Wedding in Germany

Neustadt a.d.W—my friend's hometown—is situated an hour south of Frankfurt. With a population of 53,000, it is small but very cute, with a small pedestrian zone in town, and vineyards outside the city where my friend's parents live. The day we arrive, Victoria got us a bit lost and we ended up getting stuck in a wine festival that was taking place in town because some roads were closed or were not listed on her maps. This region has many wine festivals..including the one that is taking place next weekend where J and M met nearly eight years ago.

Upon arrival, we are greeted by J's parents since the soon-to-be newlyweds were at a nearby hotel where M's family is staying. The hotel is set beside the vineyards with a large terrace overlooking miles and miles of grapevines and almond trees. It boasts an excellent restaurant serving local and seasonal food, and is where the wedding reception will take place. After hanging out on the terrace a bit with M's family, we all head back to J's parents' for a wonderful BBQ prepared by J's Mom who is great cook.

She and her friends made potato salad, flavorful red onion chutney, and they perfectly marinated lamb, pork and different kinds of sausages and bratwursts. And of course, local wine to pair with the tasty food. When I visited J in 2007, J's Mom introduced me to several German specialties...I need to ask J what they're called before I post the names of the dishes. I've never tasted such great smoky tender lamb before...Julia and I each got a small piece as the men who were hanging out with J's brother as he grilled snacked on most of the lamb before the plates made it to us on the terrace!

On the morning of the wedding, we were at the salon for two hours for hair and makeup. Lots of hairspray (and teasing the hell out of her hair) was used to get her hair into a wedding-ready updo, crowned with red-orange, champagne and peach colored flowers. I documented the week in Germany by taking lots of pictures, but it takes forever to upload pics on Blogger, so I've only posted a few up. Before the church ceremony, I accompanied and assisted Erik Patton, their photographer, who took many gorgeous photos.

GERMAN WEDDING, JM STYLE
The church service lasted about 45 minutes with lots of organ music and German hymns. Instead of standing (as I assumed they would do), the bride and groom were seated, looking at the preacher. Friends and families sat in pews all around the three of them. Instead of the American tradition of repeating the vows after the preacher, there was a simple "Yeah" when they were asked if they would marry each other and then an exchange of rings.

After the wedding, our party congregated on the church grounds and congratulated the new couple with a champagne toast before making our way to Nett's where the wedding reception was held. The table was lovely with flowers and candles floating in water. We sat outside for a bit but then it started to rain hard so we moved the reception in doors—Nett's anticipating that it might storm, had set a duplicate table inside for us. Dinner was spectacular - asparagus was in season so it was featured in asparagus soup as well as a side dish for the main course of the most tender beef I have ever tasted. R loved it so much, he ate some of my steak and some of J's mom's too. R would like to clarify that he did not take J's mom's steak without her knowledge and approval!

My friends looked gorgeous on their wedding day, even more than usual, which is saying something because they are both very good-looking. J wore a champagne JCrew wedding dress and M wore a new Hugo Boss suit.

It was so nice being able to spend a few days with our friends and their families before and after the wedding. Special thanks goes out to J's parents who hosted us in a truly beautiful setting and M's family who also welcomed us into their family.

Six hours to Germany

R and I are on way to Germany today for our friends' wedding this week. In the car we have all we need for the six to eight hour drive to our friends' hometown—snacks and lunch; a fully loaded CD changer with ABBA, Aha!, The Coors, Lenny Kravitz, Madonna, and some Algerian and French music. On the windshield, Victoria (R's British voiced TomTom helper) is perched ready to guide us from the French countryside to the German countryside.

The fastest route to take is via Switzerland, through the French-speaking parts (Geneva and Lausanne) over to the Swiss-German side. At Bern, the Swiss-German border, road signs appeared in both French and German, and childish as it sounds, I couldn't help giggling at the German sign for exit, Ausfahrt. The countryside is beautiful, rolling hills with the mighty Juras in the background. A thousand shades of green cut by bursts of yellow fields of tournesols, or sunflowers. We cross over to Germany shortly after Basel, a Swiss-German city I visited in 2000 with my Mom on our European tour.

As R and I get closer to my friend's hometown I am very excited, even though I only last saw them twelve days ago, it seems like an eternity. Traveling on a Sunday was a good idea—sans arrêter, we made the trip in 6 hours and 15 minutes. Feeling very happy and lucky to be here to share their special week with J, M, and their families.