Our Europe Honeymoon at Vatican City: Attending General Audience as Newlyweds for Pope Francis' Papal Blessing

General Audiences (or Papal Audiences) are held on Wednesdays if the Pope is in Rome. Visitors may typically wish to obtain tickets in advance (free of charge) to enter St Peter's Square for the audience. If you do not have a ticket, you can still enter and participate at the back of the Square.

The Audience usually starts at 10.30am and will include small teachings and readings. Depending on the groups that were visiting, there will be different addresses made to them in their languages. The Audience will end with several blessings where the Pope will pray for different intentions and bless any religious articles visitors have brought along.

For more information on Papal Audience, check out the official website here.

Tickets collection the day before

In our previous post on how to reserve tickets to the Audience as Sposi Novelli in Singapore, we mentioned that we have received the attestation certificate and a copy of the letter from the Papal Household.

It was indicated in the letter that we can collect the General Audience tickets in Pope Paul VI Hall between 3pm to 7pm on the day before the Audience, or between 7am to 10am on the actual morning itself.

To ensure that there are no hiccups, we decided to collect it the day before. It was rather easy to find the queue. Once we entered the city, there was a pretty long queue that has formed along the Square.

The queue for tickets collection

Everyone was just patiently waiting for their turn to enter the hall for tickets collection. There is a bag and security check along the line and I had to stay behind because Mr R has forgotten to remove his Swiss Army Knife from his backpack. :(

Anyway, he took some photos along the way while he waited for the tickets, so here goes:

More queuing....

Done!

Here's how the tickets looked like

Buying a Zuchetto for the exchange

Word has it that if you present a Zuchetto to the Pope and it fits, he will exchange his Zuchetto for yours.

After we collected the tickets, we made a trip to Gammarelli, the Vatican tailor, to purchase a Zuchetto. It cost about 80 Euros (~120SGD). 

Gammarelli, tailor for Roman Clergy

Ditta Annibale Gammarelli (Via S. Chiara 34 - 00186 Roma) was about a 30 minutes walk from St Peter's Square and you probably need to use google maps or equivalent to navigate your way around. It opens on weekdays from 8.30am to 7pm.

Our happy little purchase

Preparing for the Audience

As part of the Sposi Novelli requirement, I bought myself a simple white dress online and brought my veil along (just in case). 

The top criteria i had in mind was lightweight and wrinkle-free... because backpacking with a full bridal dress is not really a funny joke and going to meet the Pope with a wrinkled dress is a huge no-no too!

The dress i bought

Day of the General Audience

The security counters are opened from 8am, but because Sposi Novelli couples have a designated sitting area, we decided to enter the Square only at about 10am. It was really packed with people who were early so that they can get a good view.

Can you tell it was scorching hot??

The weather was crazy that day and we were kind of relieved that we didn't join the crowd earlier. For people who have lived their lives on the equator, the sun was killing us. Imagine how ironical it would have been to be down with heatstroke when we are in Rome. :'D

We could barely keep our eyes open

Mr R's camera has an incredible zoom!

Queuing up to queue for blessings

After the Audience has ended, the Pope went round the Square to greet the other visitors. The Sposi Novelli has to queue up to wait for Pope Francis to be back.

Everyone waiting patiently to meet the Pope

Spotted a Chinese couple in her Kua

Finally the moment arrives! The Pope appears and started blessing each and everyone of us.

Pope Francis trying on our Zuchetto

Pope Francis blessing the religious articles we bought

Star Struck moment

One thing to note is that we are not allowed to take photos during the interaction with the Pope. Someone will pass you an instruction slip with details on the venue to select, purchase, and collect official photos. We purchased the three photos above (together with some other photos) in digital format and 4R printed format.

After the blessing we were ushered into the Basilica where we were allowed to admire the pieces up close.

The famed La Pieta
It was too crowded to get closer though

Love how the lights are filtered in from the ceiling

We bought night tickets to the Vatican Museum on another day so we called it a day at the Vatican City.

Our Europe Honeymoon at Vatican City: Getting There

After our two nights stay at the bridal suite, we set off for our 18-day Europe Honeymoon trip. The first stop is of course the main highlight of the trip: Vatican City!

Flying in to Rome via Singapore Airlines

I must say that Singapore Airlines is Singapore's pride for a reason. They gave us a handwritten card, champagne and a cake to commemorate our honeymoon trip! *nomnom*

Congratulatory cake from Singapore Airlines

After the really long flight, we finally reached Rome's Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport! We bought our Leonardo Express tickets to Rome Termini Station via the many automated ticket kiosks. We read online that you can also buy the tickets from the newstands but we didn't attempt that.

It was a rather straightforward process using the booth to purchase tickets

A cup of Italian coffee later, we are on our way to Romaaaa!

Boarding the Leonardo Express and reaching Rome in 30 mins

The first thing we did when we reached Rome was to head over to TIM store and get ourselves data SIM. TIM allows us to use the data throughout Europe and the plan was rather friendly on the pockets. They had a bundle deal so we got separate data SIM for easy communication.

On board Metro Line A to Ottaviano San Pietro Station
Pardon my face still swollen from water retention and the 14-hour flight

After settling our data connection and reporting our safety to homeland, we took Metro Line A to Ottaviano S. Pietro. There are several ways to get to Vatican City but taking the metro is a safer option. Buses to Rome are notorious for their skillful pickpockets and we really didn't want to be easy targets on our first day there.

If this helps, i made a little directions guide to getting to the Hotel

From the station, it was a quick five minutes walk to Hearth Hotel, where we booked the double room for four nights. Hearth Hotel is strategically located right opposite of the Vatican Museum, and there are cafes, supermarkets, and food market (Mercato Trionfale) all within the vicinity. Breakfast was included and we spent approximately 150 Euros per night's stay (~SGD230 per night).

Hearth Hotel: Simple hotel with great service

We explored the area a little before going into Vatican City to collect our General Audience Tickets. Lunch at the Trattoria opposite the museum was simple but good. Having pasta in Italy is really an eye-opening experience because it looks so ordinary and yet tastes so good!

Trying to decide what to eat...

We were a little skeptical when food was served but after we tasted it, we were sold!

Taking a stroll along Sant Angelo Fortress and exploring Vatican City:

Sant Angelo Fortress

Finally here at Vatican City!

The Mango of the Catholic world :D

We ended the day with exploring the Pantheon and taking in the scenic river view.

The Pantheon

We chanced upon this place which seemed to be really popular

Interesting deco in the store

Everyone was just standing at the counter enjoying their coffee and snacks

We will be sharing more photos in the next few updates! Stay tuned!

Our Europe Vatican Sposi Novelli Trip - 5 Easy Steps to Meet Pope Francis for Newlyweds' Papal Blessings

One day I came across this article on how a newlywed couple met the Pope and received his blessings for their marriage and I thought to myself, ''how wonderful it is if I can have the chance to do so too!''

A smiling Pope Francis
Credits: Biography.com

When Mr R and I decided on a wedding date, I decided to find out how to get us tickets to Sposi Novelli (which just means ''newlyweds'' in Italian). Here I sum them all up in a few easy steps and we hope that it will help other couples who are keen to do so as well.


1. How do I qualify for the Papal Blessing? 

You must fulfill the following criteria:
a. Couples must be married within two months of the general audience date that they wish to attend;
b. They must bring both the certificate of attestation from the Chancery and the sacramental marriage certificate for verification;
c. The newlyweds must wear their wedding attire (or something similar) during the audience.

Wedding couples at Audience for Sposi Novelli
Credits: pnac.org

2. Who should I contact in Singapore?

Email Chancery of Singapore for a form to request for reservation of Sposi Novelli tickets at pachancery@catholic.org.sg. The friendly folks will answer your questions and tell you what are the documents required.

3. How should I request for the general audience tickets?

Fill in the form with the names that will appear on your sacramental wedding certificate (to note especially if your Christian name is not part of your NRIC name), and inform the Chancery of your wedding date, Holy Matrimony venue (Church), and the Priest who will be officiating the sacrament.

Our wedding setup at Church of the Nativity of the B.V.M.

4. How long do I have to wait for a confirmation?

After the submission of form to the Chancery office together with a copy of the sacramental marriage certificate, you will have to wait for three to four weeks for the Prefecture of the Papal Household's confirmation. 
Tip: If you are like us (who are going on honeymoon right after the wedding), let the Chancery know your Holy Matrimony date and inform them that you are requesting for tickets in advance. They will then seek prior permission from Vatican to allow you to skip the submission of sacramental marriage certificate first.

5. Whee... it is approved! What's next?

Once the request has been approved by the Papal Household, the Chancery office will notify you via email. They will also send you a copy of the Certificate of Attestation from the Chancery, and a copy of the letter from the Papal Household. The letter will enable you to collect the actual general audience tickets in Vatican.
If you received an advance approval for tickets before you submitted the wedding certificate, do remember to submit the certificate to the Chancery once you receive it after the ceremony. The Chancery will then send you the documents mentioned above.

Pope Francis greeting the crowd at the General Audience
Credits: stationofthecross.com

With the documents and your wedding attire, you are now all set for the Vatican General Audience Trip to meet the Pope!

Do check out our next post on the collection of tickets and the meeting of Papa Francis! Remember to share this post with your friends who are keen to attend Sposi Novelli! :)

Actual Day Wedding Photography Package Preview: The Aisle Bridal

So after being married for about three months, I finally decided to take a look at the actual day photos taken by Kelvin, the assigned photographer from The Aisle Bridal’s actual day package. I was a little in self-denial because I don’t think I look that good on my wedding day. *sigh*

Chinese Tea Set used for the traditional tea ceremony

Anyway, the photos were pretty well taken except that the bride and groom weren’t exactly gorgeous and handsome to start with so that aesthetics portion couldn’t be helped.

Rendezvous Hotel's wedding set up

We had a very packed schedule on the day and it didn’t help that there was a traffic jam while we were travelling from my in-laws’ house to the church. We reached the church right on the dot in the end (45 minutes behind schedule!) and I really was rather disappointed that due to the delay, there weren’t many photos taken of the guests. We invited a good number of guests so I was expecting more photos to share with friends and relatives, but sadly, many people were not captured in the photos. Not that it could have been helped given the jam and the rush, so we couldn't fault the photographer as well.

Our wedding set up at Church of the Nativity of the B.V.M.

After instagram-filtering....

We were not very particular clients so we gave our photographer and videographers free reign over what they wish to capture. The only criterion we had was we do not wish to exceed the 10-hour package and we will not be paying additional surcharges. The videographers were kind of restricted by this criterion as they wanted to do additional behind-the-scene shots, but more of that in a separate post.

Overall, besides the lack of photos for the church wedding portion, we are rather happy with the photos received. Especially after the famous actual day wedding photographer saga got us really worried.

We spent SGD800 for 10-hour actual day photography package with The Aisle Bridal (six hours in the day for gatecrash, tea ceremony, and church lunch reception, and four hours in the evening for tea ceremony round two and banquet dinner), and all soft copies were returned to us. We received approximately 700 photos in total.

Wedding Banquet Venue Recce and Review: CHIJMES Hall

We didn’t want to spend too much money on a lavish wedding because we were saving up for our honeymoon. Ever since I found out about Sposi Novelli (general audience with the Pope and dedicated blessings for newly-wed couples - more details in a later post) in Vatican, we have been looking forward to a Europe trip.

Credit: Metro.co.uk
Easter Mass at St Peter's Square, Vatican City

After much discussion, we decided on church wedding with lunch reception for relatives and friends (all Catholics must be married in a Catholic church), followed by a small private dinner banquet for relatives (can’t escape from Chinese tradition).

As a Catholic and an old IJ girl, I have always wanted to hold the wedding banquet in CHIJMES. The beautiful stained glass windows, terrazzo tiles flooring, chandeliers, elegant neo-gothic design, and the central location… What is there not to love?

Credit: Perennialrealestate.com.sg
Exterior and Entrance of CHIJMES Singapore

After emailing the events management company, Watabe Wedding, we were pleasantly surprised to get a prompt response from the coordinator and we managed to fix an appointment for a personalised site visit. We list down the pros and cons of having a banquet in CHIJMES below for your reference.

Setting

For wedding banquets, couples may choose either the typical Chinese round tables or western long tables setting. This gives modern couples more flexibility in table arrangements.

Credit: Singaporebrides.com
Chinese wedding banquet setting in CHIJMES Hall

Perks

Compared to hotel wedding banquet packages, the perks given are lesser. If you are considering the deluxe package, it does not come with a complimentary hotel stay. (That also means there will be no helpers’ room!)

The coordinator told us that we can book a hotel through them to enjoy special rates, and we can choose from partnering hotels such as Noemi Hotel (which is quite a distance away in my opinion). This means that if you intend to shower before preparing for the banquet, you will have to get to the hotel and freshen up before either dolling up directly in the hotel room or head over to CHIJMES’ make up room behind the CHIJMES Hall before dolling up. Having only one make-up room also means that if there was a lunch banquet before yours, you will not be able to use the make-up room earlier.

Credit: watabe-wedding.com.sg
Make-up Room extracted from official webpage

Parking is another real issue due to the limited capacity within CHIJMES. Guests are encouraged to park at other nearby carparks. This means that your guests will potentially have to walk a distance in their Sunday Best and have to pay for parking out of their own pockets.

Dining

The cuisine provided by CHIJMES is prepared by Tung Lok (Chinese) and Prive Catering (Modern/ Western). That probably means you can expect pretty high standards from the banquet dining. Do note however, if you choose modern/ western cuisine for your banquet, the food tasting is limited to two pax only.

Experience

Last year, Mr R attended a chinese wedding banquet at CHIJMES and was seated behind one of the many pillars. He mentioned he couldn’t really see what was happening on stage and the sound system didn’t help much. He couldn’t really participate in the celebration because of that. If you are not looking at placing the maximum number of tables, do avoid placing too many tables behind the pillars.

Credit: watabe-wedding.com.sg
Extract of wedding banquet round table setting for CHIJMES
Pillars as indicated

He also mentioned that the portion was slightly insufficient for him. However, they practised individual portioning so 10 points to service!

On our own experience with the events management company, the recce went really smooth and we had a good impression of the coordinator. She told us we have seven days to consider or she will have to give the date to another couple. However, because of all the constraints and restrictions, we couldn't reach a decision after a week and they were unable to give us an extension.

They mentioned that we will have to join the waiting list and it will be dependent on whether the couples ahead take up the banquet date with them. Shortlisting a popular venue can be a rollercoaster ride too. *sigh* 

Credit: watabe-wedding.com.sg
CHIJMES: Chandeliers, stained glass windows, in a neo-gothic architecture setting

Pricing (Rates subjected to annual review)

2016/17 Lunch/ Dinner Banquet for Weekdays: from $1198++, min 15 tables

2016/17 Lunch/ Dinner Banquet for Fridays and Eve of Public Holidays: from $1398++, min 18 tables

2016/17 Lunch/ Dinner Banquet for Sundays and Public Holidays: from $1398++, min 20 tables

2016/17 Lunch/ Dinner Banquet for Saturdays: from $1498++, min 20 tables

Were you a CHIJMES dream couple? What do you think of the package offered? Tell us your real experience!

CHIJMES

30 Victoria Street #01-28 (CHIJMES Hall) S(187996)

Email: chijmes@watabe-wedding.com.sg

Contact: +65 63365320