In the words of Stonebridge Manor’s very own, Courtney Spice.
I’d like to start by thanking all of our wonderful brides for being so patient with me while I was gone on my vacation…I mean, my research trip. Also, a huge thank you to the wonderful Stonebridge Event Directors and Vendors for not killing me when I left the country in the middle of season. You are all so amazing.
Although I did have a lot of fun and experienced some great things while on my family vacation (notice
the lovely parents learning to be segway racers), the highlight of the trip was attending my cousin, Calvin’s wedding to Camilla, a sweet Danish lady.
Apparently no one warned her that you have to be a little crazy to be a Spice.
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| Me and my parents segway touring through Berlin. |
Cal and Camilla are a wonderful example that anything is possible as long as you have love. They met in California while working at a local church. They kept their relationship strong when Camilla returned home to Denmark through facebook, skype and occasional visits back and forth for two years! Now, they are finally united and held their nuptials in Camilla’s hometown.
It was difficult to keep my hands out of the planning process, but once I got the guys to let me pin their boutonnieres I was able to sit back and relax. It was so interesting to see the differences and also similarities between our traditional American wedding and their Danish version.
Here are a few highlights of some of the similarities and differences. Are there any traditions that inspire you (or scare you)?
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| Personalized programs, designed by Camilla’s twin brother. |
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| Calvin with his best man who sat next to him during the ceremony. Bridesmaids sat in the front row on the bride’s side of the congregation. |
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| During the ceremony the bride, her father, the groom, and his best man are seated facing each other. After the exchange of vows and receiving of the blessing, the groom and bride’s father switch seats. |
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| Calvin and Camilla each washed each other’s feet to display humility and experience the ‘one flesh’ commitment. This is a Christian tradition which dates back to when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples during the Passover celebration. John 13:1-17
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| Nicely coordinated socks, shoes, and cuff-links for the bride and groom. |
After the ceremony and family pictures we moved the party to a windmill for the reception.
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| My place setting at the head table. Cal wants me to be sure that everyone knows he helped doing the wax drip on the seating assignments. (there ya go, Cuz) It is tradition for parents to sit at the head table with the bride and groom. Since we were the closest family to Calvin at the wedding, we were lucky enough to fill this place.
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There are a couple aspects of the reception that happened so quickly I wasn’t able to snap a picture, but I would love to share them.
Similar to us tapping silverware on a glass to make the bride and groom kiss, Dane’s BANG their knives on their plates telling the bride and groom to get up on their chairs and share a kiss. Once they climb up on their chairs, the party starts stomping their feet which tells the bride and groom to climb underneath the table to share another.
Imagine trying to move that much in a wedding gown! That takes skill!
Another great tradition gives the bride and groom one last chance to get attention from the men/women in the room. When Camilla left the reception hall (to go to the bathroom or bustle her dress) all of the women in the room RAN up to Calvin and gave him a kiss. When Cal left the room, all of the men came up to kiss Camilla. With this being the first Danish wedding that Cal has attended, you could imagine his surprise! Haha, it was very entertaining!
At the end of the night 11:55pm, Cal and Camilla did their first dance. This is a traditional wedding waltz. When the Dance starts all guest are making a circle around the couple and slowly moving in on the couple so by the end of the dance there is no room to move. When they can’t move any longer, they kiss.Immediately after this, the groom will get a piece of his socks cut off (long story but something to do with him not going to other women). This is done by the guests and normally some male member of the party will hold the groom down and cut of the toes of his socks.
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| Cal being held hostage as the toes of his socks got cut off. |
And that concludes the night
J.
Lucky for Calvin and Camilla, they spent the next few days in Copenhagen sightseeing and spending some time together before we left our little Calvin in Europe.
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| Dad, myself and Calvin segway touring through Copenhagen. |
We REALLY suggest segway-ing. That is, when you are done getting married!
Have you ever attended a wedding out of the United States? What wedding traditions did they have, and would you ever incorporate them into your big day?
