Anja had to get up early the day of the wedding. The hair dresser actually came to the house and picked her up. I woke up with her, and while she got ready taking a shower, I prepared her a quick breakfast for her to take with her. It was hard to believe that after eight year this was the day that we were to finally be married.
After she left, I helped her parents hang up something that looked like a garland, with white bows and ribbons in it around the door. This was to show anyone who passed that there was a recent marriage in the home.
We paused briefly here for pictures, and then got into the horse and carriage. And that brings us to the first album. The small pic to the right will take you to the first album of pictures. Here, Steffen is handing Anja a handkerchief. This was the item that was borrowed (from her grandma). For those of you not familiar with the tradition, it is considered good luck for the bride to have something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. The dress was the new item, and the bow on her garter belt was the something blue.
The weather was cool, and the sky full with light gray clouds. It was a bit cool, initially Anja was a bit chilled, but was quickly warmed by the excitement of the upcoming ceremony. We were driven through the city to the registry office. Family and friends drove by us on the way. By the time we arrived, all our family and friends were there to greet us. Anja and I said our greetings to everyone, and gave many hugs.
We had a little confusion up getting to the registry office. We really didn't know where to go. Fortunately, our coachman had been to many such locations, and directed us to walk around the building and into the registry office. It was here that our witnesses; Anja's cousin Antje, and my best man and friend Dmitry, signed the documents that validate our wedding documents. A special thanks to both of you for standing beside us on our special day, especially to Dmitry who traveled all the way from the States.
On entering the Registry office, our song was playing in the back ground, the same song that started playing when you first loaded this page. The song is As I lay me down to sleep, by Sophie B. Hawkins. As the last people entered, the song had just finished. It was really good timing.click the song link to here the song and read a poem and story about its significance.
It was a small log, but it was much harder than it looked, but we made it through it, also representing our first most difficult task together.
Then came the tradition of the throwing of the coins. A rope was held, blocking us from entering. The tradition is that the groom pays a tax, for him and his bride to pass. I threw a mixture of Euro coins as well as coins from the States (The coins from the States went very quickly.).
We finally went inside, and had coffee and cake, and another toast of Sekt. This was followed by some words from her mom.
The official ceremony started. Of course it was in German, but Anja's mother had a co-worker who graciously translated for me. The ceremony was very nice even for those not knowing German. They were still touched by the energy in the room. Anja also started crying and even I was almost moved to tears.
It was then done, Anja and I signed our names, as did our witnesses, and our translator. With that, the final signature from the registrar made it official, and we were married. We were then greeted once again from everyone with hugs and kisses. As people greeted us, they exited the building and waited at the bottom of a stone stair case outside.
We had two flower children, unfortunately, the young boy who was going to throw petals hit his head right before the big moment and was crying. Isabell, the flower girl had to throw on her own and did a great job.
When we got to the bottom of the steps, they presented us with a large sheet with a heart painted on it. They handed us each a pair of scissors and we were to cut out the heart. I was told "take your time" but it was really a race and they told Anja in German and I had no idea. The winner of the race is said to be the "dominant" one in the family.
I then picked her up, and carried her through the heart shaped hole in the sheet. We then had a toast with Sekt (a sparkling wine) with all of the guests.
We then had a procession through the city on the way to the restaurant where the reception would be held. All the way guests from the wedding followed, honking their horns. We even went around the city center 2 times holding up traffic from all directions. We also were a center of attention for a number of Asian tourists who waved and took many pictures as the carriage drove buy.
As we passed under a bridge, we saw that Anja's friends had prepared and hung a sign saying "Anja and Hank just married" We ended up sharing our carriage ride with Anja's cousin Matthias who had gotten out of one of the cars to get a better picture, and then his ride had forgot him.
Upon arriving at the reception, Steffen presented a log, a bow saw, gloves and goggles. It was to represent that in a relationship it is give and take, and push and pull. You can not push at the same time or pull at the same time, otherwise you wouldn't get anywhere.
Before the official photos, we experienced another wedding tradition... The breaking of the dishes. Everyone comes with bags of dishes to break. The idea is that the Love of the couple would be as hard to break as it would be to put the dishes back together. That would be great if that is where the tradition stopped, but it is also to represent a task that the bride and groom go through together... of course that means that we had to clean all of it up.
Our flower girl generously tried to help us, but we had to make her stop because of all the sharp glass. Christian surprised everyone by presenting not just one, but two bathroom sinks! He works as a plumber and had saved them from some previous jobs. Omi (Anja's Grandma) tried many times to break a mug, but it kept staying in tact. Perhaps one of the funniest things about this (and I found about it after) is that as Anja's father Jürgen was about to smash a mug, Annie exclaimed that the mug had been a gift from her to Felix.
As we were getting close to finishing, Steffen and Anja's "Friend" Katja offered to help by carrying one of the boxes to the car...Of course they "tripped" on the way spilling a box of dishes back onto the walkway. Her brother Christian was a bit less subtle...He simply walked up, took a box, and dumped the contents back out. If I hadn't been as hungry as I was I may have been humored by this, but at that point I was flat out annoyed. I even made the comment that Christian must not want to eat anytime soon.
When we were finished, it was time to go inside and eat. Little did we know at the time that Christian and Alex, snuck one of the boxes out of the car after my back was turned. Later that evening once again dishes were spread out among us. The meal was incredible. I wish I was able to eat more, but alas I only put down one helping. Click here to see the menu.
After the tea and cake, we once again got on the horse and carriage, along with Remko and Katja, Anja's brother Christian, and of course, Isabell our flower girl. We went to the city park, and it was where we took our official wedding photos. Overall we feel that they came out quite well, despite the weather, Remko and Katja were able to work wonders with the pictures. A special thanks to both of them. Below you will find 3 links to pictures, the first the official pics in color, the 2nd the off color (sepia), and the 3rd, the pics that were cut from the official photo CD, or once taken from my camera
After eating, Anja's Grandpa took the stage. He had written a speech in German, and translated it into English. He shook as he read the words from the page. Anja's mom took hold of it, and held it steady for him. This is one of the moments from that day that lead me to tears (and Anja too). We were also presented with a copy of that speech. Click here if you would like to read it for yourself.
Anja's friends presented us with a honeymoon survival kit. Let me tell you, that if your friends ever give you this, take EVERY thing with you, it may come in handy. In it it included a map of Ireland (where we took our honeymoon), toilet paper, a soup broth mix, ear plugs (for when she snores of course [yeah, right. I don't snore. Edited by Anja]), and other items. Of course in our wisdom we didn't take certain items... I mean really... toilet paper? But the truth of it was EVERY single thing in that kit we could have used. One night we got to a city late and there was nowhere to eat, we had to buy instant soups from a small market. (The soup broth would have been ideal.) Once on the side of the road we had to stop to use the restroom... the problem was, there wasn't a restroom... The toilet paper would have been lovely. And one night (because of the gift of her friends) I had drank too much (which makes me snore) so the ear plugs would have been great.
The moral of the story is that if you receive a survival kit from your friends for not just a honeymoon, but anything.... Take it with you, they only have your best interest in mind, and you never know what might happen. (For our honeymoon story click here)
After the presentation (which in German rhymed) it was time for the first dance. Anja and I had actually taken personal dance lessons for two days prior to the wedding. (Hey we wanted to kind of look like we knew what we were doing...) The idea was to dance with each other, then her with my dad, and me with her mom. Each dance was to be short, and the music was supposed to die down, and we would switch. Well, after the second dance, there was a faster song, and I didn't know what to do, so I started dancing with Anja's friend Claudia. I regret deeply we didn't have it better organized because at that moment I should have been dancing with my mom (So mom, I'm sorry we missed dancing together).
The party games seem to be designed to embarrass the groom, or promote the bride. The first game involved them making me take off my shoes, and putting my hands in them as if they were my feet. Anja had to stand behind me, but she could not see because of a sheet. Here she had to feed me, shave me, wash me ect... I was a good sport about it though. I wonder if I had won the heart competition if she would have been the one with the head through the sheet? Then there was another game....
We were presented with 2 dolls and 2 sets of clothes. Anja had the disposable diaper. I had an "old school" diaper and I had no idea what to do with it. Anja actually was nice enough to tell me what to do with that and the rubber sheet. She finished way ahead of me... So I did what any good man would do... I cheated. I took off one of her baby's socks, and shoved it in my pocket. Anja tried to get it back from me, but I squirmed and ducked to keep her from getting it... and believe me that was hard. Normally I am happy when she try's to get into my pants.
I finally finished my doll, and I finally let Anja "get into my pants" and get the sock I had stolen. I was awarded the round, but overall Anja was the winner from that day. There were 2 more wedding games that they had planed but we didn't do. So my guess is that they will do them when we have the party here.
Once the dancing started, the party really took off. My parents actually said "is that our son out there". Anja and I didn't stop the whole evening. Above is a video of the "bachelor" dance where all the girls danced with me in one song. The whole dance isn't there, but you get the idea.
After some dancing, we slowed things down with the serving of the wedding cake. Unlike in the United States, the cake was not just cake, each layer actually was a fruit cake. The top layer was pineapple, the middle layer peach, and the bottom layer was cherry (my favorite). Anja and I fed each other the first bite, and then served everyone. It is said that whoever's hand is on top of the knife when you cut the cake will be the dominant one... and of course her hand was on top (I think I was set up)
After the cake, there was dancing... dancing... and more dancing. Then it was time for the throwing of the flowers. All the unmarried ladies gathered, and after Anja's back was turned. The DJ made them shuffle around. They had a count down... 3.... 2....1.... and Anja launched it into the air. You would think that she knew where she was throwing it, because it went right into her cousin's arms, who was also our maid of honor.
In Germany, the tradition with the Garter belt is a little different. It is usually put up for bid, and whoever bids the highest gets to take it off of the bride. We decided to do the American tradition here, and I took it off of her. Ironically, Dmitry (the best man) caught it. How often does that happen when both the maid of honor and the best man each catch it. We really didn't plan it that way, but it worked out great. After the Maid of honor/Best man dance, we presented them with customized gifts as a thank you for being our witnesses at the wedding. Antja got a compact, and Dmitry received a flask. There names were engraved on the gifts along with the phrase "Thank you for standing beside me."
The night slowly came to an end. At 4:30 in the morning, it was time to call it a night. The next day we were to have brunch at the restaurant too, so we were able to leave all of the gifts there. We walked to the hotel, and went to go to bed after the long evening.
When we reached the floor where our room was, there was a thick path of rose petals leading to our room. Upon entering, the room was filled with red balloons, and on the bed were petals laid out in the shape of a heart, and the middle was filled with balloons. On a table were 2 glasses and a bottle of sekt.
The next day, we packed our bags, and meet the others downstairs. We stowed our bags in an empty room at the hotel, and walked back to the restaurant for brunch.
After brunch we took a nice walk in the park, and even saw some deer (something much rarer to see in a German city than in the States). With that the story of our wedding comes to an end.
We would like to thank everyone who attended, and everyone who couldn't attend that sent greetings. We truly appreciate all the support from everyone as we start our new life together. Please take a moment to sign our guest book, and if you attended the wedding and you have pictures that you would like to share please e-mail me. I am willing to also pay to have any pictures made onto a CD, and the shipping to send them.
I will work on a similar page to this from our honeymoon. If you would like to receive notifications of updates please sign up for our mailing list.
Before I got ready myself, her brother Christian came to the house and picked me up. It was my task to pick up the flowers for her and myself. Christian took me to the florist shop, and ran several red lights on the way saying in broken English "oh... we have little time"
We picked up and paid for the flowers, and ran at least one other light on the way back to the house. Anja was back from having her hair done. She got ready downstairs, and I got ready upstairs.
The horse and carriage arrived, and I waited outside for my bride. She emerged from the door and I was stunned. She looked phenomenal in her gown, but more than that, the energy she was emanating with her contained excitement was felt by all that were present. Her smile was amazing, and even her father who hadn't seen her in the dress before also stood awestruck.
Both sides of the famliy have great recipies for entres, deserts, and more. Coming soon we will have recipies shared among the family. If you have one you would like to contirbute, Please E-mail it to me
Thoughts.... Comments, E-mail me with them.. Any feedback is great
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Please take a moment at the bottom of the page to sign our Guestbook.
Please take a moment at the bottom of the page to sign our Guestbook.
Please take a moment at the bottom of the page to sign our Guestbook.
E-mail me if you would like to be added to our mailing list.
This page is best viewed with Internet explorer, and you must have java enabled. If you are using Firefox, for some reason it starts to play all the videos at once, and I don't know how to fix it. Each picture when you click on it takes you to a chapter of our wedding album. There are over 1400 pictures.. which I admit are way to many. I need to go through and weed some of the pics out, but I haven't had time yet. Anja and I both hope you enjoy our site and our story.
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