‘We said if one day we got married, it would be here’: Italian couple to tie the knot in Kilkenny

People living in Kilkenny are well aware of its popularity with visitors from all over the world, but our city has left a particularly lasting impression on Simona and Dario Giordano who are celebrating their wedding here this week.

The couple, who hail from Italy’s Adriatic Coast, first visited Kilkenny in 2011 and have returned regularly over the years, with their children Giulio and Gilla now also joining the trips.

“It was the very first city that we visited when we came to Ireland for the first time,” Simona says. “We said to ourselves in that moment that if one day we got married, it would be here. After two kids that’s the case.”

The family now live in Paris and the relative quietness Kilkenny offers in comparison to the bustling French capital is something that draws them back time and again.

“Sometimes I come back here alone just for a weekend, I love the people. It’s really different from Paris, people are always stressed in the morning and the weekend,” Dario outlines.

The exchange of languages and culture at the wedding will be increased even more as Simona takes Irish lessons in Paris and will speak some during the ceremony.

Around 40 family members and friends are in the process of arriving to the country and the nuptials will be presided over by Kilkenny’s own Fr Jim Murphy, who in another remarkable turn of events, is a French speaker himself.

“Maybe the second time I visited, I started to search for a priest. I found him and discovered he spoke French, and I said: “Wow, it’s a coincidence,” it’s incredible,” Dario recalls.

Kilkenny-based jeweller David Wilson has made the couple’s rings, and Dario and Simona are pleased with the outcome of his renowned craftsmanship.

“We love the idea of a ring that’s made just for us, something unique,” Simona says.

“We discussed it with David who proposed some different models of our first idea of having a Claddagh ring, so we chose that and we’re very, very happy with the results,” she adds.

The wedding will mark a first trip abroad for some of the attendees, and with a plethora of attractive potential destinations available on the continent, some of the guests took a bit of persuading to come around to the idea of Kilkenny as a venue.

“When I told my mother, she said nothing but just went like this,” Dario says as he makes the classic Italian pinched fingers gesture.

“In Italian, it means you are crazy, but finally everyone played the game.”

With all guests now on board with the trip to Kilkenny and daughter Gilla celebrating her birthday on the same day, it’s sure to be a special occasion to remember for Simona and Dario.