This wedding was featured on the new Dutch wedding blog, Trouwshop, on August 19, 2013.
Maarten and Annemiek had so many cool geeky details incorporated into their wedding day(s) - in the Netherlands, couples will often have a ceremony at the City Hall (Stadhuis) on a weekday and then have a bigger official ceremony with more guests in the days to follow. On the Wednesday morning these two were married, the square where the City Hall is located was one of the sites in town setting up rides and roller coasters for a May fair. For Maarten and Annemiek, it was a sweet reminder of the first days of their relationship four years ago. From a reading of "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss, to Star Wars quotes inscribed on the inside of their wedding bands, to hand-crocheted dragons handed out as wedding favors, to using a copy of "The Hobbit" as their guest book, to LIGHT SABERS (!!), Maarten and Annemiek used so many personally meaningful aspects of their day to share their love with their friends and family. It's great when nice, nerdy kids get together :)
After their City Hall ceremony on Wednesday, they had their ceremony at the Paalkoepel on the Paterswoldsemeer just south of the city of Groningen. Annemiek has family who live across the lake from the ceremony location, but after a trial run of taking a boat across the water to the Paalkoepel when Maarten immediately fell overboard, they decided to err on the side of dryness and wielded umbrellas against the rain.
One of the most touching parts of the ceremony was the attendance of Annemiek's grandmother from Friesland. Her presence was very special for Annemiek, and they shared a lot of little moments throughout the day.
An iPad came in very handy when the wedding party was trying to figure out how exactly to tie a tie.
Annemiek went for a dramatic black dress with red and white flowers as details, and her bouquet and AWESOME shoes were perfect.
For their portraits, we started out in the woods near Annemiek's family's house on the lake, then we headed into town to the Cibogaterrein, which is full of cool graffiti and modern buildings - even in the rain, it was a great, colorful spot for these two to be my models.
During the ceremony, our mutual friends Rebecca and Alain read an excerpt from "Oh, the Places You'll Go," which took on a special meaning on a wedding day:
"Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose."
Another sweet surprise during the ceremony was when friends and family stood up and read to the couple about what love means.
This photo was featured on the Moment Junkie blog on June 1, 2013.
Maarten seemed equally impressed and horrified by sharing the first slice of cake with his bride.
I think Maarten and Annemiek both win with their new in-laws: equally crazy and fun.
I loved seeing Annemiek's reactions to her dad's toast - embarrassed for a second, then very seriously amused.
A very special surprise came when Annemiek's closest friends from college serenaded the couple with a rendition of "Afternoon Delight." Seriously awesome.
These two win the best wedding ring inscription, as far as I'm concerned. Maarten's ring read, "I love you," and Annemiek's read, "I Know."
