After 8 long, eventful, wonderful, magical, and at times turbulent and crazy years we are finally doing it. We are tying the knot! About time, if you ask me, since we've been engaged since 2011 and already have two kids together. The thing is, I had always dreamed of getting married in an old castle ruin in the Scottish Highlands, but financially, we simply haven't been able to pull it off. Things change, priorities shift and at this time in our lives, I can honestly say that the kind of wedding we're planning is exactly the one we want to have. We've decided to tie the knot in my hometown in Germany. Now, I know that some of Adrian's family members are reading this blog and might be a little disappointed that we're getting married abroad, but we’ve decided to keep the wedding simple and only invite Adrian’s parents, his sister and her hubby from Canada. I hope everyone will understand, and we promise to have a bit of a post-wedding party in the future for his extended family and our Canadian friends. We'd love to have a big ceremony with everyone involved, but if we were to have that kind of wedding, we wouldn't be having it till 2030 and let's face it, we're not getting any younger. There are some solid reasons why we've decided to get married in my hometown.
Here are the main ones:
- both my grandmothers are still alive and would be super happy to witness our wedding and be a part of celebrating our union. At least one of them would definitely not be able to get on a plane to Canada at this point, so we have decided to take the wedding to them instead.
- back when my mother was still alive, I had dreamed of a wedding on Scottish soil. Unfortunately my mom has since passed away, so we both agreed that it would be nice to get married in the same little chapel my parents were married in years ago. She's also resting really close to the church so it's almost like she'll actually be there, which might sound weird to some people, but actually is a huge comfort and very important to me.
- my best friend, who has been living in New Zealand for close to a decade now and whom I haven't seen since our extended New Zealand trip in 2011/2012, is finally able to afford a visit home. I haven't met her daughter yet and she hasn't met our kids, and since I've always wanted her as my maid of honour, we took it as a sign and figured this was the perfect opportunity.
- and last but not least, Adrian and I both agreed that since we live in Canada, and I barely ever get to see my family and friends, it's only fair that I get to celebrate my wedding day amongst the people I love and miss year around. Let's be honest here for a moment; isn't a wedding all about what the bride wants anyways? ;-)
We are very excited about finally having set a date (July 16th, 2016), as we've been thinking about getting married for a long long time. Now the planning has begun and I am touched and super happy that my wonderful and amazing friend and her mother, who own a bridal shop in Germany, have generously offered me a wedding dress as my wedding gift, which I am so grateful for, since I would've had no choice but to pick a dress at a cheap department store otherwise. Now deep down I know it's not about the dress. It's about marrying the man I love, but come on! Every girl wants to look like a Disney princess on her wedding day. This girl would probably have looked like Cinderella - before the magic happened and she turned into a stunner - if it wasn't for these generous and lovely people. So thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me shine like the star I have dreamed of being since I was a little girl. Also, my brother-in-law who is an amazing artist and has a great eye for photography will be taking photos of our wedding. Thank you so much for agreeing to capture our special day for eternity. Last but not least, thank you to my family for organizing a pot-luck wedding dinner with all of my favourite German dishes. My mouth is watering already!
It's going to be a challenge pulling it all off, since we're arriving only two weeks prior to the big day, which leaves us with very little time to pick a dress, have a bachelorette party (Adrian is going to have his bachelor party here in Canada), talk to the priest, take care of the decorations and so on. I'm actually sweating just thinking about it, but since we're keeping everything as simple as possible, I'm sure it'll all work out. We're going to stay there for a full month, which will allow us to catch up with a lot of people and enjoy a bug and mosquito free summer outdoors. YES! We will keep you posted on the whole chaotic event and will post pictures as soon as they're available. So happy this is finally happening and that we'll get to share our special day with you.
I'd love to hear about your wedding stories. Did you have a big fancy wedding or a small and intimate one? If you could do it all over again, would you do it exactly the same way or would you do it differently? Any tips and tricks for a stress free and amazing wedding day? Don't hesitate to comment or email me. I'd very much appreciate your input and advice.
Sincerely, your deliriously happy bride-to-be :-)
