Why Melbourne is great for Italian Wedding Photography

Melbourne is one of the biggest centres for Italian wedding photography outside of Italy. This is because the city has long had a large and vibrant Italian community. This community are proud Australians who also cherish the traditions of that their parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents brought with them when they settled here. This means, as any Italian wedding photographer knows, Melbourne's Italian weddings are grand events steeped in tradition.

History of Italians in Melbourne

The Italian community makes up a significant proportion of Australian society, particularly in Melbourne. Most Australians know that a large number of Italians immigrated to Australia following the Second World War, though in fact their connection to the continent goes back much further. All the way back in 1676, an Italian Dominican missionary based in Manila created a map featuring the Australian land mass. Additionally, one of the members of Captain Cook’s ship, the Endeavour, was from Venice.

Italians began settling in Melbourne almost as soon as the colony of Victoria was established. One of the colony’s earliest Italian citizens was Carlo Brentani, an ex-convict that became a respectable silversmith. More Italians followed and settled in the colony during the gold rush, many setting up their own businesses as greengrocers, tailors, shoemakers, bakers and so on.

However, it was following the devastation of Europe during the Second World War that the Italian population in Melbourne exploded. Between 1947 and 1961, the population of Italians in Victoria grew from just over 8,000 to more than 90,000. These immigrants integrated into Australian society, joining the workforce and participating in the community. At the same time, they brought with them their regional traditions, which they continued to follow in their new home, and passed on to the future generations of Italian-Australians. Today, Italians make up the second-largest ethnic group in Melbourne, after Anglo-Celtic Australians.

Italian Wedding Traditions

Any Italian wedding videographer will be able to tell you that traditions feature heavily in Melbourne Italian weddings. Here are some key Italian wedding traditions that you are likely to see at a glorious Italian wedding in Melbourne.

Luck and Italian Weddings

There are many traditions and superstitions surrounding good luck at an Italian wedding. For example, the bride must spend the night before at her parent’s house in order to bring good fortune. She is also prohibited from wearing any gold on her wedding day, other than her wedding ring, as it is said this will bring bad luck. 

There is also a tradition that is shared by many Western societies, which is that the bride should wear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue on her wedding day. However, in the Italian tradition, the bride also needs to wear something she has received as a gift. On the groom’s side, he should carry a small piece of iron in his pocket in order to ward off evil spirits.

Italian Wedding Ceremony Traditions and Etiquette

If you are attending an Italian wedding ceremony, it is important to not wear any white. It is considered very rude for anyone other than the bride to wear white to the ceremony. This is still the case even if the bride herself chooses not to wear white.

For the couple, the groom should not see the bride before the wedding ceremony, as this is considered extremely back luck. The bride is usually accompanied down the aisle by her father, who “gives her away” to her new husband. It is traditional for the father to shake the groom’s hand, before kissing his daughter and returning to his place in the first row.

Directly following the ceremony, it is traditional for rice to be thrown at the couple as they emerge from the church or wedding venue. This is said to represent a blessing for fertility. It is also traditional for all guests to personally congratulate the couple at this stage of proceedings. In some regions of Italy, the bride and groom also cut a log in two with a double-handled saw, to symbolise their new partnership. In other regions, the couple tie a ribbon in front of the church, symbolising tying the knot, or break a glass vase. In this case, the number of broken fragments represent the number of happy years they will have together.

Italian wedding receptions

Italian wedding receptions are large, energetic, and exciting events, which provide many opportunities for wedding photos that will last a lifetime. As you may expect from an Italian event, food and beverages are a key feature. Italian wedding receptions generally feature a sumptuous banquet of traditional food.

There are also a number of traditions common at the reception of an Italian wedding. In Northern Italy, the best man typically cuts the groom’s tie into small pieces, which are then sold off to the guests. Another tradition is for guests to hold colourful streamers attached to the bride and groom’s hands as they enjoy their first dance. The guests wrap them up in the streamers as they dance, symbolising covering them in their good wishes for the future. It is also traditional for the bride to dance with her father.

These colourful and beautiful traditions make an Italian wedding photographer’s job easy, as there are so many special moments to capture.