The wedding

Friday 15th April
Today’s the Day!!! After a cold night, only 3 deg, it proved to be a fine, sunny day. We had breakfast at a cafe/bakery called Peter’s, then I went to the hairdresser’s. I managed to bamboozle one of the staff with my German but fortunately the chief stylist could speak English and was very friendly. I had been wondering how I would explain how I like my hair in German! We were given cups of coffee and a couple of tiny bottles of African liqueurs made from the fruit of the marula tree (elephant tree). We decided they’d make good presents for Judith’s parents.
Our cheap lunch at a nearby Imbiss wasn’t very nice. Bruce had chips which were served with a huge quantity of mayonnaise, and I chose a salami roll but it was too fatty and had heaps of butter as well. The coffees were very large but so bitter! We had fun talking to a young boy who turned up there to eat some chips. He was most interested to hear that we were from NZ.
Friends of Jeremy and Judith drove us to Duisburg and it took less than half an hour as there was very little traffic on the autobahn. It was hard to find a car park near the town hall though, it was really busy.

We had a bit of a wait outside the imposing building until it was time for the wedding party to go inside. Each wedding takes place in a special room called the Trausaal and is allowed half an hour. Then it's the next couple's turn.
It was lovely to meet up with Eleanor and Anthony again and also some of Bruce’s family – Maurice, Ruth and their two children Naomi and Stephen, also Ruth’s parents (they were all going to travel to Holland afterwards to visit relatives) – and our nephew Kelvin and his wife Christina who live in England. We met Judith’s sister for the first time – in ‘punk’ mode with a mohawked boyfriend – they really stood out!











It had taken Jeremy and Judith quite some time to find a venue that would seat enough guests – 40-50, most only seat 20-30. The room was nicely panelled and had interesting pillars too and looked quite ancient. All the guests sat at the back, but Jeremy and Judith had seats set back a little from one end of a long table. At the far end was a massive carved chair for the celebrant. Jeremy said it was quite daunting looking down the length of the table at her, and he was also worried about remembering his vows in German. Judith chose to say hers in English (centre pic). That's an optional part in a civil ceremony in Germany, as are witnesses. All you have to do to get married legally is to say, "Ja" at the right time and sign your name afterwards.
You don’t choose or meet the celebrant beforehand which can have its drawbacks. They were a little worried as they’d heard tales of the strange poem recited by one to friends of theirs. Fortunately they ended up with a very nice lady, who gave a little talk about the importance of marriage and read a nice poem about how to be happy. I was able to follow along and keep Bruce up to date on the procedure. It was obviously quite an emotional time for Judith during the vows and she even started signing the register with the wrong name – not like her usual organised self!








After the ceremony we trooped out to a central courtyard, where drinks were served. It had been decorated with red, heart-shaped balloons. The RH picture shows our nephew Kelvin and his wife Christina, who we hadn't met before, as well as our younger children Anthony and Eleanor.
When the next wedding party appeared it was time to head back outside again where we waited, for what seemed to be quite a long time, for the newly-weds to emerge onto the rose petals that had been sprinkled by a previous wedding party. It made a very pretty path to walk out on.
Returning to Essen took twice as long as getting to Duisburg as there was heavy traffic on the autobahn. As it was still nice and warm, we all waited across the road from the Alte Lohnhalle at the outside tables of a beer garden. We went with Maurice and Ruth for a cuppa at the bakers, knowing that dinner was some hours away.
Eventually the happy couple arrived, having completed a series of photographs at various venues. It was starting to get cold, so after taking some photos with family and friends, we all went inside for the reception.

The variety of entrées was rather overwhelming, and some were rather hard to identify. Some things that caught our attention were decorations of red chicory, and melon sliced finely and rolled up like ham. The mains were really nice, based on chicken and lamb, but also some vegetarian options for people like Judith.
Naturally there were quite a lot of speeches between courses. Jeremy and Judith had put together a very interesting one. Jeremy would say a few phrases in English then Judith would say the same plus a few more in German - so they were constantly overlapping and carrying the story on. Bruce was very nervous when he came to give his, and was surprised it wasn't translated as previously arranged - but they reckoned most there could understand enough English.
Jeremy and Judith went up to the serving tables and waited a little (RH pic) whilst the lights were dimmed. A cake covered in sparkling candles made a dramatic entrance. It appeared to be a little difficult to cut but definitely met the taste test!

After cutting the cake there was a bit of a lull in the proceedings so I took some photos of Judith's family.

The catering staff had tried to make a few pavlovas for the dessert but unfortunately the one I tried tasted extremely salty and was rather flat and cracked. It was covered with thin cream and kiwifruit.
An amazing piece of work was a cake iced to look like a Kiwi dressed up in flying kit complete with helmet and goggles. It had been made by friends from Heidelberg. It wasn't cut at the wedding but taken home by the Kolbes.
I'm sure all us overseas' folk were glad that the German speeches were translated, especially Ludger's long, but well-written poem.

After the poem, the final speech, there was a funny game that is quite popular at German weddings. The newly weds have to take off their shoes, and each gives their spouse one. The idea is to answer a series of questions by holding up the shoe which represents the person who is the best at doing something. If both agree, it is hoped the couple will have a harmonious relationship! Jeremy and Judith's answers were nearly all the same apart from one or two. Next, a video was shown about Judith going off into the wide world - she had to travel to the other side to find the man of her dreams.








Then their friends from Heidelberg sang some songs. Quite a large contingent had travelled up to join in the celebrations. Judith went to university there.
Eventually it was time for Jeremy and Judith's first dance together as a married couple. Bruce and I decided to go to bed after this as the music was really noisy and it was by now close to midnight! However, we didn't manage to get much sleep! It was noisy until nearly dawn although they turned the sound down a bit. At one stage some of the merry guests decided to dance a conga up the stairs past our room onto the balcony. I could hear Jeremy trying to persuade them to desist! It was quite amusing really.