What's up with Italian Wedding Soup?

[ashling]

Is this really a thing?

Do Italians really serve soup at weddings?

Do the ushers ask Brides soup or Grooms soup?

What is the deal with this?

[Paper Roses]

1. THe term Wedding Soup has bugged me for ages.

I grew up in an Italian family, chicken soup was frequently on the menu. Nana made it, my mother, and now I make it. All the same recipe. No-one ever called it Wedding Soup. The good old chicken soup may have been served at weddings but no matter what they call it, it is chicken soup with meatballs.

Some time ago, I posted a query about this soup. Warpy informed us the term Wedding Soup was coined in the 1980's. My opinion? Just some marketing ploy by the fine folks who produce a product that tries to compare with home made chicken soup. A short thread from the past:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/115750971

One company makes 2 versions of this soup. One canned as Chickarina, and the other as Italian Wedding Soup.
The stuff in the can, now matter what they call it cannot compare with the easy to make, hearty chicken soup with meatballs. The only hard part about making this soup is rolling out a gazillion tiny meatballs.

[ProfessorGAC]

2. Like You I Grew Up In An Italian Family

And i do remember the older relatives calling the chicken soup (hardly any chicken just broth and noodles) with meatballs "wedding soup". Now, there's no way southern italians/sicilians would have called it "italian" wedding soup. But, they did call it wedding soup.

[Paper Roses]

3. Maybe it was regional however Nana was from around Naples, Papa from the north.

My chicken soup has chicken,(obviously), carrots, celery, the meatballs, and shortly before serving, I add escarole. I add cooked pasta like orzo or other small type pasta before plating. Some sprinkle w/Parm cheese, others not.

[GusBob]

4. "marriage" of flavors

pork/beef (meatballs)+chicken(broth/eggs)+green vegetable(spinach or argula)+dairy(cheese)+pasta(orzo)

not too common to find that combination of ingredients in one pot or one dish

[bigwillq]

5. I love IWS.

Although I don't remember any of my relatives serving it at their weddings.

It is very yummy, though. My sister makes a good IWS.

[ashling]

6. IWS makes it sound like a digestive disorder