On the first warm night of spring, as the wind began to cool the air and whip around the eaves of the tent taking up a block of Girard Estates, Richard DiGregorio, 29, prepared to take the microphone. "Get some drinks in you, Rich — a half hour goes quick!" the DJ joked. It was time for DiGregorio to serenade his bride, Victoria Fera.

Lore has it that the serenade comes from Italy. On the eve of their wedding, the groom would visit the bride's parents' house with friends and neighbors in tow. They might bang pots and pans to get the bride's attention at her bedroom window, then, from the ground, the groom would sing love songs to his love above — often accompanied by a mandolin, accordion, and strings. Coffee, cake, and a party followed — until the father of the bride shooed everyone home by midnight.