American Wedding

Shake it off
OMG – have you heard the Taylor Swift song Shake It Off? I can happily say Jason has heard it a LOT now, as once I find a song I love, I put it on repeat all day long. And now he knows the words better than me – poor guy!
I first heard it at my lovely friend Injy’s wedding. This was the whole reason we went to America in January. Injy and I met at university way way waaaay back when I was just 20. My flatmates were dirty (literally: minging!). There were maggots in our sink from the unwashed dishes. When I went on holiday, my so-called flat-mates broke into my cupboard and used my sugar – they didn’t even close it up again so that I had a nice present of flies everywhere when I returned. My food in the fridge was eaten on a regular basis. I hated it.
Then I met Injy. She is one of those germ-o-phobes. Her flat sparkled. When we went out, we put anti-bacterial lotion on our hands before we ate. Everything was clean and nice and before long, I would cook in her kitchen instead of mine. Sadly, Injy was on an exchange-year from America and when her time was up, she went back to New York. That didn’t end the friendship however, she is like me: a traveller! We would meet about once a year – somewhere in the world. Then she met my lovely friend Sofie and the three of us became the best of friends. We met recently at Sofie’s wedding and this time, Injy had met her perfect man and was getting married.

 
It started out as: Come to my wedding – it’s in Miami in October! It sounded perfect – sunshine, beach and cocktails. This then became a New York wedding in January. I have to say, going somewhere colder and more snowy than Berlin was not really top of my priority list, but I had to be there and we realised New Orleans would be nice and warm at that time, so off we went!
Jason and I have only been travelling for weddings recently. Japan, Sweden, England and now New York. We don’t seem to go on holiday when or where we choose anymore, but I have to say I love going to weddings. Everyone is so happy and it makes me feel all warm inside. Plus, it’s a whole cultural experience: you learn so much about a different culture. Japanese weddings are pretty dull – full of speeches you have to listen to while your once fresh fish on the plate in front of you becomes pretty old. The fun only gets going at the after-parties. In Sweden, whenever the bride or groom go to the bathroom, the guests of the opposite sex HAVE to get up and kiss the remaining just-married person. It’s hilarious! In France the cars in the procession up to the wedding venue beep their horns constantly (same here in Germany and in Turkey apparently). In Ghana there is so much singing and colours everywhere – the costumes are stunning and all made to fit each person – but it’s super cheap to get that service there.
In America you have a rehearsal dinner – the night before the big day, many of the guests are invited to dinner by the groom’s family to meet each other. This very often results in a massive drinking session with wine and champagne flowing. It’s informal and unstressy, so everyone lets go before the big day. It was lovely that we could join this, as it meant we got to meet lots of the guests and made some lovely new friends. Another fun custom is whenever a guest clinks their wine glass against some cutlery the couple have to kiss – this happens A LOT and is super fun.
In all the weddings I’ve been to, flowers have been thrown and you have to wait for the first dance to be done before you can get on your groove on the dance floor. I always get super cute presents (called favours) too – at Injy’s wedding they set up a pick ‘n’ mix station, at others I have received homemade jam by the bride’s mother and personalised m&ms!
Have you ever been to a wedding where there was something they did that surprised you or was super fun? 🙂