Couple expects nearly 100 guests for Aug. 31 wedding at lakeside Italian resort
A Massachusetts couple may be forced to bid "arrivederci" to their dream destination wedding in Italy after their beloved Golden Retriever, Chickie, ate the groom’s passport last week.
Donato Frattaroli and Magda Mazri of South Boston are scheduled to leave Friday and wed on Lake Garda in northern Italy on August 31.
It typically takes 5 to 7 weeks to get even an expedited passport renewed by the U.S. State Department.
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"It’s completely absurd. I can’t sleep," Frattaroli told Fox News Digital.
The looming disaster has gone viral, inspiring a frenzied reaction on social media first in Boston and now around the country.
Chickie, a 1½-year-old Golden Retriever from Boston, chewed up her owner Donato Frattaroli's passport just two weeks before the groom's planned destination wedding with bride Magda Mazri in Italy. (Courtesy Donato Frattaroli)
"No way is this the first time this dog has done something like this," @ka1i_ma wrote on Instagram, responding to a post by entertainment outlet Pubity.
The post generated nearly 400,000 "likes" and over 3,000 comments in its first 12 hours.
"It’s completely absurd. I can’t sleep." — Donato Frattaroli, groom
The couple expects nearly 100 guests to arrive at the scenic resort from the United States, Australia and Morocco, where the bride has family, as well as Frattaroli’s relatives from Italy.
The 1½-year-old Chickie was apparently upset she wasn’t on the guest list.
She munched on Frattaroli’s passport on Thursday night as the couple was at dinner celebrating the impending nuptials. They filed their marriage intention forms at Boston City Hall earlier that day.
Magda Mazri and Donato Frattaroli plan to be married in Italy on August 31. Their Golden Retriever, Chickie, disrupted their plans when she chewed up and mangled Frattaroli's passport two weeks before the wedding. (Courtesy Magda Mazri and Donato Frattaroli)
"She’s too cute to stay mad at," said Frattaroli. "She’s done nothing wrong since we got her — and then this happens."
The couple is in a frenzy trying to save the wedding while at the mercy of the federal bureaucracy.
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The bride and groom are praying for a miracle — and a little help from their elected representatives in Washington, D.C.
They’ve reached out to the offices of both Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Stephen Lynch.
"Someone named Donato Frattaroli should be allowed to enter Italy even without a passport," quipped @luke_momocusco on Instagram.
A drone view of Isola del Garda on Lake Garda in Italy. When it comes to their upcoming nuptials, the bride and groom are praying for a miracle — and a little help from their elected representatives. (Manuel Romano/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Chickie — short for chicken cutlet — mangled the front pages of the passport with Frattaroli’s proof of identification, as well as the back pages, which contained a stamp from Mexico where the couple got engaged in early 2022.
"I can’t be mad at Chickie because I’m the idiot who left the passport out where she could get it," said the groom.
His immediate reaction was not quite so philosophical.
"Someone named Donato Frattaroli should be allowed to enter Italy even without a passport." — Instagram comment
"I went ballistic. I’m, like, pacing around, ‘What am I going to do?!’"
Frattaroli’s not married yet — but he's already learned to credit his better half.
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"Luckily Magda kept her wits about her. She was all calm, cool and collected."
The bride-to-be quickly began reaching out to local officials, the passport agency and friends who might be able to help the young couple save their wedding day.
Donato Frattaroli and Magda Mazri of Boston have a dream wedding planned in Italy on August 31. But their dog Chickie disrupted their plans by munching on and mangling Frattaroli's passport two weeks before the wedding. (Courtesy Donato Frattaroli)
"For better or worse, this is a testament to what our marriage will look like," said Mazri.
"We pivoted and just called everyone. It's been a complete whirlwind. It's a test, I think, of what we will do, and how we will treat each other in difficult situations."
The Italian wedding is a tribute to the heritage of both bride and groom.
They remain hopeful. Frattaroli got a new passport photo taken on Monday.
Frattaroli’s father Donato is from Italy. Mazri’s father Maati is from Morocco, but she’s Italian on her mother’s side.
They met when she tended bar at Frattaroli's Italian-inspired seafood restaurant Victory Point in Marina Bay on Boston Harbor.
They remain hopeful.
Frattaroli got a new passport photo taken on Monday and believes there’s a chance he’ll have the new document in time to make his own wedding.
Donato Frattaroli and Magda Mazri of Boston had planned a dream destination in Italy, before their dog Chickie chewed up Frattaroli's passport. (Courtesy Donato Frattaroli and Magda Mazri)
He’s already outlined Plan B.
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"Tell everybody that’s going to have a great time enjoying the beautiful event that Magda spent the last 18 months planning. I’ll see everybody when they get back."
"He couldn’t have just had the wedding down at Cape Cod like everybody else." — Gianni Frattaroli, brother
Gianni Frattaroli is totally fine with Plan B and wasted no time taking a jab at his older brother.
"He couldn’t have just had the wedding down at Cape Cod like everybody else," he told Fox News Digital.
"If he can’t go, I’m still going. That thing is booked and paid for. We can Zoom him in."
Kerry J. Byrne is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.
