Deborah og Peters Bryllup (that's Wedding, for those of you who don't speak
Danish!)
Last modified: July 25, 2002
Bryllup for Peter og Deborah - Tinglev Kirke, den 11. May 2002
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The official Wedding pictures
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If you just want to browse through the pictures
have a look here
Here follows the long and sometimes sordid
story of the wedding of Deborah Ann Lorenzen to Peter Lorenzen Petersen,
now known as Peter L. Lorenzen. We had a perfect day, great friends and
family around, and all the champagne the bride could drink. Plus, they
both said yes! - what more could you want from life?!!
Everyone's Coming to Denmark!!
We decided to hold our wedding in Denmark for many reasons, not the least
of which was that the Bride's family came from the same part of Denmark
where the Groom grew up, but also that the Bride's American friends and
family (with a few glaring exceptions) tend to get on planes all the time
anyway. Besides, who doesn't want to go to Denmark in May? Nevertheless,
you always wonder at the end of the day if anyone will actually turn up.
Thankfully, they did! Somehow by way of planes, trains and automobiles
(sometimes all three) we had 20 Americans (21 if you include Red). We also
had friends and family from all over Denmark - some from as far away as
Bajstrup and RødeKro. : ) In the end, there were 95 people, including
children, and only 88 chairs for dinner - good thing some of the our freinds
are so fabulously thin!
The party started in Copenhagen one week before the wedding when the
Bride plus two friends from New York (Jeannie & Muhammed) and two friends
from San Francisco (Matt & Jim) flew in to Kastrup. MATT
& JIM AT TRAIN STATION The Groom met us there and we were off to
Tivoli, the Little Mermaid, a hopeless search for vegetarian restaurants
and a big bed for a slight recovery from jet lag and on to a train to Aalborg.
MATT & JIM IN AALBORGAfter more nights sleep
for the jet lag, some furious packing, papers to make the wedding legal,
IN THE ALLEY WITH PAPERSand out-negotiating the mean
Avis man, we packed up one car and two motorcycles and headed south on
a glorious sunny morning. Fortunately, the weather turned less inviting
about the same time we realized we had better hurry if we were going to
get to Rode Kro by the time the train came in from Copenhagen since the
Bride's sister Chris and her companion Roger were likely to be on Board!
We flew into the train station just in time to see they weren't on board...
so off to Lojt Kro for Matt & Jim, and the summer house for Deb and
Peter. SUMMERHOUSEFrom there things get fuzzy. People
were turning up left and right, champagne was pouring, the city-folk from
America were sitting stunned in the little tiny country town of Lojt (just
five minutes from Aablenraa!) and trying to figure out what to do on a
Danish Holiday Thursday... bar-b-que at the summer house of course! BAR-B-QUE
We have to Practice?
There was also
the wedding practice on Thursday, when the two pastors first met and started
plotting... I suppose that deserves some explanation. The local Danish
Lutheran priest - Jorgen Storgaard - who was once a sailors priest and
was absolutely fantastic, agreed to let the Bride's brother-in-law Jeff
Hansen - who is a Lutheran Pastor in Center, South Dakota, USA join in
the fun. TWO PASTORS Thus, the Danes would know what
was going on (since much of the service was in Danish, since we were, of
course, in Denmark) and the Americans could have a clue (since Jeff, being
from America, speaks excellent American English!). Thing is, once the two
of them got together, well, more on that later...
Margits Fodselsdag!
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Margits Birthday
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Friday, the day before the wedding, just happened to be Peter's sisters birthday,
so the Bride and Groom convinced Margit (the sister in question) that it
would be a great idea for her to throw her own birthday party and invite
all of the wedding guests who had travelled from outside the country over!
As she is a fantastic hostess and wonderfully talented cook, she agreed
and layed out a spread to make your mouth water. The last of the Americans
finally arrived (though some of them, having just flown in, were quickly
introduced to the back bedrooms) and we all hung out and chatted.
The
sisters had a good reunion and Vanessa, wife of the Bride's Uncle Linus,
learned about Danish delicacies. Mmmm, Vanessa, you never had it so good
in Ferndale, right?! : ) As the evening wound down, the Bride fled with
back to Lojt Kro with the American friends, and the Groom stayed one last
night alone. Somehow he showed up the next day wearing dark purple toenail
polish, thanks to his neice Laila. Laila is also mother to one of the two
most beautiful flower girls in Denmark, but then, that's another story...
THE BIG DAY
So then it was the big day. The Bride was off to the hairdresser to see
if anything could be done with the fabulous long tresses she had been growing
since she met the Groom one year ago. He in turn was trying to find his
toothbrush and his ashma inhaler and still make it to the church on time!
His hair apparently took less time to groom, so there was time for family
pictures in the garden PRE-WEDDING FAMILY IN MARGIT'S
GARDEN while the bride's friends 30 miles away gathered together to
solve the problem of the buttons. Fabulous as they are, those little pearl
buttons that run from top to bottom on the back of the dress are more than
a little challenging to fasten. Someone suggested it would be easy if we
had a knitting needle - as if any of us had one of those handy! Fortunately,
Elaine and Susan's perserverence paid off and eventually I was in! BUTTONING
THE DRESS
A big American Car (Dea and Susan)
So we had decided the best way to get around Denmark on the big day would
be in a Big American Car. BIG AMERICAN CAR Once word
got out Dea, one of our beautiful flower girls, generously offered to ride
to the church so the bride "wouldn't be lonely". Fortunately, that wasn't
even close to the case! The the car fit the day perfectly. Luckily it also
fit the people, since we had a shortage of cars so the Big American Car
took its driver, Kurt (Margit's husband and Dea's grandfather), Sture (Dea's
little brother) the Bride and her Uncle Linus, Ann Marie (the other beautiful
flower girl) and Susan Ehrlich (to her surprise) to the church - on time!!
Uncle Linus
My (me being the Bride) Uncle Linus was born in 1927 of Danish immigrant
parents. He had never before been outside the US, nor had ever had a Passport.
Through pure unending persuasion from his fabulous wife Vanessa, and maybe
even a little intrigue about the place his parents came from, he decided
to pack a bag and fly to Denmark - to the eternal surprise and happiness
of the Bride and Groom! After he arrived, it took no effort at all to convince
him to stand in for his big brother and walk me down the aisle. Doing so
he made a fantastic day just that much better, and secured a warm place
in our hearts for good. Turns out he and his wife also had a fantastic
trip - partly because Linus decided jet lag was just a state of mind so
he wasn't going to have it! - and partly thanks to the wonderful hospitality
of the Grooms family - so that now Linus and Vanessa are talking about
coming back to Europe again! LINUS AND VANESSA
Was that song in English or Danish?
Suffice to say, with a little help from Margit, the Groom made it to the
church on time. With a little help from Linus, the Bride made it up the
aisle. The ceremony, LINK TO PROGRAM, was a combination
of English and Danish, both in word and song. The two pastors had put their
heads together after the practice and did a fabulous job of sharing the
service so that everyone, whether they spoke English or Danish, could follow
along. They did, of course, decide without telling us that Peter should
take his vows in English (not his first language) and Deborah should take
hers in Danish (a language she is working at learning now!). All of this
just means we probably don't really know what we agreed to, but the marriage
will probably last! Also, the Danish Priest made a lovely speech to us,
which can be accessed (in Danish) here: JORGEN STORGAARD
TALE And then, before we knew it, it was over. Dea and Ann Marie led
us out of the church and into the glorious sunshine...
The strange man outside the church
But there was
a strange man outside the church, who wanted to take our picture. Paparazzi,
you know, are everywhere! We really didn't know who he was, since our photographer
was waiting at the reception site, but nevertheless, we submitted to a
few photos, which allowed everyone else to snap a few shots as well, and
then forgot all about him. More on him later...
The Glorious Afternoon
After wonderful
wishes from everyone assembled and several kilo's of rice flung in our
direction, it was back into the Big American Car for the journey to Knapp,
where the reception was held. The day could not have been more perfect.
Beautiful sunshine, a light breeze whispering across the lake, and a harpist
wafting beautiful music through the air. Fantastic. From the eldest in
the family - Tante Lena - to the newest in the family - Tajs - the afternoon
was fun and relaxing.
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Carl Erik Petz, Helene Petz, Laila and Tajs Jaque
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Saber Champagne and an Ice Cream Cake?
So how do Danes open champagne? With a Saber of course! After we got over
to Knapp and snapped a few pictues, it was time for cake and champagne.
Since there is no reason to do things the normal way, the Danes have created
a tradition of opening champagne bottles with a giant knife - a saber to
be exact. The best thing about it is the efficiency - pick up a bottle,
slide the saber down the side and POP - off flies the end, cork and all!
Since the groom was successful with the first bottle, just about anyone
who wanted a try joined in.
The best part was, after everyone had opened a bottle, they all had to be drank!
And then there was the cake. The bride had spent hours laboring over
the design, the color scheme, the flavor of the cake and everything. It
was to be orange and yellow, with marzipan flowers and raspberry filling
- all very good for a nice cool summer afternoon in Denmark. Unfortunately,
or fortunately as it turned out, the day was not nice and cool, and the
cake was lots of things, none of which had anything to do with what we
had ordered! Somehow the cake that appeared was red and white with ice
cream filling! CAKE Since the day was so warm, it
was just about the tastiest thing we could have had, so it seems the gods
knew better than we did what we would want for a cake that day!
Menu for Dinner
Speaking of tasty, we have had many requests after the fact for a menu
from dinner. The food was out of this world good, and Knapp deserves all
the credit. For anyone who is interested, the menu follows. For anyone
who wants to eat like this again, I suggest a return trip to Denmark!
MENU FROM KNAPP
A Few Words From the Groom
Early in the evening the Groom stood up to give his speech. In the weeks
before the wedding the Bride and Groom had decided that it was important
to try to provide as much translation as possible during the day so that
those who only spoke one language (English or Danish) would still know
what was happening. They decided also that the Groom would give his speech
in English, and the Bride would then translate to Danish. Unfortunately,
the Bride's believe in her ability to speak Danish far outweighed her actually
skill, so about three words in she grabbed the Grooms speech (fortunately
typed in English!) and swiched languages on him! It was a wonderful speech,
made all the more fun by the translation. The text (in English) is
here.
Denmark Sings
Being Denmark, there were many songs written and
sung on our behalf. We tried to explain this to the visiting American's
prior to the event, but no one really believed. Now they believe. The singing
began with the Bride and Groom's remake of that old American favorite "My
Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean":
My Bonnie was over the ocean
my Billy was over the sea
my true love was over the ocean
now my true love is sitting with me
he's back, she's back,
they're sitting together
you see, you see
she's back, he's back,
they're sitting together
not free!
SCAN IN SONGS HERE
The Americans Remember 4th Grade
Never to be outdone, the American's rallied from their flat-footed start
and, thanks to Elaine's fabulous organizing, dusted off their collective
memory banks and offered up a more-than-adequate response. AMERICA
SINGS They also managed to direct a round of "Row Row Row Your Boat"
which was strengthened by the fact that ALL the Danes also knew it!
You May Now Kiss the Bride
At some point late in the dinner, the Groom, quite reasonably, got up and
went to the bathroom. What he failed to mention to the Bride was that as
soon as he did so, all the men in the room would see his absence as their
opportunity to run over and
kiss the Bride!
They immediately lined up and got what they could - to my enduring surprise!!
As I can see from the pictures the same fate
happened to my husbond. Odly, the Americans, for whom this tradition was
a complete surprise, were not far back in line...
Ryger ud!
In what seemed like an instant, dinner was over and everyone cleared out
to the front rooms for coffee and cognac. We were going on 10 hours since
the ceremony started, so caffeine was the order of the day (laced with
something alcoholic of course). Some of the gentlemen even acquired cigars,
so at least there were a few who dared to smoke after the Bride's command
earlier to "ryger ud!" Apparently, even though what she meant to say was
something like "for those who would like to smoke, please smoke outside",
what she said translates to "smokers get out". Thankfully no one seemed
to take much offense, and by the time the cigars came around Karl Henrick
and Michael were able to sit and puff away quite comfortably. MICHAEL
OG KARL HENRIK WITH CIGARS
Country Music and Sock Cutting
Where do you find a Country Western band in Denmark? We still have no idea,
but are thankful that Knapp knew! But after one song, the Groom was attacked
from all sides and his tie and the toes of his socks were cut off with
a giant pair of scissors! Why you ask? Tradition. But why that tradition?
Well, the Bride asked many many Danish people and most gave long winded
explanations that said nothing, and essetially wound up with "because".
So they did. And, thanks to Laila, the Groom's niece, the sock cutting
revealed perfectly painted purple toenails!! For the rest of the evening
the Groom danced (reportedly with every single woman in attendance!) without
his shoes!
How many pins are in your hair? (and buttons on your dress...)
At some point we realized that the end was near. The Band was winding down
the last song, the taxi's were heading off in all directions, and the Bride
and Groom were almost too tired to walk, let alone dance. Even the staircase
up to the Bridal Suite was daunting! Oddly, as tired as we both were, my
hair (the Bride's hair, that is) still looked fabulous. I'm sure that had
nothing to do with the three cans of hair spray and over 100 pins holding
it all together. Problem is, there you are on your wedding night with a
giant mass of curly hair, pasted together with sticks in it! Not to mention
the dress, which had a long string of beautiful buttons down the back.
The Groom made a few attempts to unbutton them, and then cut the loops
off with scissors. Too bad we couldn't just shave off the hair. DANCING
LATE AT NIGHT
Breakfast and the Newspaper
Two seconds after we closed our eyes it was morning and time to go off to brunch with
everyone who didn't live nearby. The opportunity for re-hydration was appreciated,
but noon might have been a better time than 9am! Nevertheless, off we went.
Dea, our beautiful flower girl who rode along so the Bride wouldn't get
lonely on the way to the church, was still wearing her dress - I think
she liked it! It was great to see everyone the next morning and share war
stories from the night before. Then someone walked in with a local paper,
and we uncovered the mystery of the man outside the church. Apparently
the Groom's sister Margit had told the story of our meeting to a local
paper and they found it interesting enough to send a photographer. Thus,
a picture on the front page of the paper, and a half page story on Page
4!, to read it just click on the newspaper to the left.
Ude og Hjemme
And then there was Ude og Hjemme For those
who don't know, it is essentially the Danish version of People in America,
or Hello in the UK. They called on Sunday and asked if we would be willing
to have a reporter and a photographer come over before we left for Cuba
to get the whole story. We obliged, and the results are
here,
together some of the unpublished pictures
The American Press
The New World also got into
the swing of things, with articles in the The
Humboldt Beacon" (Humboldt County of course being in the north-western
corner of California) and The
Ferndale Enterprise (the Bride's hometown) These are thanks to Vanessa
Lorenzen's efforts after she and Linus returned home from the wedding.
Vanessa say's the one from the Ferndale Enterprise is awful because they
left out everyone's names and didn't print the picture, but Linus and his
brother Niels (the Bride's father) both say it is because the family that
owns the paper doesn't like the Lorenzens.
You have to love small towns. I suppose also if you've ever known a Lorenzen
you'll understand - you may like them or you may not, but you never forget
them! Fortunately the county paper, The Beacon, raised themselves above
local rivalry and gave the whole thing a good showing. Thanks to Vanessa
for her efforts!!
And that is all she wrote. The whole thing was exactly what we had wanted
- a big party with all our friends and family around. The gods must have
been with us since the sun shined, everyone got there and home safe and
sound, and judging from the smiling faces in all the pictures, it was a
good time had by all. And that is the story of Deb & Peter's wedding.
Bryllups Pictures
Prior to our wedding we provided this to our guests -
Denmark and the Place we will be Married
