Nathan and Margherita's Wedding - San Floriano del Collio, Italy - July 2026.

The evening before the wedding, the groom's parents, Kevin and Mary, hosted a Welcome Party in Udine Square. The delightful evening brought together family and friends, giving everyone a perfect opportunity to mingle and celebrate before the main event. 

The early arrivals in Udine Square.

The officiant, his wife and family members.


Bride-to-be Margherita and groom-to-be Nathan.  

The bride and friends.

The groom with his family and a close friend.

The happy couple surrounded by family and friends.

"The toast"🥂!

~~~~💕🎕🎕💕~~~~

On the wedding day of Nathan and Margherita, we met up at Baronesse Tacco, a historic 17th century farm house turned wedding and event venue, located on a hilltop in San Floriano del Collio. About 45 minute drive from Udine, this venue has breathtaking panoramic views of the rolling vineyards and offers a rustic, tranditional Italian charm.  


On our way to the wedding.


Gayle & Mark:  All dressed up and just arrived!. 


Ready to celebrate among the wedding guests!

The rolling hills of the Baronesse Tacco.

A perfect backdrop for an open-air ceremony. 

Here comes the bride🎕.

Just married 💖!

Eileen (cousin) & Joe, newlyweds of three months, among the wedding guests.


An "old married" couple playing "just married" - 45 years and counting...

Enjoying the view from the panoramic terrace.


With the handsome newlyweds.


The mother of the groom with the happy couple.

The family portrait.


"Cheers to the new Mr. & Mrs.! 🥂 Their very first toast."

After cocktails and music on the terrace, the celebration moved inside to the Folador Hall,  a beautifully elegant space for the wedding dinner. 


The newlyweds making their grand entrance.

The menu.

The toast from father of the groom.

The beautiful sunset from the Folador Hall.

Continued the celebration out on the terrace for the cake cutting.


Night view of San Floriano del Collio, sparkling from the terrace 🌜.

 ~~~🎑~~~

By midnight, the celebration was still going on strong. After bidding farewell to the newlyweds, Nathan and Margherita along with their wonderful parents, family, and friends, we said goodbye to the rolling hills of Italy. We returned home with fond memories of a spectacular day that we won't soon forget 💖💖!!
 

Trieste and Udine, Italy - July 2026

 Two days before Nathan and Margherita's wedding, we left Slovenia for Udine, Italy, stopping along the way in Trieste, an elegant seaport city, nestled right on the Italian-Slovenian border.

We had a great time walking along the waterfront until we reached the Piazza Unita d'Italia-you can really feel that this massive square is the heart of Trieste.

A busy Marina San Giusto, where we began our stroll toward Piazza Unita d'Italia.

La Lanterna, Trieste's harbor lighthouse in the background.


By the pier.

Piazza Unita d'Italia.

Palazzo del Municipio/ City Hall.

The "Palazzo del Lloyd Triestino" was a shipping building, now serves as headquarter for regional presidency and council.

Governor's Palace.

The Column of St. John of Nepomuk in Piazza Unita d'Ilatilia, facing the open sea.

By the Adriatic Sea. 

Trieste train station near the waterfront.

Trieste Port. 

After a 1.5 hour drive from Trieste, we arrived in Udine. Along with Mark and Gayle, we're staying at a hotel just outside the center with easy parking. It's perfect since the city center is just a short walk or a quick taxi ride.


Strolling into Udine city center. Spot the gilded angel on the Castle Bell Tower.

 
Udine Cathedral.

A beautiful piazza at the heart of Udine.

Church of Saint Francisco at Piazza Venerio, in the heart of Udine.

The steel "G&R" Heart Bench in front of the Saint Francisco Church, installed to celebrate the square's romantic history and Udine's connection to the origin of the Romeo and Juliet legend. 💔💕

In the evening, we met up with Paul's siblings and their families in Udine's main piazza. It was wonderful seeing everyone who had traveled for the wedding and catching up on everyone's travel updates.  

The Sibs+  at dinner.

When in Italy...Yes, pizza was absolutely on the menu!.😋

The Udine Piazza sparkled in the night as we said our goodnights 🌙🌟.

Piran and Portoroz , Slovenia - July 2026

 The next day, we picked up a rental car from Venice airport for our trip to Udine, Italy, where we were attending Nathan's wedding. Since we had the car for a full week, we decided to make the most of it by planning a road trip to explore Italy's next-door neighbor, Slovenia, both before and after the wedding celebrations. Driving from Trieste, Italy, we crossed the border and headed to Koper, Slovenia's largest coastal city, to spend the night.  From there, we went on to explore Portoroz and Piran, two of the country's top coastal resort destinations.

A fleet of luxury supercars paraded down the main street of Portoroz.

Our destination this afternoon was to explore more of Piran and the popular resort town of Portoroz. Although it was very hot and humid, we enjoyed walking by the town's famous Tartini Square, finding shade in the walled alleyways, and taking in the coastal scenery that curves out to the tip of the peninsula.

Piran Marina.

Piran harbor.

Tartini Square.

Tartini Square.

                   Piran Bell Tower of St. George's Parish Church rising above Tartini                                       Square. It's constructed as a small-scale replica of Venice's famous 

                                                     St. Mark's Bell Tower.

 

Statue of Giuseppe Tartini, a famous Italian composer and violinist at the Tartini square.

Fresh fruit at the open-air market 🍒🍓.

                                                A glimpse into Piran's medieval past.

Piran's walled alley.

Prominent Hotel Piran located in a prime waterfron position right on the Adriatic Sea.

By the Adriatic Sea, with the tip of the peninsula in the background.🐋.

Getting closer to the tip of Piran's Peninsula with the historic lighthouse at Cape Madona and the St. Clement's Church finally in view.

We had dinner before leaving Piran's Punta, the lively, scenic area packed of restaurants, cafe and people soaking up the Adriatic's sun. On the way back to Koper, we passed by the beach resorts of Portoroz and caught the beautiful, serene view of Izola from the Jagodje Hilltop.  

 Portoroz beach resort.

A hilltop view of the historic fishing town of Izola, with the freestanding bell tower of St. Maurus Parish Church in the distance. 


~~~~⛵🚣🐋🐳🐬~~~~