German Wedding

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While visiting friends in Bavaria, I was lucky enough to be invited to a wedding. The wedding was of a cousin of my friend. I was pretty excited because this would be the prefect opportunity to get even more, true German culture.
The wedding was held in the small city where they are from. It was actually in walking distance from where we were. I was expecting it to be like an American wedding because I really didn't know what to expect.
So we all walked to the small town center, and went inside. We walked up the stairs to the room where a bunch of chairs were. The bride and groom finally came in and sat down in front of the mayor of the city.
That's something that was very different than a traditional American wedding, they sat down in a very plain room, (I was later explained to that this was all just the official marriage stuff) the Mayor spoke for a while about the couple. That's when I began to feel a little lost because my German is not that exceptional and I really had no idea what was being said.
So after all of the official stuff, we all waited in like to congratulate the couple. We then walked around the corner to the place where the food would be served. We all had assigned seating, and during that time is when I got to meet several different people and have some conversations. I was a bit uneasy however, because I was definitely the only person in the place who did not speak fluent German, which was a little scary for me.
So after we all took our seats, the couple made a speech and we were served our drinks and the first course began. It was a giant cold buffet with all types of German food (which I am definitely getting used to)
After we had our first course, it was picture time. We all went outside and took one giant group picture with the couple.
After that was through, it was cake and coffee time. I found that a bit odd as well, that cake and coffee came before dinner. But it made some sense considering it was still too early in the day for dinner.
Another thing that was different than the American traditional wedding was that there wasn't just one big cake, some of the guests were asked to personally bake a cake and bring it; which gave the wedding over 40 cakes. There was sooo much dessert to choose from! They also had a coffee truck come as well to make beverages for the guests.
After cake and coffee, there was a very long break before dinner would be begin. Many guests lived close enough that they could go home and take a quick nap before continuing the night. Which is what we did.
After we returned, it was time for dinner. We had a choice between two different meals. (I can't pronounce either one of them) but I chose the meal with the pork. Everything was restaurant style and the service and food was great.
After dinner, there was a few speeches and performances. At this point, I was starting to feel like an alien. I really had no idea what people were saying. I listened the best I could and got engaged, but mostly did a lot of people watching.
The final part of the wedding was the party at the lake. However, it started raining (which did not make for a happy bride) so we had to say our goodbyes and go home.
I was so happy and lucky that I was invited to this wedding; it's not everyday you get to attend a wedding in a foreign country. It helped me meet a lot of people and learn more about the culture of this area.

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