Love under the Tuscan sun
This is the stuff that dream weddings are made of. Beautiful bride. Handsome man. Romantic scenery with a bit of history. Love-filled embraces, words and mirth echoing through the hills. You know that happily-ever-after feeling? Yes, just like in the movies.
The postcard-pretty scenery was Under the Tuscan Sun meets Only You. But none of the poignant drama and comic twists. Only profound love, I swear. I felt it. I saw it.
The bride, Myrza Sison, is a book-loving intellectual turned ramp diva who sashayed her way to becoming Summit Publishing’s magazine editor par excellence. The groom — Andrej Wisniewski — is a brilliant restaurateur/hotelier whose remarkable work ethic can only come from a revered culinary family.
The setting is Fattoria Voltrona in Tuscany, Italy — a vineyard/olive plantation/organic farm — with a cluster of houses converted into hotel rooms. History trivia: Its dining room was originally a 15th-century lookout tower. Brochure trivia: The vineyard produces eight tons of grapes per hectare. Enough to make plenty of good red wine to transport guests into bucolic bliss.
For Andrej and Myrza, this wedding was like a homecoming, with exactly 50 of their dearest kin and friends attending. The couple had two years earlier spent an unforgettable vacation here. So unforgettable, they just had to come back here — and marry.
But of course, it had to happen with what comes naturally for a picky restaurateur/hotelier. A feast of eight courses, including an antipasti buffet, a cheese buffet with various jams and honey, a dessert buffet that included the traditional tiramisu wedding cake, served with grappa and limoncello. And Prosecco after the ceremony and Spumante for the toasts. What a reward for their guests who traveled from Asia, America and Europe to witness their Tuscan tryst.
Of course, there was some catwalk fashion as well, with Myrza marching down the grassy aisle in her electric-pleated silk chiffon gown embedded with Swarovski crystals plus bolero by Michi Calica, matched with gold Grecian platform sandals by Emi Jorge for Solea. Her best friend-models — Bea Recto-Agnir, Tweetie de Leon-Gonzales, Apples Aberin and Malou Gonzalez-Hafner — aptly called The “S” Girls (go figure), together with Toni-Lorenzo Sutter, came in ramp-worthy glam. What a sisterhood! They did all the necessary tasks — from the bride’s pedicure to calligraphy to photography — plus made us all laugh with their intelligent wit and humor as well.
And so did Andrej’s Cornell University classmates, led by co-emcee Leo Yen, who waxed nostalgic with memories of their New York life and times. That made his parents, Tom Wisniewski and Annabel Santos-Wisniewski, recall their own Cornell days as well, with the clangor of pots and pans matching their impetuous passions.
Put in some poetic advice from Myrza’s parents, Book Sale founder Manny Sison and former college editor Lilia Sison, and you get the picture. These two united families will never run out of good food and the right words.
In this wedding, God was in the details, and so was the couple’s creativity. Most of it DIY by Andrej and Myrza from Divisoria, Marikina and the Wisniewskis’ Raintree restos — M Cafe, Chelsea, MoMo and Mr. Jones. (The Wisniewskis do hotel management for the Tiu family’s Discovery Hotels in Ortigas, Boracay and Tagaytay.)
The imprints of a restaurateur/hotelier and a lifestyle journalist were seen in their storied invitations; the thoughtful giveaways of Tuscan flavors and an Italian language survival guidebook inside a tote bag; the personalized luggage tags instead of the usual table name cards; scenic postcards to write on instead of the usual dedication books.
The giveaways in pouch bags contained biscotti and a note saying “a donation has been made for Fr. Giovanni Gentilin’s La Scuola de Gioia school for poor kids in the slums of Tondo, Manila.” This Italian priest, who has devoted his life to helping underprivileged Filipino children, came to Tuscany to officiate the wedding of his friends, together with another activist, ace photographer Giampero Gastaldi.
Details like these add depth to what would otherwise just be a red-carpet (rather, green-carpet) event. So much love, laughter and life under the Tuscan sun. I felt it, I saw it. This is the stuff that beautiful weddings are made of.
