The wedding was cool for a few reasons.
I got to hang around with family members from the Gray side, many of whom I hadn't seen since my own wedding almost 7 years ago. Most of my cousins made it, some with spouses, and all of my dad's siblings were there, most with spouses, plus of course my parents. The Gray brothers like to throw around obscure trivia, bad puns, and play conversational tug-of-war, while mixing in a trademark chuckle that words can't accurately describe. The Gray sister can hold her own in the tug-of-war, but avoids adding in the puns. Mix in the bride and groom, some cousins and cousin spouses and a couple of very patient aunts and you have a good family weekend.
It was my first trip to Sweden. Even though I try to avoid comparing new places to old places I've been, I can see why the Swedes feel at home in Minnesota. In and around Vadstena, there are tons of lakes, mostly flat green farmland, birch trees and evergreens, and the faint smell of manure. The houses are almost all painted brick red with white trim around the windows, and the whole place is really pretty. Vadstena is a small picturesque town on a huge lake. Much of the town center is taken over by the hotel where we stayed. It's a series of different buildings. The main campus was an old monastery where nuns and monks lived separately and only spoke to each other at certain times through a slot in the wall (or something like that ). The other side of the hotel was a 10 minute walk across town and was in the buildings of the former mental hospital. So you can either stay in the convent or the psych ward. What a vacation! It was actually a really nice place, and the mental hospital room where we stayed was definitely better than the convent rooms I saw.
There was a Swedish wedding. Apparently they are famous for being long and involving a lot of speeches. Our German friend Sonja told me that when she was little she used to play Swedish wedding with her friends, so I was very curious to see how it would all go. The ceremony was what we were used to, except it was half in Swedish, and it was in a church from the 14th century. They did play "Here Comes the Bride" and blow bubbles though. The reception was in an old brewery out in a field somewhere. Two toastmasters were hosting the event. What it meant was that they chose the order for all the speeches, introduced the speakers, told everyone when to sit down, when they could take breaks, and where the bathrooms were located. I guess the idea is that the happy couple wouldn't have to worry about any of it. Plus with something like 22 speeches, someone needs to keep things rolling. There is a Swedish custom that when the groom leaves the room, all the men go up to kiss the bride. The same thing happens to the groom when the bride leaves. The experienced wedding guests rush to the front of the line so they can plant their smooches first. The ones at the back of the line have to kiss wet cheeks. Once the dancing started it was a great wedding dance party, which went through the two hours or so when the sun was down and ended after the sun had risen again at about 3am.
We were pretty tired when we got home Sunday night, and glad that the sun here doesn't come up until at least 5am. Here are some photos of the event:
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| From left: Tom, Priscilla, Ed, Don, Lew |
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| Vadstena |
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| Olly and Maria |
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| Mom and Dad at the reception |
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| Sunrise in Vadstena as we got back to our hotel Saturday night |
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