So this weekend was the much anticipated wedding of my good friends’ (who I met through Thorsten).  Nicola and Marcel had a whirlwind romance that made my heart squee when I heard the story.

You will have to ask Nicola yourself if you want to hear the details.  She tells the tale quite nicely 🙂

Anyway, they were actually married last year in a small civil ceremony.  Only immediate family members were invited.  This allowed them the year to prepare for the church ceremony/big reception.

Honestly, once T and I saw the end result…the wait was totally worth it 🙂

So let’s begin with the where:

The wedding took place in Pappenheim, Germany (located in Bavaria (Bayern – if you want to learn the real German name).

We arrived at  our hotel and found it lovely (the interior design was soooooo Bavarian)

We didn’t stay long because we had to get going….

We went to the little restaurant of the hotel to meet up with the rest of the group.  We only had time for drinks before heading to the church:

From there, we walked to the church (which was absolutely magical!)

It is called the Weidenkirche (Tree Church).  Stunning, no? They were very lucky because it had rained all day the day before, the morning of and right after the ceremony……it would have been very unfortunate if we were rained on in the ceremony.  But the powers-that-be decided to keep the ceremony rain-free.

As we waited, I noticed that some of the guests were dressed in traditional clothing:

Quick note to Americans: Lederhosen does not encompass both men and women Bavarian clothing.  Lederhosen literally translates to “leather pants.”  Obviously this is not fitting for the women’s dress…..this is called a Dirndl.

We got to our seats as we saw the bride drive up with her father in this classic:

I quickly got to my seat and snuck a photo of the bride with her father before she walked down the aisle.

Of course there are no photos of the ceremony.  But trust me, it was beautiful, emotional, and sweet.  Then the happy couple were walked down the aisle:

We got to both greet and congratulate them.  We also saw them fulfill a few challenges presented to them my friends and family before we made the trek to the reception area:

It was in a castle.

As you can see, it’s rather high up.  I was also in heels.  Thankfully I had the hindsight to pack a pair of nice flats.  I put those on and we made it to the top without a problem.  Fortunately there were drinks, a live band, and a cool castle waiting for us:

The Bride and Groom were already up there where shortly after our arrival, they had another challenge waiting for them:

Yes, they had to cut a log.  This also allowed us to go inside the ballroom where there was coffee and pastries waiting:

While we were  enjoying our yumminess, we received the some news….

The bride was gone!

But this was nothing to be distressed about.  This is a southern German tradition where the bride is kidnapped by her friends and taken somewhere in the city….it is then the job of the groom (and his friends) to find her.

Usually she can be found in a bar where the group then has a quick drink or two and then return to the party.

Thorsten was among the group of young men to go with Marcel to find Nicola, so while he was gone, I drank a lot of wine with my lady friends and then went out and took more photos of the castle:

Once everyone was back, it was then that the buffet was set up and eats could commence:

There were also some games to be played by the couple.  Normally I hate party games, but the two they played were actually quite fun!

The first:

The couple sat in the front and family members would show a cardboard sign to the guests with phrases like “Those who own a dog” or “Those not born in Bavaria.”   If the phrase on the sign pertains to you: you stand.  The couple then has to figure out the connection with all the people standing.

If they get it wrong: they have to take a shot of schnapps.

There is no losing to this game 🙂

The second game was, what I call, the Coach game.  There are nine chairs set in a pattern: two in the front (filled with the Maid of Honor and Best Man) who were the horses.  Behind them sat the Father of the Bride as the coachman.  Behind him were the couple as the “King and Queen” and around them were four chairs for other members of the bridal family as the “wheels of the coach.”  One of the friends then read a story and every time your part was called, you would have to stand and perform a gesture that pertains to your part.

If you don’t….or you stand when you’re not supposed to: you take a shot of schnapps.

The ones who had the hardest time: the wheels.  This is because they would call the wheels independently (front right wheel, back left wheel, etc).

It was a riot even for the guests.

There was also the first dance:

There was also the cake cutting:

Then there was dancing for the rest of the night (for us…..4am)

Oh and here’s a photo of guy in lederhosen dancing with a chair above his head.  This was for no other reason except that he was awesome 🙂

This was a gorgeous and awesome wedding.  I am glad I was invited to spend the day with a wonderful couple that have made me feel ever so welcome and loved.

I wish them all the best 🙂

Bis Mittwoch!