A toast to.........

Last month I had the pleasure of interpreting at a wedding organised by Klaartje & Torben, a Dutch couple running Casa San Carlo in Monteleone d'Orvieto in Umbria.

At a breathtaking location, under the warm June sun, a band played mood-setting music and a Dutch and Italian bride were married.

A stunning location, two beautiful brides and a mix of nationalities. In fact, on this particular occasion I wasn't required, as I am usually, to translate the official Italian ceremony into Dutch or English but rather to translate the speeches held by the witnesses. I had no idea what was going to be said, whether all witnesses were going to hold a speech or if it was going to be from Italian to Dutch or vice versa. As to be expected, all four wanted to hold a speech - one of them was a last-minute spur-of-the-moment decision -, two of them in Italian and two of them in Dutch; I translated on the spot so all the guests could enjoy the touching speeches they held, from Italian to Dutch and from Dutch to Italian.

In the meantime, chilled prosecco bottles were being set up for a toast to le spose after the ceremony. All the guests and, more importantly, the newlyweds were enjoying the perfect day. It was all so well organised and they were all enjoying themselves so much, that nobody even noticed when a cork from a probably-slightly-warmer-than it-should-have-been prosecco bottle popped out before it should've, right into Torben's eye. He raced off to the hospital to get it checked and Klaartje rushed in to take over and was still dancing with the guests at 3 am.

The show must go on, and it did. Complimenti!

For more information on what Klaartje and Torben do and on where to find them:

Casa San Carlo www.casasancarlo.com