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After a long lie in on Sunday I decided to have a final wander around Siena (even managing to go downhill at one point), during which I found most of the fountains and churches of the contrade. (Siena is split into 17 contrade or districts, each with their own traditions, church, museum, bar and club, symbol, colours and fountains). Siena is a strange place on Sunday. Being a catholic country (and with all those churches) you would think that the place would be closed. However, tourism is obviously important enough that it ensures that most of the stores stay open, even when you get into the heart of each contrade. So of course a little shopping was in order. I found a brooch and earrings in the shape of Venetian masks (there are several very beautiful mask shops in Siena and I needed a brooch for the dress I was wearing that evening). I also added to my postcards collection. After an ice cream, hazelnut and chocolate mint this time, I met up with mum and dad. We stopped at a local delicatessen so I could get a panini and an interesting roll which had ham, cheese and sundried tomatoes in it which I saved for my lunch the following day. Soon we were back at the hotel, once again relaxing before going out for a meal for the evening. 
The fifteen of us that were left decided to make our way back to the ‘Antica Osteria da Divo’ which we had enjoyed so much on Friday night, but although all the guide books said it was open on Sundays, unfortunately it wasn’t. Instead we went to a restaurant near the Duomo, opting for a pizza and pasta evening. After the excitement and late night of the previous day I was feeling completely shattered and whilst everyone else decided to sit in the courtyard for a while I went to bed after saying goodbye to mum and dad who were leaving at 6.30am the following morning.
So the day of the wedding finally dawned. Mum and Dad went back out into the town but most of us spent the day at the hotel, relaxing and chatting. After sharing pizzas for lunch, the girls congregated in the bride’s room to drink pink champagne and put the finishing touches to the favours boxes and the guys … well I have no idea what they were doing. Sharon’s husband Gerard was flitting between the two rooms capturing lots of fantastic pictures of the day. Soon the hairdresser had arrived and had done Jo and Sharon’s hair and makeup and it was time for the rest of us to go and get ready as we still had to walk through the town to the Piazza del Campo before the bride got there.
We met in the courtyard of the hotel at 5.15pm and all took a slow walk to the venue. The weather was a perfect 28 degrees and we soon got to the Palazzo Pubblico where another wedding had just finished. We spent a few minutes watching the wedding party having their photos taken before it was time for us to go and take our places in a beautifully decorated room within the building. The place was lovely, but a little warm as there was no air conditioning. Fortunately mum had bought all the ladies fans, which were very useful. A cellist played while we waited and it wasn’t long before Jo and Dad arrived. I may be biased as she’s my sister but I can honestly say she was the perfect bride. She looked absolutely stunning. Her dress was fantastic and the veil, covered in diamante sparkled in the sunlight as she walked down the aisle, a real vision to behold.
The ceremony was conducted by an Italian official with an English translation by the wedding planner. After the laws were read, and the vows taken Tracy (Paul’s sister) and I were called to the desk to sign as official witnesses, Jo’s friend Karen read a poem and then the wedding was over. The Palazzo is a museum as well as the town hall so a few photos were taken in one of the galleries outside before we went outside to throw rose petal confetti over the bride and groom as they emerged from the town hall. We then spent quite a while in the Campo having photos taken by the official photographer and Gerard followed by a visit to one of the restaurants in the Piazza to have champagne while the photographer took Jo and Paul all over Siena to get some more fantastic shots.
Eventually it was time to go to the restaurant for the reception. This involved a walk uphill (although of course everywhere in Siena is uphill) which was a bit of a problem for those in high heels, but we had soon made our way to the ‘Ristorante Enoteca al Marsili’ which was a lovely traditional Tuscan place. The tables were decorated with big candelabras and diamante was glistening on the pure white tablecloths. Soon we had all taken our places and were tucking into the fabulous feast. The hors d’oeuvres were Siena-style canapés (or crostini), followed by Tuscan Ribollita (a vegetable and bread soup) and then creamed tortelloni with pine nuts and rocket salad. The entrée was sirloin steak with mushrooms, roast potatoes and vichy carrots. Finally we finished with a slice of the divine Millefoglie wedding cake. This was all washed down with a choice of Chianti Classico or Vernaccia San Gimignano. The evening was very pleasant with a lot of laughter a few tears and hundreds of photos being taken. After we had finished our meal we made our way back down to the Piazza del Campo to continue celebrating the evening with a few more beers. Jo, Paul, Steve and I finally made our way back to the hotel at 3am, Jo and I removing our shoes to make the twenty minute walk home as our feet were killing us by then. It was really the perfect day.
