Yesterday we went to our friends J and A’s wedding, my first Dutch wedding. The ceremony was a little different than a Canadian one. It was in the same room that PhD defenses are held in a very old building where the Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Netherlands as a state, was signed in 1579 (there are also other Treaties of Utrecht). The room is wood-paneled, with portraits of old white quys string down from all the panels, bigwigs at the university I think. For some of them the big wig is a literal description.
To start the ceremony, the bride and groom came in the room together. The couple then sat in big chairs sideways to the audience facing a long row of their parents, grandparents, their almost three year old daughter, and two witnesses for each of them. The robed officiator stood at a podium facing both rows and the audience behind. Most of her speech was a detailed story of J and A’s upbringings, how they met and got together, as well as talking about their personal qualities, favourite activities and jobs. After the story was finished, the couple stood to exchange “I dos” and rings, a part that seemed pretty much the same as the Canadian ceremony. Then they, the four witnesses, their parents and their daughter signed the papers. Their daughter did act as a ringbearer (well, as well as a toddler can), but there was no wedding party or walking down the aisle or giving the bride away. And there was no singing or reading of poems. And like many Dutch couples they got married a few years after they had a kid – marriage is by far not a prerequisite for a life together here.
The lovely couple exiting the building.
Our little family in front of the building. Liam came with us to the ceremony, and was very good, though we did keep him from commenting on everything by giving him crackers and cheese.
The balloons were a cute idea – people carried them to the reception and held them until the bride and groom came and greeted them and then released them to the ceiling. The puzzle pieces were another idea – not sure if this one worked – I think the couple are supposed to now do the puzzle. Or maybe I misunderstood. Anyway, another picture of us.
After the ceremony we hopped back on our bikes, yes in formal wear and with Liam, to go back home where friends of ours, a couple, were babysitting Liam for the evening. Then, with the addition of yoga pants under the skirt – it’s sort of a wrap around and is very hard to keep closed on the bike – we biked back to the party, managing to get there just as the cocktail party bit ended and dinner began. It was a good dinner, and the rest of the evening proceeded pretty much as a Canadian wedding would. Well, except there was no head table and after the speeches and PowerPoint presentation with baby pictures there was also a comedy sketch by the couple’s friends. Oh, and the bar was open of course. Ivo and I had a lot of fun dancing and such – our first night out dancing since Liam was born. It was very energizing for us.
I was also happy I’d had an extra pair of shoes in my bag for riding with – I’m not quite integrated enough to ride with heels on. The two women in green and red were jealous – their very cute shoes were killing them.
We are turning into parents or something though, we were home around midnight. And Liam slept through the night, which he is starting to do sometimes, and then we took turns sleeping this morning. Quite a lot of fun.