An Italian wedding idea

    An Italian wedding is about as steeped in history and tradition as any wedding you are likely to encounter. Even in contemporary times, when the wedding is no longer arranged by the parents, you are likely to encounter things like the dancing of the Tarantella; the carrying of a satin purse for the purposes of collecting wedding cards containing cash gifts; the gift to your wedding guests of “confetti”, or multi-colored Jordan almonds; or even the tradition where the bride dances with every man at the wedding in exchange for money, which can be pinned to the wedding gown, or collected by the bride’s Nonna (grandmother).
The one thing, however, you can almost always count on at a traditional Italian wedding is the fabulous Italian cookies. There are varying theories on the tradition of the cookies, but the most common explanation for the tradition is that there was a time when it was too expensive to create a large wedding cake confection. Instead, family members of the bride and groom, from their mothers and grandmothers to their aunts and cousins, would all contribute a type of cookie. The cookies were then assembled into the shape of a cake, and at the point of the wedding where the cake would be cut, the bride and groom lead the entire group of people in a “cookie dance”. They dance around the reception area, with the crowd behind them, to the cookie table, where the guests grab a cookie or two as they walk by. If you don’t participate in the dance, you have to wait until the dance is over, then make you way to the table for your cookies.
The one cookie you must have is really a twisted knot of dough, symbolizing the tying together of two people, sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar. You will also find pignoli, which are pine nut cookies, and pizzelles, which are very thin waffle shaped cookies. Other varieties will include ones filled with preserves and figs, all traditional recipes from Italy.
If you choose not to do the cookie dance, a really lovely treat for all of your guests is to give them each a bag with a thank you note printed on them, and allow them to visit the cookie table with their bag. Filling a bag with your delicious Italian wedding cookies is a sweet reminder for your guests to take home of your beautiful wedding day.