December 5, 2009

Our wedding day. Already seems like a long time ago.
It was great – to throw in a cliché : it was a dream come true.
But it also felt like being in a movie that someone was playing in fast-forward mode. Everything happened so fast – although it started at 7.00 AM with all the preparations, and ended around 4.00 AM the following day.
Some moments I’ll always remember:
- the night before with K, K and C, celebrating my last “single” night with lots of Italian food. Sharing the bed with K, giggling until after midnight.
- Crawling into the little Fiat 500 for the first time, legs and wedding dress up in the air.
- Arriving at city hall, seeing lots of friends and family waiting for us
- The surreal civil ceremony with music from Mary Poppins.
- Entering the church, and seeing the baker and his wife from my former neighbourhood. What a surprise!
- Realizing that the church is freezing cold, but still feeling warm.
- Seeing K at my left side, being very serious, holding the rings ready.
- Not feeling nervous once – even not when saying my vows. And while saying them, looking into P’s eyes and feeling very very happy.
- P putting the ring on my finger and giving a kiss on it.
- Leaving the church with lots of surprises: a shower of paper hearts, and a mariachi band!
- Kissing too many people at the reception – while all I wanted was a glass to drink and something to eat.
- Entering the great art-nouveau office of the architect of the Flagey building, with jazz-music in the back ground; and with the help of our photographer feeling like being in a 30ies movie.
- Crashing for a coffee in the café Vaudeville, after taking lots of pictures – and being offered free champagne, strawberries AND access to the very old Vaudeville theatre for more pictures!
- Entering the dinner party with everybody standing up and clapping for us.
- Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet suddenly making a surprise entry
- Wonderful speeches by R and C
- Ending our first dance so beautiful that everybody thought we practised it. But honestly : we didn’t!!
- My parents, sitting alone at their table, very late into the night, holding eachothers’ hands.
- Lots of dancing, and more dancing (memories get a bit fuzzy there)
- Ending the party on the dance floor; just me and my maids of honour.
- Being treated like a princess all day long

The day after was a bit like a black hole. We were dead-tired, and so many things still had to be done before leaving on honeymoon the next day. Opening all the presents, going to the bank, packing for one month, bringing the cars back, etc. I was so tired that I even can’t remember how we got to the airport early Monday-morning. I fell asleep in the taxi, I fell asleep at the gate, I fell asleep on the plane.

The story of the honeymoon itself is for another post!