FAQ

We met in Italy, and we both speak Italian. Sicily in particular is important to Bristin, who studies Sicilian literature. In the summer of 2023, we bought 4 acres of land and a rustic farmer's shack in the Vendicari Nature Reserve. We hope this will be our summer residence for years to come, as well as our future place of retirement. We know many of our friends and family have not yet had the chance to visit Sicily, so we figured this party could be the perfect excuse for you to see it for the first time!

We met in Via dell'Inferno (Hell's Street) in Bologna in June 2012 at a Spanish-Italian language exchange. At the time, Bristin was doing her Master's and Alejandro was doing his Ph.D. at the Università di Bologna. Since then, our love story has taken us around the globe, from long-distance Venezuela to California, to train rides between Merced a Berkeley, to finally both being in Merced! We now live on a 7-acre ranch in Catheys Valley on the way to Yosemite National Park.
 

Instead of a traditional marriage, this wedding will celebrate Bristin and Alejandro becoming "domestic partners." In California, domestic partnership is legally equivalent to marriage without ascribing to the cultural norms of husband and wife. This option is the best fit for us as we wanted a union that would represent equality, fight against patriarchy, and allow us to write our own rules for what our partnership means to us.

We highly suggest not renting a car unless you are familiar and comfortable with Southern Italian driving and traffic. If you can make it to Noto, we can help you figure out transportation from there. The days of the party June 1-3 we will probably hire a bus to move everyone from place to place.

Many airbnbs claim to be inside Vendicari Nature Reserve but are actually not inside the reserve. We highly recommend booking with one of the places we mention on our website. You can either stay in Noto (if you prefer to be in a town) or you can stay in one of the three locations that are directly on the way to our house inside the reserve. Alternatively, you can camp out with us on our 4 acres!

Our events will take place at rural and beachside settings. This is not the time for evening wear and high heels!

For Saturday, please dress for a nice picnic at the beach. Think colorful sundresses and short-sleeved linen shirts and shorts with comfortable walking shoes (you'll need to walk about 15-20 minutes from the parking lot to the beach). Bring light jacket or shawl for dinner.

Sunday morning's activities (housewarming + Calamosche beach) will be active and outdoorsy. For the housewarming, we'll be painting walls and planting trees, so lightweight athletic clothing that you don't mind getting dirty and walking shoes would be a good fit. After the housewarming, we'll walk together to the beach (about a 20 minute walk). If you want to go swimming at the beach, wear your swimsuit under your housewarming clothes or pack it and change before we walk over. We'll make sure you have time to shower and freshen up before our ceremony, dinner, and dancing that evening.

For Sunday's evening activities (partnership ceremony + dinner + party), please wear lightweight summery attire in any shade of green from light mint to chartreuse to forest green. Great looks are long-sleeved linen shirts with no tie (or the typical Caribbean "guaybera") paired with light-colored pants or summery semi-formal long or short dresses. This would be the one event when (short) heels would be appropriate, but consider bringing a change of shoes for dancing. Bring along a linen jacket or shawl as it can get cool in the evening.

Instead of gifts, we are asking you each to contribute a service or talent to our celebration! For example, do you play a musical instrument? Are you handy with do-it-yourself house projects? Do you have a green thumb? Think about what service or talent you think you might like to contribute to our ceremony or housewarming. We'll ask for your ideas (as well as providing some suggestions) on our RSVP.