeured on the wedding day! It was fun to follow behind their car. All the townspeople came out to wish her and Sem well, to ooh and aah over her dress and cheer her car on.

They were married by the Justice of the Peace at the courthouse, or the Italian equivalent. It was a nice ceremony and mucho kissing afterwards!

Sem came up to my mom and said, "I am so, so happy today! Thank you for coming so far! Thank you for your daughter. This is a vey happy day for me!"


We two Goold Sisters have a silly sense of humor. We can hardly ever act normal for the camera!! But, since I was the photographer, there are hardly any photos of me, so I thought I'd better include this weird one.


Both sets of parents were THRILLED for the union of Briana and Sem.


One of my Matron of Honor Official duties: Rice Picking.

Sem's friend, Vincenzo handled all the appetizers, or antipasto, in Italian. He reminded me of a Basque guy.



Margherita, Sem's mom and AnnaLisa, Sem's sister, made the delicious first course, a Traditional Sardinian dish: Ragu al Cinghiale (Wild Boar).


There was no parking on the little street where the Reception was held, so the Newlyweds made a grand entrance, walking. Notice the little Italian Donna Anziana (Old Woman) watching from the window!


This is my favorite photo from the wedding day. Little Luca holding his daddy's hand with Sem's bride happier than ever!

I like this one too. I love these Italian streets, with the pretty balconies and flags.


Briana enjoyed some time alone with Luca, dancing and playing.


Sem's best friend, Michele was the best man. Michele's daugher, Maya also played with the bride!

Carey and Karl are two of Briana's friends. They are expatriates from England living in Bosa with their 2 kids. Their littlest, Evelina, is a good friend of Luca's.

The reception was held in a Cantina (basement) that is also used for Carnivale Celebrations. It was nice an cool, with a festive atmosphere. We all changed our clothes to eat. I'm on the left side, with blue dots on my shirt. My mom is in the front, with a black shirt. Sem is handing Briana a glass.


Dario and Margherita, Sem's parents were very fun to visit with. We had enjoyed an afternoon at their home in the country (I'll post about it soon!)



Vincenzo is a HUGE part of the local Carnivale celebration. He demonstrated the proper way to dance with the bells on. Then, all the Goolds tried it (and Briana's friend, Jade!) The video is of my dad, who gave the best performance!

The lovely wedding cake with "Best Wishes" on top!

An Italian Tenor came to serenade the newlyweds.

This little family (excluding the blonde bambina, Evelina) is best friends with Briana, Sem and Luca. Michele is Sem's friend from college and Maya is Luca's best friend. Briana loves Stephania, too!

After awhile, some men busted out their guitars and sang to the crowd, too!

As the night wore on (we were there about 12 hours!) and the wine flowed more freely, the Italians got more into the Carnivale spirit. One of the Carnivale Traditions in Bosa is for the men to paint their faces black and mob through the streets. So, everyone had their faces painted black with a burnt cork and there was more singing and merrymaking!

My parents have truley been good sports. They had their faces painted with burnt cork, danced with the Carnivale Bells, ate worm cheese (yes, that's traditional Sardinian fare . . . sheep cheese crawling with maggots), eating horse meat for dinner and eating prickly pear (cactus). I danced and ate horse and cactus, but no thanks to the maggots and face painting. I figure I don't have to impress anyone like they do. I did go cliff jumping with my dad, Briana and Jade, so keep checking for that funny post!