In the first week of the holidays, some of our friends got married in Nico's home town. For me, it was my first German wedding with the exception of our own where we tried to mix things as much as possible.
When we got there, they were taking photos in the church. There's none of the 'groom can't see the bride before the wedding' here. On one hand, I think it takes some of the excitement away but it also seemed to be less stressful.
After the photos the couple went away. All of the guests lined the path to the church, women on one side, men on the other. The men were all given a buttonhole and guests with cars were given a decoration for their car. This was nice as everyone got to see the couple.
The service itself was similar to any church service.
Afterwards, guests travelled to the reception in convoy. It's normal to beep the horns all the way.
There is a traditional soup at the reception. Then this wedding had a buffet. It's normal to have lots of entertainment at the reception. Family preared various things at our wedding and that was the same here. Apart from the speeches, one group of friends did a special song and dance. The siblings of the bride and groom arranged for guests to make video messages which were shown at the wedding. They also distributed decorated pegs for guests to find random groups of five for a random photo booth shot.
We arrived home at six in the morning. Weddings here are usually later - the service was at three - and the celebrations go on all night until the candle dance. This is another sweet tradition where the happy couple closes the day with a slow dance.
It was really nice to see a traditional German wedding and to celebrate with our friends.
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