Falling in love with a place is not so different from falling in love with a person, especially if either that place or that person happen to be thousands of miles away from the place you come from. This place-and-person love is something that Erin and I have more intensely in common than most: Erin, originally from North Carolina (Winston-Salem, even!), chose somewhat randomly to study abroad in Groningen, subsequently fell in love with a nice Dutch guy (René), and is now living here in this special Dutch city running her own business. It's a trajectory I know incredibly well: it is exactly the same origin story for how I came to be living here myself! Erin just happened to do it about 10 years before, so I was following her example without realizing how parallel it was until she introduced herself to me about a year ago. She and I have happily become friends since then, and it's so satisfying to have someone with the exact same background of sweet tea and Southern living with whom you can talk about the charms and weirdness of our new adopted culture. Above all, it is inspirational to see another American and Dutch love story being celebrated in such a beautiful place - congratulatons, Erin and René, and thank you guys so much for letting me be a part of your day.
Erin's mom and several other members of her family flew over from North Carolina to be at the ceremony, which was naturally an emotional event for everyone.
Erin and René very thoughtfully hired a couple of bike taxis to ferry guests from the ceremony at the Martinikerk to the reception at Café Peter Pan.
Having a strong stout beer was one of René's only demands for the reception.
Erin's mom helped to cut the cake, which was delicious and made by one of Erin's friends, and I was really amused to see her intensity in this task.
