My brother's wedding

My little brother got married and we got to be there :)

A day after we arrived in Germany my brother and Melanie got married at the Standesamt, it's like going to the Justice of the Peace, here.

The ceremony was held by a long time family friend. He explained to them what marriage is like, a give and take relationship; he compared it to a bank account that the husband and wife fill with compassion, understanding etc. and love for each other and that they should always keep it filled for a long happy marriage.

They started filling it right away :)



After the ceremony we went out to the courtyard for champagne and pictures, of course.


My parent's with their new daughter-in-law.



Melanie's sister and another friend made this banner, they had to cut it out the hard way with little cuticle scissors
and my brother carried the both of them :) through.




The immediate family went out for lunch and after we went to decorate the town hall for the Polterabend on the next day. 'Polterabend' is a German Tradition, where friends and family are 'suppose' to break porcelain in front of the brides house for good luck. Sometimes people have a Polterabend before the ceremony at the standesamt, or combine it with the church wedding. You can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polterabend


Since my brother was always very generous spreading stuff for good luck for other people, he got tons of it back. His friends showed up with 3 choppers. They put all kinds of stuff through it, small trees, bushes, hay, straw, lots of paper and who knows what else.

For a while it looked like it was snowing. That stuff was over 3 feet high piled in front of the house.
Another tradition of the Polterabend is that the parent's walk around with trays filled with schnapps. My sister-in-laws friend and I made sure that the stuff wasn't bad, so we had a few before they passed the schnapps around. Somebody had to do it.



After everybody congratulated the new married couple had to start cleaning up the mess, another tradition. They just piled it up and my brother had to take care of it the next day. He actually had to get a big trailor to haul it all of.


The reception party was for all of their friends and family. The announcement in the newspaper is pretty much the invitation for the reception party.

The cake was made by another long time family friend. She did a really great job, the cake was delicious.

She also made a birthday cake for my brother. Very conveniently my brother's birthday was the day of the Polterabend, one day after the wedding, so he'll better never forget.

Having a party, while we are there is always the best way for us to see all of our family and friends again.
We had a great time and I am very happy for my brother and my new sister-in-law whom we really like.

We hope the two of them have a very long and happy life together.