Four hundred and fifty guests. Now that’s a big wedding!
In true European style, Natalie Costa and Joe Bartone, both 24, held a traditional Italian wedding in Canberra, with a Catholic ceremony conducted at St Christopher’s Cathedral (the same church where they were each baptised as children and where Natalie’s parents were also married). The reception was held at the Hellenic Club of Canberra, which opened up two of its function rooms to cater a sit-down meal for the abundant crowd.
Not only was the guest list huge, but so was the bridal party – six bridesmaids, six groomsmen, a flower girl, page boy and of course a bride and groom. There were five Chrysler sedans to fit them all in (oh, and a red-hot Ferrari too) and a towering five-tier wedding cake to feed 450 people.
The high school sweethearts treated guests to an entertaining floor show by renowned Italian wedding performer, Mario Gamma, and his long-time pal, Salvatore Coco (of Underbelly fame, and Heartbreak High back in the day). It happened to be Mario’s last ever wedding gig and to Natalie and Joe’s delight, Salvatore joined him for his final performance, where they both sang traditional Italian songs, and performed skits from their outrageous F.B.I (Full Blooded Italians) show.
The night ended with lots of Italian dancing and singing, which of course brought out the napkins for some traditional Italian napkin waving. Congratulazioni!
The groom and his attendants were dressed by Spurling Formalwear. Classic black and white was the colour scheme and they chose formal satin-lapel dinner suits with white waistcoats.
“I saw my wedding gown in a bridal magazine, it was exactly what I wanted and I absolutely loved it,” says Natalie of her Jasmine Bridal gown which she found at Nouveau Riche Bridal in Queanbeyan, NSW.
“I love the person that Nat is,” says Joe. “She is so caring, determined, loving and has such a beautiful spirit. She is like no one else I know.”
Natalie’s bridesmaids wore lilac one-shoulder evening gowns from Spurling, complemented by purple and white rose bouquets by Capital Flowers.
Natalie says, “I love that Joe is always there for me and always brightens my day. I love that he is so caring and loving. I love him to bits!”
“The cake design was a bit of a gamble,” says the bride of their chocolate and caramel mud cake by Cakes of Your Dreams. “I picked bits and pieces that I liked from other cakes and hoped they would work well together.”
The gorgeous couple topped off their mega Italian wedding with a five-week honeymoon overseas, visiting Dubai, London, Malta, and of course, Italy.
Photos courtesy of Creative Image Photography.
