Day 5 - The Main Event - The Hartmann Lopes Hochzeit

Finally, here we were on day 5 of our German adventure, the main reason we travelled this far away, the moment we had been waiting for - Ute & Reg's wedding. This promised to be a big deal, as we had been privy to the wedding schedule (kept secret from the bride and groom), and were participating in some of the exciting surprises planned. We lazily got up that morning and took our time getting moving. We knew a bus would be arriving for us at 1:30 - a wedding shuttle if you will. This is when my one casualty of the trip happened. I had plugged my curling iron in so I could do my hair and I was not thinking when I did it. I didn't check the voltage which was dumb of me since I am not a novice international traveller. All of a sudden, I smelled something burning and within a minute, the rubber piece off the top had melted off and the iron was no longer with us. I did want a new one, but not this way!

The bus came at 1:30 pm sharp and we hopped on. After a few more stops, we stopped at the first destination, the coffee and cake reception. This was held on the patio of the restaurant Weissess Lamm in the town of Veitshochheim, a very quaint little German town. The tables on the patio were decorated in a beautiful Chinese way. There were like 9 different cakes for us to eat made by Ute's family members. Ute was dressed in a red Chinese wedding dress and Reg was dapper in his tux that he had tailored in China. The cakes were delicious, I had 2 and a half pieces (Jasmine ate the other half I didn't eat!) and wished I had more room for others. My favorite was the Black Forest Cake with fresh cherries. I guess I also loved the banana and apricot rolled cake. Ute & Reg actually sat at our table and we got to spend quality time with them. It was so nice to do that. It was a relaxed setting and they couldn't have ordered better weather.

Next, we walked to the summer palace Veitshochheim where we all took pictures and witnessed a very nice ceremony officiated by the mayor of Veitshochheim. Jasmine fell asleep in the first 5 minutes of the ceremony and thankfully remained asleep for the entire hour ceremony. He said a lot of very nice things and and after they were pronounced legally married, the fun really began. Did I mention that the bride changed costume at the palace before the ceremony? This dress was gorgeous and she looked stunning like she is supposed to look!

There was a champagne toast (we drank OJ of course) and then the bride threw the bouquet and their first test as a married couple was presented to them. They had a sheet someone had made with a large heart on it and Ute & Reg's name inside and they had to cut out the heart with tiny nail scissors. Ute beat Reg and cut her side and part of his before their scissors met and they finished the cutting task. After there was a large heart hole in the sheet, Reg was told he had to carry Ute through it. It was really cute. Ute was a bit afraid to have Reg carry her through this opening but she did it in good faith!

We then loaded back onto the bus and went to Rottendorf to the Waldhaus restaurant for the wedding feast. This was no dinner folks, it was a feast in paradise. At each of our place settings was a menu with the evenings offerings, and a little box containing a Chinese mask for us to take home next to our name card. The meal was elegant, the salad fresh, the presentation superb and we all just enjoyed good company as well. There were speeches given from both families. About halfway through dinner Jasmine asked to go to bed. The restaurant had a private room upstairs that they let me set up for Jasmine to sleep in. I brought the pack and play and blankets and toys and she was asleep in about 30 seconds flat. It had been such and exciting day!

After dinner, there were more surprises in store. The couple were given a treasure box that contained cards from all the guests and a bottle of wine and 2 glasses and this was sealed up not to be opened until their first anniversary. Then the couple did their first dance. After their dance, it was time for me to give my surprise. I sang them a song - the same song I sung for Lorne on our wedding day 5 years ago. They were very touched. It felt nice to be able to share that part of me with them. My mother and I also presented Ute & Reg with a large piece of art (George Washington and the prayer at Valley Forge) which was also given to us on our wedding day and hangs in our living room. They were so stunned by all the things their friends were doing for them.

After some ferocious dancing (I of course spent all night on the dance floor), it was time for the presentation of the wedding newspaper. This is a German tradition where the friends and family of the bride and groom write articles about the couple's lives and it is compiled into a newspaper as a gift to the bride and groom. There were additional copies made for purchase by guests and the money collected was also a gift for the couple.

A sumptuous dessert table was spread and the couple were presented with their wedding cake, complete with pyrotechnics! This was made by Papa's girlfriend (who happens to be a pastry chef) and it was an ice cream cake covered in the German version of fondant. I thought it was very beautiful and tasty. With desserts in hand, we, the guests were treated to a slide show of the groom's life. It was neat to see all those pictures of when he was a kid and later as he grew. The groom commented that he had never seen any of the pictures before and wondered where his mother had been hiding them all these years.

We partied until about 2:30 am and then alas it was time to retire for bed! I could have danced a few hours more. The couple was given one last test, a compatibility test which they passed with flying colors and were presented with one more sentimental gift - a cookbook with recipes the guests had submitted prior to the wedding!

This was one of the best and funnest weddings I have ever been to. It was definitely worth flying 9 hours with a 2 year old. The wedding oozed of love, joy and pure friendship.

Princess Jasmine climbs the steps to the palace

Mommy & Me

Beautiful Girl