A Family Affair

Connections and culture unite and bind two big Italian families in an elegant wedding.

Robert Cicchino and Maria Martino
Clarksburg | 06.01.24

Written by Taylor Maple   
Photographed by Rachel Rowland

Robert Cicchino and Maria Martino were brought together by a mixture of happy coincidence and family intervention.

Maria’s brother and cousin needed a roommate to fill an empty bedroom at their apartment at West Virginia University, and her aunt recommended Robert, a friend’s son she knew from back home. “I had an inside tip,” Maria recalls. “My aunt was like, ‘Maria, he’s really cute and really nice, and I think you guys might get along. So I went over and ‘helped’ my brother move into his place—and I met Robbie.”

After a while, he asked her on a date to Coopers Rock State Forest, a breathtaking vista point just outside Morgantown. The leaves were changing colors, a crisp breeze was in the air, and Robert even knew a few hidden parts of the park that he wanted to show her. “We talked for hours,” Maria says. “It was a really nice, long first date.”

After that, they were inseparable, not yet able to know how much the family ties that connected them would continue weaving through their lives, championing their love, forming a scaffolding that would support them right through their wedding day and beyond.

a perfect proposal, in the end

Nearly eight years after that day at Coopers Rock, the couple visited Last Vegas for Maria’s 28th birthday. She arrived happy and carefree, anticipating nothing more than having a blast in a city she’d never been to before. Robert, on the other hand, had been sweating for days.

Not only was he planning to propose, but there had been a hiccup with the ring.

He had designed the ring himself, choosing a diamond that was in Washington, D.C., and it almost wasn’t finished in time for the trip. In order for it to reach him before Maria and Robert’s flight to Vegas, Robert’s dad had driven to D.C., retrieved the ring, and returned to Martinsburg—where he handed the ring to Robert’s mom, who then drove it the rest of the way to Morgantown, where Robert was stuck at work.

After all of that, and as he battled the general nerves that go along with such a big occasion, he was ready to pop the question. “I really didn’t want to do it on her birthday. That was not the plan,” he says. He had told her entire family that he planned to propose the day after her birthday. But it was hard to relax. “I don’t really get too nervous about many things, but I was going to ruin the trip if I held onto it another day.”

Robert changed plans and proposed a night early, on Maria’s birthday, as the famous Fountains of Bellagio show acted as their backdrop. Maria couldn’t have been more thrilled. They spent the night celebrating and laughing as they tried—unsuccessfully—to call friends and family back home, who were asleep due to the time difference and not expecting the news until the following night. Finally, Robert and Maria reached a few people on FaceTime, caught up with everyone else the next day, and spent the rest of the weekend living it up among the Las Vegas lights.

elegance, tradition, and family

Robert and Maria’s wedding day was a tribute not only to their love, but to the big Italian families that their love cemented together as one.

After a welcome party where they were able to spend true quality time with their guests, Maria spent the night prior to the wedding at her childhood home with her mother. “I literally woke up to the sounds of birds,” she remembers. “I was like,‘This is a fairy tale.’ I will never forget that.”

She and Robert had a traditional Catholic ceremony at Maria’s childhood church, where her parents had also been married, and where Robert says the pews packed in more attendees than they did at Christmas mass. Their large wedding party included old friends, cousins, and siblings, ensuring they were flanked with support on all sides, and the monsignor who performed the ceremony had personal ties to both families. After they were officially presented as husband and wife in front of all of their biggest fans, a vintage convertible carried them away for photos as guests headed to The Morris in Clarksburg.

At the reception space awaited decor with glimpses of Pittsburgh, where much of Robert’s family is from, meshed with details from Clarksburg, Maria’s hometown. The ambience was elegant, vintage, and upscale, with added details that imbued the cozy vibe of a warm Italian home. An accordion player welcomed guests into a retro freight elevator that ferried guests into the space. A live jazz band that performed Rat Pack classics during cocktail hour was followed by a DJ and another live band throughout the reception, fresh pasta was whisked around the room, and an espresso bar ensured guests had energy the whole night long.

“You could really feel the love and excitement and happiness that day,” Maria says. “It was just so much fun.”

The spirit of family enveloped the entire night. Maria’s mother gave a welcome speech before handing off to Robert’s mother for the blessing. Maria’s father sadly passed a few years prior, but her three brothers shared a speech in his place, and her three uncles joined her for an emotional dance later in the night. Robert’s brother also gave a speech, and the couples shared dances with their respective mothers before welcoming all mother/daughter duos to the floor for a dance to “I Say a Little Prayer” by Aretha Franklin.

And when the picture-perfect day was over, the celebration continued. Robert and Maria soon headed to Italy for their honeymoon and had the chance to get a blessing from Pope Francis. “I wore my mom’s wedding gown, and he wore a suit, and we got to sit at the Vatican and meet Pope Francis and touch his hand and have our marriage blessed, which was really special and important to us.”

Even months after their wedding, it’s clear that Robert and Maria are still enamored with the day and all that it meant to them and their families.

“I have strong memories of seeing Maria’s mom and my mom and grandma and our brothers just being so happy,” Robert says. “To see the whole room—everyone—just so happy, it was great. It was really great.”

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