Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Love and Marriage

Daniel and I had two weddings 19 years ago, one month apart - in the US in July and then in Germany on August 4. In Germany we were married in a beautiful 800-year-old church and got to participate in all the local customs. When we exited the church, the local children had blocked our way with baskets on ropes, three in all, and in order to get through we had to pay - either coins or candy.
Friends had surprised us with a horse-drawn carriage and on the way to the reception, we had to stop once to dance in the street and then again to feed the horses for good luck and an abundant life.
One of the most special parts of our wedding in Germany was that my great-uncle, a priest, married us. He had already married my grandparents, my parents, and had baptized us children. Ours was the last wedding he performed before he passed away some years later. He was one of my favorite people.
And now, 19 years later, our life together is still filled with love and happiness. I am so grateful!!

Wishing you all much love and happiness in your lives!

P.S. We were married on the hottest day since 1942...or 1947 - I don't remember, but it was HOT and no air conditioning anywhere. The restaurant staff marveled at the fact that more water was consumed at our wedding than beer - unheard of! And still, people stayed, visited and danced until the wee hours of the morning...

23 comments:

  1. What lovely photos and traditions. Thank you for giving us a glimpse of your 'second' wedding.

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  2. Congratulations on your 2nd 19th anniversary. What a fun wedding your German wedding sounded like. I enjoyed the idea of the baskets and giving the little children money or candy to get free. What a fun tradition. I'm so happy for both of you all these years later.

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  3. Happy Anniversary to you both! Thanks for sharing this story and lovely photos:-)

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  4. congrats to you both. Such a lovely story and such a pretty chruch.

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  5. From the beginning, you guys have marched to the beat of your own drummer! Thanks for sharing your wedding album with us. It looks like it was a splendid day!

    And hey, congrats on reaching 100 followers!! You totally rock the blog world, Silke!

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  6. Hi Silke, Congrats and Happy Anniversary to you and your husband! How romantic, Wow! What beautiful pictures you shared, thank you so much!
    Hugs...
    Bobbi

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  7. Memory of that day: Daniel lost his dress pants out of a garment bag on the way up there on the train and had to wear jeans - so we didn't fit into the local customs!

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  8. Sigh, Silke you made one lovely bride! What a wonderful story! Happy anniversary my dear!

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  9. What a lovely story... I hope you have many more wonderful years together.

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  10. What a lovely wedding story! And all my best wishes for a Happy Anniversary and for many, many more happy years together!!

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  11. your wedding looks so beautiful and i so enjoyed the stories of it. happy anniversary!!!

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  12. Thank you all for your good wishes! It's so much fun to share this with you!

    And what a fun surprise to hear from Nancy, who was with us on our weddingday, and has known us from the very beginning of our relationship 24 years ago... Nancy, I did not even know about Daniel's pant mishap. You both looked fabulous! (And even looking at photos today, I didn't notice any jeans...)

    Thank you all for sharing in our special day!! Hugs, Silke

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  13. Many congratulations to you both - looks such a wonderful day! Wishing you many, many more years of happiness xxxx

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  14. I like the candy barrier thing, I think I will implement it in my house for every time guests come to visit me.

    Street Art & Graffiti Blog

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  15. what an incredibly lovely and sweet german wedding you two had! i love that you were married by a family member AND the same person who married your parents and grandparents. that is so romantic and beautiful! happy anniversary to you two! thank you for inspiring me today. :)

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  16. Looks like you had a wonderful wedding. And you haven't aged one bit :)

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  17. You all have my blessings with all my heart dear ones! Have a joyous day!

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  18. Conrats...great story, great tour, sending you anniversary honks from the Big Apple !!

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  19. How wonderful that you had such a special second wedding! I don't think I ever heard of the customs of the ropes and feeding the horses. Regional, maybe? Memories like that are absolutely priceless!

    Congratulations on your second 19th Anniversary, dear Silke and Daniel!

    Hugs,
    Angela

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  20. Congrats on your 19th wedding anniversary! What a beautiful day it must have been! I had a laugh at the more water than beer bit!!

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  21. Happy Anniversary! I love the picture with horses :) I have made some on my own wedding day too!

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  22. thank you for sharing your wedding with us all over again!

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  23. Beautiful wedding! Storybook tales! Just wonderful.

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