Italy wedding

I have attended four weddings now although this was my first one abroad. When one goes on holiday it opens new parts of your brain, especially when one sees new sights and experiences new ideas. For me, these can almost compensate for visiting a museum or being out of my comfort zone. Even so, I hate holidays with a passion as it involves changing my Aspergic routine. A normal person can cope with a holiday, in fact they even look forward to it, however for someone with autism it can mean a great deal of anxiety and fear. This being said, weddings are a little different, and for me this wedding was even more special as the main theme was 'nature'.

We were staying in Italy for 5 days, of which the wedding was three. We were very much looking forward to discovering a new part of Italy; I have always loved Italy but I have never stayed in Liguria which is on the coast. It felt like my life belonged in the 18th century; like the aristocrats who took part in the Grand tour of Europe.

The wedding was between old family friends. My mother knew the people from when she was an unlicensed pilot in Africa. The person who trained her was a wonderful man called Tim Wardbooth. My mother was a pilot for five years and knew Tim very well as she stayed at his home in Africa. It was his niece Georgiana Wardbooth who was getting married and she was marrying into a local aristocratic Italian family.

Georgiana works for the United Nations and the husband is an antiques dealer.The location of the wedding itself was very hard to find, and it was like finding a needle in the haystack. The husband-to-be's family owned a beautiful meadow full of greenery and wildflowers. It was high up in the mountains of Liguria. There were two cottages in the meadow. The husband-to-be walked to his wedding from one end, while the wife-to-be would walk from the other. They played Persian music which echoed across the beautiful green meadow. Even the fantastic dinner (or wedding breakfast as we would call it in England) was held within the meadow.

The Wardbooths really know how to organise a wonderful wedding as the guests were warm and welcoming. It was a very special atmosphere and the company was a delight with many stories of ancient Italy being told over the candlelight dinner. The feast itself was great fun; we were all summoned by a conch and brought into the marquee and we had a wonderful feast. We definitely feasted like Kings.

It was great being at the wedding, talking to new people and obtaining new information. It was really engaging talking to the newly made wife about her recent trips to Palestine as a UN representative. There were many UN people at the wedding in fact more people knew how to speak English than Italian. As the theme rightly stated, it was really lovely being surrounded by greenery and forest for the wedding I felt very attuned towards Nature.

During our stay we also visited the port city of Genoa as it was where our airport was. It is one of the oldest ports in Italy. The first fun historical fact which leaps to mind is that Genoa is a huge shipbuilding centre and is very famous for its trade and shipbuilding. It is now considered a world UNESCO heritage site as its has such a long history. My second fun fact is that it was the birthplace of Christopher Columbus who is said to have discovered America. He was born in 1451. He did not set sail for America straight away as he had some growing up to do first. He eventually set sail towards America 1492 and it was from the port of Genoa that he started his journey.

We had rented ourselves a wonderful villa in the mountains. The wonderful backdrop of the vast blue waters of the Mediterranean was on our villa's doorstep and it was a sight that will never grow old. What I liked the most about a villa was that it was not far from where the wedding was to be held. It belonged to a local farmer and his family. These were local, hard-working and kind Italians, who also owned a wine farm nearby. It was a small luxurious estate hidden within the mountains and the woods. When I first did my scouting of the farm I heard the donkey braying which startled me. I found this divine spot at the front of the estate where there was a swimming pool that surrounded by palm trees. In some ways Italy reminds me a lot of Africa.

I have always loved Italy and the history and this wedding break made it even more wonderful. Overall, it was just what I needed - a long weekend away from London. It was wonderful to be in another country where I could enjoy new sights and food. My main philosophy is to always remain curious. With this in my mind I am looking forward to being back in Italy in November for the Bride's father's 60th which is a surprise (so do not tell him!) I am relieved that I have done this wedding because it means that I can conquer the next one with relative ease and not fear any disasters.