Firstly I apologise for being M.I.A. lately…it was a busy last week!
I had to work a lot last week and then on Thursday we packed and flew to the UK for a family wedding.
wedding
Tea House
Despite living in Germany and more specifically, in Stuttgart for almost 3 years, I am still discovering new places and seeing the city from different perspectives. Continue reading
New Year, New Challenges
New years are always about new beginnings, and for the first time in my life I am joining a gym! This sounds like a typical resolution but for me it isn’t. First of all, I am not joining the thousands who join up in January all gung-ho about losing weight and getting fit and then giving up in about March.
I am joining with Michael this week and we will go every second day. I know we can keep it up because Michael is a long-time gym-goer and always did that, and now that we will be going together, we can motivate each other more.
Also, I have goals to get fitter in general and to get ready for next years wedding.
Speaking of which, we have possibly decided on a colour scheme: Purple, Green and Grey (and of course by default, white). The list of invitees is also in progress but it’s tricky with so much family and so many friends spread out all over the world!
Here is some wedding inspiration:
I think I have discovered my favourite flower (or one of): White poppies
Lanterns are lovely!
Grey, white and yellow decor
Grey, white and yellow decor again
That’s my weekly update for now…I will report on our progress but in the meantime I have to write a thesis! At least the weather is looking up…we’ve got 11 degrees Celcius today! Have a great week!
Back to business…the big day
The big day. We pushed pause on all the planning due to our big move and renovating our new home but now that that’s done and we’re settled in, it’s time to hit play again.
Yesterday we took a long drive out into the countryside to look at a location. I don’t want to jinx it by saying exactly what/where it is, but it is a castle. It’s beautiful and on the pricey side but not as pricey as you could go. It sounds crazy to say that I may get married/celebrate getting married in a castle, but in Germany this is not so uncommon. Michael’s sister got married in a monastery that was atop a hill, and to be honest, Germany is full of castles and ruins and fortresses. They have to make some extra cash somehow!
This place does it all, it has an amazing menu and they don’t charge extra for room rental, and they even do fireworks if you want them (and you have the cash)! It was such a lovely experience going there. I even ran into the owner and chef of the place and he was so friendly and patient and then said that our drinks were on the house before bidding farewell and then casually walking off.
Once we have the location secured and the guest list figured out, I hope that all the planning will go smoothly!
Have a great week everyone!
Monastic: The last Autumn Wedding
Kloster Lorch
Ok, so the couple were obviously not monks, but the setting was a Monastery, set high up on a hill in Lorch.
The couple was also my sister-in-law and her husband who were already officially married, but, as is common in Germany they also married in a church, or in this case, a monastery.
Lorch is in Schwäbisch Gmünd, kind of in the middle of nowhere, but that’s what makes it so spectacular. From atop the hill, the view is beautiful and unobstructed and the monastery grounds are lovely. There is an animal enclosure as well as a herb garden and inside the buildings there is a museum, mural and a Refectory.
Inside the church
With such a perfect setting, the day could only run smoothly. The rain stayed away, the sun shone and we partied through the night. I can only hope that we find our own special and beautiful location when the time comes!
The Refectory, all decked out
Autumn Wedding: The Ranch
We’re coming to the end of the wedding season, with just one wedding to go and it’s amazing how quickly time flies. 2013 has a grand total of 6 weddings and for next year there’s already another wedding lined up in January!
The very last wedding of the year for us is in Australia which is really exciting. We get to go back and we get to skip out on a bit of winter in exchange for sunny, summery Sydney without the crazy heat.
The happy couple at The Ranch – can’t see the rain, can you?! (Photo credit: Michael Friz)
But before we get to that, I have to report on a wedding that we had about 2 weeks ago. American guy living in Germany since he was little marries a German lady, so of course, we celebrated at a ranch not too far from Stuttgart.
It was definitely a very different wedding to the ones that we have attended and photographed this year. Not only the location, but the food as well. As you can tell, ‘The Ranch’ was very much country style with stables and plenty of horses. The food was delicious with pulled pork, ribs and burgers on offer.
There were a few mishaps like the music not working for awhile, but I suppose, what’s a wedding without them? Still, I’m hoping that ours won’t have any!!
It rained a little but we still managed to get some nice shots of the lovely couple and had a great time.
We also attended a family wedding the next weekend (just over a week ago) and although we didn’t do the photography there, I will report on it next time because it was beautiful and had just about ZERO mishaps!
Til then, I will be working on planning for the new apartment 🙂
A very Stuttgarter Wedding
Weddings are magical, and rightly so. They are events to be enjoyed by all and where memories are made. The start of a new chapter. This is why it was not so surprising that despite the rain and overcast days we’ve been having in Stuttgart, that the heavens cleared and the sun burst out from behind the clouds for the special day on Saturday.
Michael and I were asked to photograph the wedding and happily accepted. Two of our friends tying the knot and us getting to play with our cameras? Of course!
The morning started out dreary. I was picked up by the bride and her hairstylist at 10am and driven to the maid-of-honour’s place where the bride was to get ready. The sky was cloudy and grey and as we were in the house preparing, the clouds unleashed a heavy downpour. It seemed that all was lost, but then just minutes before we were scheduled to leave, the rain stopped and the sun shone. Perfect.
Final touches
I captured the preparation process while Michael hung out with the boys and snapped some shots there.
I arrived at the wedding in the nick of time, 5 minutes before the bride walked in. It was a lovely ceremony with some oddities. The pair kneeled at the wrong time and the priest forgot to bring his Bible, but what is a memory without something like that happening?
It goes to show that all the planning in the world cannot prepare you for everything, but it will still work out fine.
The celebration was held at a Cafe/Restaurant in Killesberg Park in Stuttgart. Despite being here for almost 2 years it was only my second time there and the first time was just 2 days before the wedding.
Killesberg: Train ride through the park
Killesberg Park is amazing. It is huge and in springtime contains so many wonders. There are ponds and a small waterfall, the flowers are in full bloom and the park is maintained well. There is a flower garden that was full of different varieties of tulips and an old style fair with games, a carousel and little stalls selling sweets and snacks. To add to its charm, the park also has a mini train which takes visitors on a large tour of the park. They also have 2 steam trains that they use for special occasions.
The Killesberg Tower: A view of the whole park
My arms are sore from carrying all our equipment and clicking away with my camera the whole day, but it’s always worth it when you see the images and moments that you managed to capture.
Let the wedding season begin.
White Lindt Bunny, Maxi Kinder Surprise…drool…
After eating my body weight in Easter chocolate, watching snow melt and playing a couple of hundred levels of Candy Crush, wedding planning is under way! No, I haven’t been putting it off at all.
Everyone says that it’s a pain but also ‘so much fun’, but right now I’m only getting the first half. All I’m doing is looking for a location and I’m already exhausted. How hard is it to find a reasonably-priced castle/winery of some sort with enough room for about 150-200 dinner guests and a hotel to boot? Oh and then rounding up the funds for all of this wedding ‘fun’?
I’m sure it’ll be great in the end and everything will work out, even if I have to pay in my own blood, it just seems like a long road. Got the dress already and I’m hoping that everything will just follow suit now. Looking at wedding blogs and wedding photography just makes me go nuts…so many ideas!!
I was never one of those girls that planned their wedding since they were old enough to know what a wedding was, so I’m kind of at a loss here. I suppose it’ll be funny to read this post again after it’s all over. Tips and ideas are welcome!
In the meantime I’m adding more girliness to this site and posting a picture of my flowers from the civil ceremony. I have no idea about flowers, but they were pretty!
Bridal bouquet – white poppy, roses, babys breath…etc?
Alright, I’m off, I’ll post some pictures of the zoo animals after the weekend 😉 Definitely will do proper planning…later.
Lake Constance
Lake Constance from the hotel, Kressbronn
So these past few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind…friends and family everywhere and organising, well, everything. And then exams on top of it all. Therefore, apologies for the delay but it was unavoidable.
In spite of the stress that comes along with a wedding, even just the registry, it was an amazing time and the only people missing were my brothers who were working and studying (and posting) back home and a few of my Aussie friends.
It all started with the arrival of my parents, which I posted about here. Turns out, they had fun playing in the snow, which was one of the things that mum was really hoping for. She got her wish! It even snowed the morning of the wedding, but by the time we went into the Registry, the sun was shining and it was beautiful (though still freezing cold!).
We took them to the Ritter Sport Factory in Waldenbuch, a small town not far from Stuttgart. They ended up buying about 5kgs of chocolate but it was crazy cheap so, in other words, it was totally justified! The factory seconds section is a chocolate-lovers’ dream. You can also attend a chocolate workshop and create your own.
Mm…chocolate
The problem with Stuttgart is that it is a very green, outdoorsy kind of city, so when the weather is crap, there isn’t a whole lot that you can do. Other than the chocolate factory and museum, we mostly went shopping and my parents also visited Burg Hohenzollern with some friends. The castle is quite amazing and boasts a spectacular view of the Swabian Alb.
Burg Hohenzollern in April
Burg Hohenzollern in Winter
We headed to Lake Constance after the ceremony and a lovely lunch in a German restaurant. The special thing about this lake is that it is owned and bordered by Germany, Austria and Switzerland. So driving around the lake means potentially visiting three different countries. Not knowing how March weather would be, we booked a wellness hotel with a spa, sauna and swimming pool. The hotel, Bodensee Hotel Sonnenhof in Kressbronn was amazing though we were disappointed by the fact that they had arranged nothing special for us despite us bringing 13 other guests with us and us telling them that we were going there to celebrate our wedding.
We spent our weekend relaxing, eating very well and visiting some cities situated by the lake. Two of our friends are sort of semi-experts on the area because they visit so often, so we had our own personal tour guides. We visited Lindau and Friedrichshafen and then a small, family-run animal park. We also walked down to the hotels private beach and visited the animals that live on the property.
Lindau is an island in Bavaria on the eastern side of the lake. It has a charming old town and a beautiful harbour. The city is full of history at every turn and feels more like a small town despite the throngs of tourists that visit. I enjoyed the visit to Lindau the most, and hope to explore other cities at Lake Constance in future.
Lindau
Friedrichshafen also has an old town, feels however, more modern because of the large shopping centre and amount of cars entering and exiting the city at all times. It too, has a lovely waterfront but it is a university city and is situated on the northern part of the lake. It is also home to the Zeppelin Museum and has cute fachwerk buildings that are just so typically German.
All in all, despite the planning and organising stress, we had a wonderful time and I sneaked in some travel. Also, I found my wedding dress! Well in advance but it was just too perfect 🙂
KOKSTARS 