Ethan in Italy: My Mom’s Naboo Wedding

This is it. This was the big day, the whole reason we were even in Italy: my mom’s ~~Lake Como~~ Naboo wedding.

The event was honestly a lot more chill than I expected. Perhaps this was because my mom already had her first wedding. As a result, this was more of a celebration and a party (she already married Richard on paper a year ago). The only big logistics we had to keep in mind were the boat schedules to the venue as well as the different photos they wanted.

My day actually started quite normally, simply because I wasn’t assigned to do anything. Richard, his sons, and my brother already had their tuxedos and they said they didn’t need help with anything, especially since the tux shop had given them clear instructions on how to put everything together. My mom on the other hand was working with her sister, the hairstylist, and the planner on everything else. In other words, Isabel, Nick (my brother’s boyfriend), and I had the morning and a bit of lunch to ourselves.

My mom wasn’t too thrilled about the shoes lol.

The only guideline my mom had for us was to wear white and black and preferably a tuxedo. So that’s what I did. I commissioned this tux from Atelier Fugue at the beginning of this year, which gave it plenty of time for any adjustments (if needed). Keen readers of the blog will know that I’ve actually worn the tuxedo a handful of times before this, one in particular being the visit to the 70s themed bar a few months ago. Though this time, I’m actually wearing the tuxedo the way it’s supposed to be worn. Kinda.

The matching jacket and trousers are a given, but I had some leeway with a few of the details. One major one was the shoes. I originally was going to wear my B&L Sagans that I bought during my last NYC trip, but I opted against them since I felt like they were too delicate to be a smart, repeatable choice of footwear for this trip. Instead, I brought my black leather fisherman sandals, a collaboration between 2120 and Western Gifts. They’re a favorite of mine and I thought that they would look sick with a tuxedo, as well as with the other pieces I brought with me.

I’m also wearing an oxford workshirt instead of a traditional tuxedo shirt. This is one of my only white shirts, the others being a regular dress shirt and a button-down collar one; I went with the workshirt in case I was going to wear it again (but I ended up not). It’s still a cool shirt that worked for this rig. My mom wasn’t going to notice anyway!

Oh yeah, I didn’t bring suspenders or a cummerbund. The former was fine, but the latter was going to be a problem once I took off my jacket (or wore the jacket open, which I do). Thankfully the rental tuxedos came with an extra one, which I was able to wear for the day.

It didn’t take me that long to get ready, mainly because that’s the whole point of black tie: it is a dress code rooted in tradition, which takes the guesswork out of putting it together. This was also the only outfit that was pre-planned. Everything else was packed due to versatility, which is smart and how most people make outfits; you guys know that I’m a little different, as every outfit is made “in advance” or rather, is pre-inspired.

So once I was done (and no longer bloated from my pasta lunch), I walked over to my mom’s hotel where I met up with Richard and the guys for our “groomsmen” photoshoot. I use quotation marks because there weren’t going to be actual groomsmen on the stage. The photos were cheesy and expected for a wedding, but I actually liked it. There’s something comforting about leaning into tropes and kitsch, especially when its for a fun event like a wedding. After that was done, I ordered my first Aperol spritz and went over to help my mom with her wedding photos. No, I wasn’t the one shooting my mom’s wedding (they a photographer do that), but I couldn’t resist snapping my own BTS stuff (and ending with almost a thousand images on my memory card.

C’est la vie.

The wedding itself was beautiful and a lot of fun. You could just feel how chill everything was, which honestly is a breath of fresh air if you know my mom. The entire wedding party walked through Varenna to the boat dock, where we all piled into a private boat to Villa del Balbianello, the exact spot where Anakin and Padme got married. Everywhere we went, people’s eyes followed; some even applauded and shouted their congratulations as they obviously could tell this was a wedding party.

It’s quite something to see your mom get married. It’s not a sight normally seen by children, but I’m glad I got to see this. Like I said in the master post, my mom had always talked about a ceremony on Lake Como and I could see how happy she was to make it happen. You could also feel the love she and Richard have for each other. Both of them are analytical, cultured, and caring but oddly enough, this wedding allowed them room to be a little silly. My mom’s vows were taken from a prompt from ChatGPT, which included many fandom references. Richard faked us out by having an extraordinarily long piece of paper; his vows ended up taking up less than a couple of minutes.

I also want to note that she walked down the aisle to a choral version of Creep (I’m pretty sure this was taken from the iconic trailer to The Social Network) and then instead of the traditional wedding recessional, the couple walked out to the Throne Room cue from A New Hope (the part that sounds like Pomp & Circumstance, not the Force theme mind you).

Official photos shortly followed and then we had about 30 minutes of freetime for our own pics around the Villa before taking the boat back to Varenna. We had about an hour for an aperitivo, which was where I was actually able to talk to the other guests as well as my new step-siblings and their partners.. As you’ll see from the photos, there weren’t a lot of us but it made for fun conversation! One of the guests’ children actually included someone who wanted to up his style for college. I shared with him my POV philosophy on clothing which he took to immediately; it probably helps that he likes writing music on his own, which always has parallels to developing style.

After dinner, we danced the night away. Songs included My Sharona, selections from Grease, and The Bee Gees. I could definitely tell that my mom picked all the music. It’s a little funny to have a party in a small hotel’s dance floor with around twenty people, but intimacy only made it more fun. You could tell that everyone had a great time and were gracious to be there for mom and Richard’s big day. I was also excited to spend more time with Richard’s kids, as they were going to join us for the next legs of this big Italy trip!

But more on that soon.

@ethanmwong
Its great to see your mom in love. Shes also a nerd who got married on naboo lol but it was a good excuse to wear a tuxedo in italy! #fashion #menswear #vlog #wedding #menstyle #ootd
♬ original sound – Ethan M. Wong