FAQs

Because of White Lotus. Just kidding (sort of) but we both always imagined our wedding becoming a bit of an adventure. There's something so special about experiencing a new destination with friends and family. We can’t wait to experience the magic of Tonnara di Scopello with all of you.

The distance to Sicily may vary depending on your departure city, but yes, it’s a bit far! If coming from the US, you’ll probably have a connection, and you’ll need to take a car from your arrival airport in Sicily to Scopello.

We recommend staying at Hotel La Tavernetta in Scopello for its killer views and amazing location! It's a modern hotel with a breakfast buffet, onsite restaurant, and infinity pool.

We have reserved the entire property from May 30th to Jun 2nd, and this is where the Day After event will be hosted. Email info@albergolatavernetta.it and say you are guests of Tatiana and Alvin's wedding to book a room. There is a three-night minimum for this hotel, but it may be possible to request two nights.

The town of Scopello is very safe and quiet! Sicily is very safe, but in cities like Palermo you should take the same common sense precautions like you would in any other big city.

Within Sicily, we’d recommend checking out the Zingaro Nature Reserve right next to Scopello, Ortigia (3.5 hour drive), or Taormina (3.5 hour drive). Most places in Italy are a short 60-90 minute flight from Sicily. Besides the usual suspects of Rome, Florence, Milan, and Venice, we would especially recommend visiting Puglia in the southeastern part of the country! See our list of recommended places to go.

We love kids so much, however we have decided to keep our wedding weekend adults-only with an exception of those in the wedding. If you have any questions or need to make arrangements for childcare, please let us know!

Due to limited space, we are only able to accommodate those guests formally invited on your wedding invitation. If you received a plus one they will appear under your name when you RSVP. Thank you for understanding!

So glad you asked. We will be having amazing Italian food! Expect a lot of pastas and seafood. If you have dietary restrictions, please let us know in your RSVP.

We get it! Please let us know if there's a type of seafood you really can't stand in the food question of your RSVP and we will do our best to accomodate you!

Yes! You can go through the RSVP flow again if you need to edit your answer.

We recommend being a 6.5 to 8.5 on the hunger scale – not so hungry you’ll be distracted during the ceremony, but hungry enough to have a big appetite for the cocktail hour and dinner!

We are anticipating gorgeously warm (but not too warm) weather at the end of May! We hear it’s as perfect as it gets in Sicily. Temperatures are projected to be in the high 70s during the day and the mid 60s in the evenings.

We have hired an amazing photo and video crew, and kindly request that guests refrain from taking photos during the actual ceremony. We will remind you about this before the ceremony starts.

Our dear friend, Reverend Michelle Goodwin will be officiating our wedding!

Michelle has been friends with Alvin since their early college days, and she met Tati during their 6 months living in Hawaii, and we’ve all been besties ever since.

She is! This will be the third wedding she has officiated.

Formal or cocktail attire please! We have some more details on what to wear on our INSPIRATION page.

By sunset colors, we mean bright, tropical colors! We would love to see dresses and gowns in all hues of orange, yellow, red, pink, purple – all of the colors you’d see in a vibrant sunset. Fun patterns and textures are also encouraged! We can’t wait to be surrounded by sea of beautiful, bright dresses.

No. Please do not go get an orange suit. If you’ll be wearing a suit, wear the suit you have! And if you don’t have one yet, please don’t get an orange one.

Only if your name is James Bond.

No.

No.

Sure! We would love to see you all in gorgeous neutrals – whites included – against the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Wear your best dancing shoes! If you opt for heels, please note that the wedding will be on cobblestones. Chunkier heels, sandals or flats preferred!

We highly encourage renting a car to get to Scopello and explore what Sicily has to offer! The roads getting to and around Scopello are an easy drive. We recommend avoiding driving too much in Palermo as there’s a lot of traffic and the streets are quite narrow.

When renting a car, make sure to reserve in advance, especially if you want an automatic transmission. Most booking platforms will default to a manual transmission, so ensure that you're selecting the correct option when booking.

Note: Legally, an International Driver’s Permit is required to drive in Italy. AAA offers them via mail or at one of their offices. You may or may not be asked by car rental agencies but if you get pulled over, it most likely will be requested by officials.

Shuttle pickups and dropoffs will be provided on the day of the wedding to wherever you are staying. For the welcome party, shuttle pickups and dropoffs will be provided to and from the main downtown area of Scopello.

Please indicate you'd like a spot in your RSVP, or shoot us an email hi@tatialvin.xyz

Parking onsite at Tonnara di Scopello is limited, but we have reserved a separate parking lot that is a few minute walk away from the venue entrance with plenty of parking. More info on this coming soon!

Tatiana will be taking Alvin’s last name, and Dannenbaum is getting an honorary position as a second middle name. She will soon be Tatiana Pearl Dannenbaum Hsia, what’s 4 more letters on a name that’s already long!?

Hsia is the Taiwanese variant of the last name Xia, pronounced [shi-ah]. This comes from the Chinese character 夏 meaning summer. Many people prounounce it "Shaw" which is ok too!

Dannenbaum means Christmas Tree in a dialect of German – similar to the song "O Tannenbaum"

Our beloved Siberian kitten Cleo Clementine will sadly not be able to make it. Her fur is far too thick for the hot Sicilian sun.

We are so glad you asked. Yes, you will likely see a cat. There are a couple of orange cuties that live on the property at Tonnara, and one of the cats that lives on the property at La Tavernetta is named Clio (with an i, but close enough!).

Your presence is the greatest gift of all, and we are simply thrilled to celebrate with you! If you do insist on a gift, here is our REGISTRY page. We kindly ask to not bring physical items to Sicily, as we tend to overpack as it is.

Yes! We are flying to Japan directly from Sicily after the wedding weekend. Send us your best sushi and onsen recommendations if you have them!

There sure is! Her name is Cuckie, and we are her biggest fans. You can contact her at cuckie@gatherevents.com