Tag Archives: Wedding

Planning A Wedding in Puglia, Italy?

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Our Perfect Italian Wedding – Getting Married In Puglia.

Our wedding in Puglia, Italy.

In August 2013 my husband and I had the most fabulous wedding in Puglia, Italy.  We heartily recommend this fabulous region for any other couples wanting an affordable yet fabulous authentic Italian experience.  The wonderful climate, fantastic food and wine and the friendliness of the people simply amazed us.

To help you decide if this could be an option for you I will give an overview of the wedding in this magical location.

When planning the event we wanted to have a wedding that was intrinsically Italian – to celebrate our wedding the way an Italian family would. This we achieved and more………

We knew the owners of the Masseria Della Zingara, which is located just outside Triggianello, near Castellana Grotte in Puglia.  So it was the natural choice of venue.  The beautiful masseria sleeps 19 which was the perfect solution for us and our closest family to stay.  In fact we hired the entire masseria for 2 weeks.  The rest of our guests stayed in the other local guest houses or in the nearby stunning costal town of Polignano a Mare.  We were able to utilise a local taxi company who used mini buses to ferry the guest back and forth for the celebrations.

Our wedding in Puglia, Italy at the Masseria Della Zingara

Our wedding in Puglia, Italy at the Masseria Della Zingara

Our actual wedding (with 45 guests) lasted 3 fabulous days.  We had a pre-wedding dinner on the night before, a noon wedding on the actual day and a post wedding pool party the day after.  It was all magical.  I wish we could do it all again!  The entire two weeks, including all the wedding celebrations cost us the same as the average one day wedding in the UK.  Great value for money I think you would agree.

The Cheese man makes fresh mozzarella at our pre wedding dinner held at the Masseria Della Zingara

The Cheese man makes fresh mozzarella at our pre wedding dinner held at the Masseria Della Zingara

Wedding pool party gets ready at Masseria Della Zingara

Wedding pool party gets ready at Masseria Della Zingara

The civil service was held in the city commune in Castellana Grotte, 15 minutes drive from the Masseria.  We were extremely honoured to have the Mayor perform the ceremony.  All the guests were ferried back to the masseria for the celebrations while the mayor arranged for us newly weds to have some photos taken at the famous Castellana Grotto caves.  Magic!

We then had the most incredible celebrations back at the masseria, a truly spectacular buffet reception and a blessing in the masseria’s chapel.  The most amazing authentic local musicians and dancers entertained our guests (and us of course) .  Our photographer (who I cannot recommend enough) whisked myself and my husband away to a local trulli to have some atmospheric photos taken – just brilliant.  Later, we were all up dancing the night away and it was so much fun.  And to finish the evening, fireworks!

I can truly recommend a Puglian wedding.

Where –  The Masseria Della Zingara, Castellana Grotte, Puglia Italy.
Contact – Jan King  (jan at  masseria della zingara dot com.)
Photograhper – Rob Kennard.
Make Up Artist – (BAFTA awarded) Sue Howard (contact her via her Villa Silvana website)  She can also recommend hairstylists.

Guest Accommodations.
Masseria Della Zingara
B&B Masseria-Cesarina
Covo dei Saraceni Hotel

B&B Casa Dorsi
B&B Santo Stefano
B&B Tra Le Mura
Masseria Capocaccia

Villa Silvana 

Taxi company – Taxicar

Remember to enjoy your day.

Mamasimx

 

 

Need A ‘Home’ Themed Gift for Christmas? Look No Further than these journals…

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An offer for you my lovely blog readers of my latest  journals……….

Buy 1 and get the companion journal free!

‘Our Homes’ and ‘This House’ companion journals.  The perfect christmas gift.  For yourself, families or couples.  In fact, for any homemaker. 

Buy ‘Our Homes – The Story Of’ and receive the companion journal  for free.  That’s a saving of £10.50 ($17).

The first journal, Our Homes – The Story Of, is the journal in which you keep a treasured record of your family’s homes. It’s a journal you take with you from home to home so over the years you build a wonderful record of the family homes in which you have lived. The journal contains dedicated chapters for each home. The homes address, the dates you moved in and out, why you moved there, improvements or changes you made to the house and garden, the things you liked best about living there, best memories and memorable events, why you are leaving the house, where you are moving to and plenty of blank pages for photographs and keepsakes.

Browse an example of ‘Our Homes – The Story Of

Our Homes - The Story Of. The perfect gift.

Our Homes – The Story Of. The perfect gift.

Our Homes - The Story Of. The perfect gift.

Examples page for Our Homes – The Story Of.

 But don’t believe just me -here’s what my customers say!

“I bought this book as the companion book to “This House: The story of” for a housewarming gift for a friend. The idea was just ideal for what I was looking for. Well, I received these books and am so impressed with them that I’m going to get some for myself! I have lived in a lot of different homes and love the idea of being able to record that information. I love that this history will be recorded and that my young family will have a memento of all their homes. I’m just not sure if one book will be enough!”

” I’ve just checked out your books and they’re awesome! We’ll order Our Homes, I love the idea of handing that down to our kids one day, who doesn’t feel nostalgic about their childhood homes! Great house warming gift too huh” 

 “Essentially, it’s a ready-formatted scrapbook where you can enter various details, memories and facts about all the homes you have lived in. The author, Simone, is lovely and has answered any questions I had via Twitter – you can find her there @simauthor. I asked whether I should start from my first childhood home, or from my first home with my partner (our current home) and Simone recommended that we start right from the beginning for both of us. It’s a lovely idea to make sure we capture our memories on paper before we forget them – and as I’m not always very disciplined it’s a great idea for me.”

 There are limited copies – so order today!  And you will receive completely free –  

The companion journal – and the journal you will receive free if you buy ‘This House – The Story Of’ belongs to your home. The current owners have custodianship of the journal and the pleasure of completing one chapter. When they leave the journal is left as a gift to the new owners. The journal’s purpose is to provide a tangible link between the current owners and those who have previously made the house their home—giving a peek into its history, and a glimpse into the stories of those who have loved the house in their turn. The journal contains chapters for each owner to complete. The journal is a perfect gift for house warmings and weddings, and would be equally appreciated as a birthday or Christmas present—for someone else or yourself.  Imagine moving into your new home and finding a book that tells you it’s history, who lived their before you and see picture of what the house looked like when they did.

Browse an example of ‘This House – The Story Of

Here is what my customers say about ‘This House – The Story Of’

“Just received this book in the mail today & flipped through it.  I simply love this idea. My husband & I have lived in a few different homes & have both remarked about how great it would be to have a history about our home. That’s why when we built our current home, which we plan on being in for some time, we documented our building process. Now I have a place to record our documentation along with any changes we make over the years. I also very much like the idea of learning who the families are who’ve lived in a home. I look forward to filling that portion of the book out too.”

“I was looking for a gift and saw this for a friend who is moving into a new home. I loved the idea so much that I bought the companion book also “Our Homes: The Story Of”. I have just received the books and think they are so fantastic I am going to get myself a copy too. I have built a few homes and love the idea of passing on this experience to the new home owners. I can’t wait to get started!”

“As soon as I saw this journal I bought it, along with the companion journal Our Homes. 
My husband and I have owned eight houses in the course of our life together, and we probably haven’t finished moving yet. We have built two and extensively renovated others. The idea that when we move on we can leave a record for the new owners of who was there before them and what we did and why, is a very evocative one.”

“I loved the idea of this journal so much I bought it immediately, along with its companion journal This House: the story of. 
I have lived in a dozen homes in my life — buying and selling being the way my husband and I thought to make a pound or two. We have owned eight and rented others while building. Once in a while I’ll test my brain by recalling addresses, dates and events linked to each one. As soon as I saw these journals I realised they were what I needed. And I love how the author, in the Look Inside pages, has mocked up example chapters to show just how creative you can be with your own copies of the journals.” AEW Australia.

Buy your copy now in time for Christmas – with free delivery!

Remember there are limited copies so be quick to ensure you get your bonus companion copy of ‘This  House – The Story Of’.

And save £10.50. ($17)…..

UK – Buy from Amazon here.

US – Buy from Amazon here.

To receive you free companion copy – Simply email me the copy of your purchase receipt with name and delivery details and I will send the companion journal.  (admin at howtoparenttoday dot com.)

Mamasimx.

Don’t forget to enjoy your day.

 

© 2013  Simone L Woods

Marriage Isn’t For You

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Marriage Isn’t For You

This is an absolutely fantastic post from Seth Adam Smith.  I don’t usually like to pull posts from other sources, but when one really touches me as this does I just want to spread the news about the author…….  Read it and let me know your thoughts…..

MarriageHaving been married only a year and a half, I’ve recently come to the conclusion that marriage isn’t for me.

Now before you start making assumptions, keep reading. I met my wife in high school when we were 15 years old. We were friends for ten years until…until we decided no longer wanted to be just friends. 🙂 I strongly recommend that best friends fall in love. Good times will be had by all. Nevertheless, falling in love with my best friend did not prevent me from having certain fears and anxieties about getting married. The nearer Kim and I approached the decision to marry, the more I was filled with a paralyzing fear. Was I ready? Was I making the right choice? Was Kim the right person to marry? Would she make me happy? Then, one fateful night, I shared these thoughts and concerns with my dad. Perhaps each of us have moments in our lives when it feels like time slows down or the air becomes still and everything around us seems to draw in, marking that moment as one we will never forget. My dad giving his response to my concerns was such a moment for me. With a knowing smile he said, “Seth, you’re being totally selfish. So I’m going to make this really simple: marriage isn’t for you. You don’t marry to make yourself happy, you marry to make someone else happy. More than that, your marriage isn’t for yourself, you’re marrying for a family. Not just for the in-laws and all of that nonsense, but for your future children. Who do you want to help you raise them? Who do you want to influence them? Marriage isn’t for you. It’s not about you. Marriage is about the person you married.” It was in that very moment that I knew that Kim was the right person to marry. I realized that I wanted to make her happy; to see her smile every day, to make her laugh every day. I wanted to be a part of her family, and my family wanted her to be a part of ours. And thinking back on all the times I had seen her play with my nieces, I knew that she was the one with whom I wanted to build our own family. My father’s advice was both shocking and revelatory. It went against the grain of today’s “Walmart philosophy”, which is if it doesn’t make you happy, you can take it back and get a new one. No, a true marriage (and true love) is never about you. It’s about the person you love—their wants, their needs, their hopes, and their dreams. Selfishness demands, “What’s in it for me?”, while Love asks, “What can I give?” Some time ago, my wife showed me what it means to love selflessly. For many months, my heart had been hardening with a mixture of fear and resentment. Then, after the pressure had built up to where neither of us could stand it, emotions erupted. I was callous. I was selfish. But instead of matching my selfishness, Kim did something beyond wonderful—she showed an outpouring of love. Laying aside all of the pain and aguish I had caused her, she lovingly took me in her arms and soothed my soul.

Marriage is about family. I realized that I had forgotten my dad’s advice. While Kim’s side of the marriage had been to love me, my side of the marriage had become all about me. This awful realization brought me to tears, and I promised my wife that I would try to be better. To all who are reading this article—married, almost married, single, or even the sworn bachelor or bachelorette—I want you to know that marriage isn’t for you. No true relationship of love is for you. Love is about the person you love. And, paradoxically, the more you truly love that person, the more love you receive. And not just from your significant other, but from their friends and their family and thousands of others you never would have met had your love remained self-centered. Truly, love and marriage isn’t for you. It’s for others. This post originally appeared on ForwardWalking.com, a website dedicated to helping people move forward in life.