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Friday, September 19th, 2003... our wedding day!
After a leisurely breakfast with everyone, we checked out of Borgo Il Poggiaccio to head into Siena for the rest of our stay. We weren't in a hurry, so we took a detour to the Abbey of San Galgano, a striking old ruined cathedral set in out in the countryside. Shar's sister Kimia came along as she generously offered to help Kim during the wedding day and the ceremony. The abbey was a beautiful, serene environment and an ideal way to spend the morning. Unfortunately, our Zen state was bit shaken when upon leaving the abbey, Shar realized that the fuel gauge was very, very (very) low and we were faced with the possibility that we could run out of gas and end up stranded in the countryside on our wedding day! Gas stations in this part of the country are few and far between, and worse – they are generally closed between 12-3 p.m. Luckily we finally located a self-service gas station and made it safely into Siena in time to check into our hotel and dress for the ceremony.

We chose to stay at the 5-star Grand Hotel Continental in the heart of Siena, located a few hundred yards away from the ceremony and the Piazza del Campo. This was, by far, the grandest hotel room we have ever occupied. Kim had corresponded with the concierge to arrange early check-in to dress for the ceremony, and breakfast for everyone Saturday, and when we stepped into to our room we had quite a surprise... The hotel had upgraded us to one of their finest rooms, a two-level suite with views across Siena's rooftops to her two landmark churches, the black-and-white banded façade of the Duomo and the red-bricked San Domenico. Our entire ceiling was a lushly painted fresco – we were truly staying in a palace.

Kim's family had also moved into a hotel in Siena for the weekend, so Kim's brother Marty walked over to pick up Shar to get ready at their hotel nearby, while Kim and Kimia arranged everything to dress after her 4 p.m. hair appointment at a nearby salon.

After leaving Kim at the hotel, Shar, normally the more calm and relaxed of the two of us, was totally "the bride" and began to get incredibly nervous and anxious! Thank goodness Marty was there to keep Shar focused and occupied. Meanwhile Kim, who had her psycho moments in the days leading up to the wedding, was perfectly placid and relaxed. After getting dressed, Shar and Marty walked back to the Grand Hotel Continental to greet arriving guests while Kim remained in our suite out of sight.

On the way over to the hotel, Marty presented Shar with a letter from Kim, and her wedding present to him. The present was a pair of cuff links made from working compasses. Her letter was poignant and very meaningful to Shar at that particular moment. He knew he was getting an incredible woman for his bride.

By 5:30 p.m., our guests were gathered at our hotel for the groom's procession, along with our coordinator Ben and the musicians. Our musicians were an 'itinerant trio' of guitar-vocalist, violin, and accordion in the troubadour-style. They were, in a word, superb!

Led by the musicians playing lively Italian tunes, everyone strolled from the hotel through the narrow cobblestone streets of Siena down to the Palazzo Pubblico on Piazza del Campo. It was, needless to say, quite a spectacle! Shar walked with his arms linked with his parents and sister, followed by our guests, through crowded streets while onlookers and passers-by clapped and cheered. Everyone proceeded inside the Palazzo to the wedding hall, while Kim's parents Sol and Jan stayed outside to meet Kim when she arrived by car.

Perhaps everyone should have strolled a few more times around the Campo, because we did arrive a little early to the palazzo, creating a brief lull before the ceremony started. Although only a few minutes, it was more than enough time for Shar's anxiety to build!

But Kim arrived right on time, with her taxi driver grinning ear to ear. Escorted down the aisle by her parents, she looked every bit the radiant and stunning bride. Shar remembers Kim's walk down the aisle, but he was so nervous, much of the rest of the ceremony is pretty much a wonderful blur for him.

When all took their seats, Kim's father opened the ceremony with a blessing, followed by Shar's father who read a love poem by Hafez in Farsi, Efforts, a thousand, I made that my true beloved thou shouldst be. Then our female relatives performed a traditional Persian wedding ritual called the "Ghand Sab" or rubbing of sugar. In this ritual, female relatives suspend a shawl over the couple, while each takes turns rubbing two sugar cones together over the shawl, accompanied by boisterous music and guests' clapping and cheers. (Meanwhile, we sit and laugh, and laugh…) This tradition is an expression of best wishes for "sweetness" in our lives together. Our mothers, Jan and Judy, then shared the reading of the poem The Art of Marriage.

The Councilor of the City of Siena then conducted the official civil ceremony in Italian, with interpretation provided by our coordinator Ben. Following the reading aloud of the articles of law and the marriage contract, there was the signing and witnessing of the marriage contract, and the exchange of rings and our personal vows. We managed to hold it together during our vows, but we're told the violinist wiped a tear or two. At the end, there were hugs and kisses all around.

After the ceremony, we ushered everyone to a café on the Campo for aperitifs while the photographer took us around Siena for more photos. We returned for fun shots with everyone on the Campo, and then led everyone to the dinner reception at Osteria Le Logge, just off the piazza.

The dinner reception took place in a space set aside just for our party on the restaurant's second floor. They were tight quarters, but they managed to just fit us all in! The musicians accompanied us and continued to serenade us with a range of traditional Italian and Italian-American songs throughout dinner. There was little room for moving around, but after champagne, wine, and splendid food, with our parents taking the lead, people were up and dancing between the tables!

We had many fine toasts, musical interludes, and wacky moments. We must have been a lively bunch, even by Italian standards, because throughout the evening people peeked up the stairs from the restaurant below and from windows across the way to check out what was going on.

We managed to carve out intimate moments at our table for two, as well as had time to relax and enjoy our guests between courses. Not a common experience for many brides and bridegrooms! The reception lasted well past midnight and wound down with our trio playing Buena Sera, Senorita, which may have decisively become that ever elusive 'our song.' All in all, we had a fabulous time - and it did not quite end there!

As we walked back to our hotel around 1 a.m., Siena's nightlife had turned out. When we stepped onto the Campo in our wedding regalia, the entire piazza erupted in clapping and cheers with people calling out for us to kiss, and total strangers running up to shake our hands and kiss us! It was fun, embarrassing, silly, and thrilling all at once. We bid our adieus to guests who escorted us back to the Grand Hotel Continental and retired for the night after a magical day.

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