This summer has taken us on many travels and it has been quite a year for us in terms of weddings. As you've seen, we've been to 3 previous weddings this year, and it was excellent to finish up the wedding season AND the summer of 2012 with a beautiful trip out to Holland for Amy and Mike's wedding in Utrecht.
I have to admit, that a trip to the Netherlands was not on my list of top 5 places I wanted to visit, and the knowledge I had of what Holland was like was limited. However, after a weekend in the Netherlands, I'm convinced it's one of my favorite places I've ever been to, and to say it was an extremely memorable trip would be the understatement of the year. I haven't even been away from Holland for more than 24 hours, and I'm already trying to figure out how I can become a permanent resident of Utrecht, NL.
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| Lunch outside Hotel L'Europe on the Canal |
When we arrived in Amsterdam, we had a day or so before the wedding festivities began. We were so excited to be in Amsterdam, that we refused (ok, maybe I insisted) on not taking naps, even though the red eye from NY wasn't very conducive to getting a good night's sleep. In no time, we were showered and refreshed to explore as much of Amsterdam as we could fit in with the little time we had.
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| The Floating Flower market |
I wish we could have spent an entire week here. I fell in love with Amsterdam within minutes. The canals, the beautiful little boats, the droopy trees lining the canals, the FLOWERS...oh my goodness the FLOWERS! Everything was decorated with flowers. Flower boxes on the canals, Impatients hanging from street lamps, and potted flowers dressing all the canal house boats. Both of us were greatly impressed with the history as well. There are buildings in Amsterdam that are older than the United States! And since Amsterdam (and Utrecht as well), were not central locations for any of the wars in European history, the architecture has remained in tact for centuries with little restoration.
During our short stay in Amsterdam, we fit in almost everything we could have wanted to see. Our first order of business was the Van Gogh museum, which was scheduled to close the day after we left...talk about good timing! A whole museum devoted to Van Gogh...it was an aggressive first stop, but I'm glad we were able to see it all the greatest works one of the most famous post-impressionist painters of all time. All of his most well-known paintings were there with the exception of Starry Night. The floating flower
market was across the block from the hotel we stayed at,
Hotel l'Europe. Since we were only spending one night in Amsterdam, it was a splurge, and one of the finest hotels in the city. Our walk through the flower market was not only an overwhelming display of every kind of flower you could imagine (although the tulips are the highlight), but you can even get your own little cannabis starter kits here!
One of the most powerful things we saw the entire trip was the Anne Frank House. It was an unbelievably moving tour that was a 20 minute emotional roller coaster. We learned quite a bit through that tour, and it was extremely disheartening, but something that is absolutely a must see when in Amsterdam. The rest of our time in the city, we tried to stay low key and do as the locals do. We drank beer under the safety of umbrellas during a few torrential rainstorms, we visited the local cafes, and we walked among the seas of bicycles. While I wouldn't take a swim in the canal, it was a surprisingly clean city, with absolutely no air pollution for miles.
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| The Dom Tower in the center of the city |
The remainder of our trip was spent in the charming town of Utrecht, where the groom from the wedding resides, now with his beautiful wife. It was a quick car ride from Amsterdam and provided a more quaint alternative to the "bigger" city we had just visited. I loved Utrecht, and have been plotting my move to this adorable town since we departed. Utrecht is built around an amazing tower called the Dom, that is an architectural masterpiece. At night, when the tower is lit, it's an unbelievable view.
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| "Harry Potter" streets in Utrecht |
We chose the
The Grand Hotel Karel V (or as my husband would say...the Carl Vee) as our hotel for the rest of the trip. The history of this establishment went back to 1190 when it was built as a monastery. It was later converted to a military hospital in the early 1800s until 1896. It was then restored to it's ancient charm and is now a 5 star hotel that serves as the gates to Utrecht. There are countless artifacts that have been dug up over the past centuries located in the lobby, it felt as though the hotel was a museum in itself.
Similar to Amsterdam, Utrecht is built on a center canal and is surrounded by quite a bit of water. When we arrived to Utrecht, the first order was connecting with our friends for a few (or several) drinks on the canal. We sipped beers and wine for hours while watching the ducks and boats cruise through the canals behind us. I will say that we didn't snack too much in Amsterdam or Utrecht as the cuisine was somewhat...odd...but it one of my best meals was not because of the food, but because of the atmosphere and the company we had on our day in the canal in Utrecht.
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| Friends in Utrecht |
The Wedding festivities started on Friday in the backyard of home of Amy and Mike (the bride and groom). They had close to 300 people in their beautiful back yard for a welcome dinner. It wasn't a traditional "rehearsal dinner", but a "come one, come all" invitation that resulted in a magical evening with people from all over the world...literally. I made friends the wedding attendants from the US, Holland, Cairo, and probably more, but there was a lot of wine involved. For a couple who met in the Galapagos Islands, it was expected that their marriage would be an international affair! I'm always moved by what friends and family have to say about the bride and groom during these open mic parties and how much love there is for the couple. The night before the wedding can be an emotional night, but I felt this one was a bit exceptional. Amy & Mike have been through so many different extremes of happiness and hardship that it was hard to even look at the two of them without getting a little misty eyed (or in my case....flood-y eyed). Their journey together as a couple is an inspiration to us all, and can teach all of us a lesson in selflessness in love.
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| Mike channeling Nucky Thompson |
So it was no question that this exceptional couple would have an unconventional wedding. After being shuttled through the countryside of the Netherlands, we arrived to quite the surprise. There was no aisle decorated with petals, no chiavari chairs lined up in identical little rows, no arbor or arch decorated with flowers for the bride and groom to stand under, and definitely no programs with an agenda for the day. The groom did not wear a rental tux, but a top hat and coattails indicative of a vintage ringmaster. Mike & Amy were wed in a circus! That's not a typo friends....they were wed under the blue and yellow tent of a Dutch circus. Instead of bible readings and marriage rituals, they had people hanging from scarves in a spectacle that left us all holding our breath as she twisted and glided through the air, suspended by only her scarves. Family members of the bride and groom led the entire ceremony with the exception of the Dutch officiant who did the actual marriage. It was quite a moving experience to be a part of one of the greatest loves I've ever seen.
After a tear jerking ceremony, we all exited the circus tent and were greeted with cake and champagne. At this unconventional wedding, we had cake before dinner and didn't have to wait for an official cake cutting, what a treat. The rest of the night was an exhibition of circus acts and surprises. While there were no jungle cats or elephants, we were treated to shows of fire throwers, games, authentic Dutch singing acts, cotton candy, amazing balancing acts, carnival swing sets, servers on stilts, and the amazing metamorphosis - i.e. a woman to transforms into an ape...trippy stuff. We returned to the tent for dancing later on in the evening where my husband, the Rockstar, serenaded the happy couple with a crowd favorite, Summer of '69. The end of the night brought just one more surprise for everyone in attendance...fireworks! On the other side of the lake, we were all treated to a fireworks display under the light of a massive full moon. Below are some pictures from one of the most beautiful days and amazing weddings I've been to!
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| Post Reception after a little bit of cake |
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| When was the last time you were on one of these? So much fun! |
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| Friends @ the Dutch circus!!! |
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| The Newlyweds |
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| The Main Tent |
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| The grand finale of the wedding day! |
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| First "tandem" experience! |
If the circus themed wedding wasn't enough of a surprise, we were all instructed to gather early the following morning for an "adventure". When we all congregated bright and early with our coffee and sunglasses, we found out we were riding bikes to a surprise destination. Nadean and I opted for the tandem experience, while the boys rode vintage motorized Solex mopeds. We caravan-ed on our bikes through the Dutch country side over canals, through adorable little neighborhoods, through farmland, and across bridges until we arrived at A CASTLE! The Kasteel de Haar to be exact. The gates swung open and we were all escorted to a private lawn for a group picnic on the castle grounds surrounded by acres and acres of lush trees and lily-pad covered ponds full of graceful swans and coots (apparently it's "not a duck"...but it's essentially a duck my friends). It was the perfect setting for our last full day in the Netherlands and only fitting to celebrate Mike and Amy's fairytale love story.
Never before in my life had 4 days gone by so quickly, and never before had I felt like I could honestly live in a foreign country. I left a tiny piece of my heart in Utrecht when we departed for our return to the States, and the only consolation is knowing that we have friends in Utrecht if we ever want to go back for a fill of Dutch culture. That...AND the fact that we leave for Europe again in 10 days for a tour of Italy (poor Winston...leaving that poor little guys again)!!!! Oh AND the fact that we literally ordered a pizza from the cab home because we were craving New York takeout SO bad. But that's it! :) We are so honored and lucky to be included in the marriage of Mike & Amy. Their wedding and their love story will serve as an inspiration to us for years to come. Congratulations to the newlyweds, we love you both!
I have to admit, that a trip to the Netherlands was not on my list of top 5 places I wanted to visit, and the knowledge I had of what Holland was like was limited. However, after a weekend in the Netherlands, I'm convinced it's one of my favorite places I've ever been to, and to say it was an extremely memorable trip would be the understatement of the year. I haven't even been away from Holland for more than 24 hours, and I'm already trying to figure out how I can become a permanent resident of Utrecht, NL.
During our short stay in Amsterdam, we fit in almost everything we could have wanted to see. Our first order of business was the Van Gogh museum, which was scheduled to close the day after we left...talk about good timing! A whole museum devoted to Van Gogh...it was an aggressive first stop, but I'm glad we were able to see it all the greatest works one of the most famous post-impressionist painters of all time. All of his most well-known paintings were there with the exception of Starry Night. The floating flower
The remainder of our trip was spent in the charming town of Utrecht, where the groom from the wedding resides, now with his beautiful wife. It was a quick car ride from Amsterdam and provided a more quaint alternative to the "bigger" city we had just visited. I loved Utrecht, and have been plotting my move to this adorable town since we departed. Utrecht is built around an amazing tower called the Dom, that is an architectural masterpiece. At night, when the tower is lit, it's an unbelievable view.
Similar to Amsterdam, Utrecht is built on a center canal and is surrounded by quite a bit of water. When we arrived to Utrecht, the first order was connecting with our friends for a few (or several) drinks on the canal. We sipped beers and wine for hours while watching the ducks and boats cruise through the canals behind us. I will say that we didn't snack too much in Amsterdam or Utrecht as the cuisine was somewhat...odd...but it one of my best meals was not because of the food, but because of the atmosphere and the company we had on our day in the canal in Utrecht. 
The Wedding festivities started on Friday in the backyard of home of Amy and Mike (the bride and groom). They had close to 300 people in their beautiful back yard for a welcome dinner. It wasn't a traditional "rehearsal dinner", but a "come one, come all" invitation that resulted in a magical evening with people from all over the world...literally. I made friends the wedding attendants from the US, Holland, Cairo, and probably more, but there was a lot of wine involved. For a couple who met in the Galapagos Islands, it was expected that their marriage would be an international affair! I'm always moved by what friends and family have to say about the bride and groom during these open mic parties and how much love there is for the couple. The night before the wedding can be an emotional night, but I felt this one was a bit exceptional. Amy & Mike have been through so many different extremes of happiness and hardship that it was hard to even look at the two of them without getting a little misty eyed (or in my case....flood-y eyed). Their journey together as a couple is an inspiration to us all, and can teach all of us a lesson in selflessness in love. 
So it was no question that this exceptional couple would have an unconventional wedding. After being shuttled through the countryside of the Netherlands, we arrived to quite the surprise. There was no aisle decorated with petals, no chiavari chairs lined up in identical little rows, no arbor or arch decorated with flowers for the bride and groom to stand under, and definitely no programs with an agenda for the day. The groom did not wear a rental tux, but a top hat and coattails indicative of a vintage ringmaster. Mike & Amy were wed in a circus! That's not a typo friends....they were wed under the blue and yellow tent of a Dutch circus. Instead of bible readings and marriage rituals, they had people hanging from scarves in a spectacle that left us all holding our breath as she twisted and glided through the air, suspended by only her scarves. Family members of the bride and groom led the entire ceremony with the exception of the Dutch officiant who did the actual marriage. It was quite a moving experience to be a part of one of the greatest loves I've ever seen.
After a tear jerking ceremony, we all exited the circus tent and were greeted with cake and champagne. At this unconventional wedding, we had cake before dinner and didn't have to wait for an official cake cutting, what a treat. The rest of the night was an exhibition of circus acts and surprises. While there were no jungle cats or elephants, we were treated to shows of fire throwers, games, authentic Dutch singing acts, cotton candy, amazing balancing acts, carnival swing sets, servers on stilts, and the amazing metamorphosis - i.e. a woman to transforms into an ape...trippy stuff. We returned to the tent for dancing later on in the evening where my husband, the Rockstar, serenaded the happy couple with a crowd favorite, Summer of '69. The end of the night brought just one more surprise for everyone in attendance...fireworks! On the other side of the lake, we were all treated to a fireworks display under the light of a massive full moon. Below are some pictures from one of the most beautiful days and amazing weddings I've been to!
If the circus themed wedding wasn't enough of a surprise, we were all instructed to gather early the following morning for an "adventure". When we all congregated bright and early with our coffee and sunglasses, we found out we were riding bikes to a surprise destination. Nadean and I opted for the tandem experience, while the boys rode vintage motorized Solex mopeds. We caravan-ed on our bikes through the Dutch country side over canals, through adorable little neighborhoods, through farmland, and across bridges until we arrived at A CASTLE! The Kasteel de Haar to be exact. The gates swung open and we were all escorted to a private lawn for a group picnic on the castle grounds surrounded by acres and acres of lush trees and lily-pad covered ponds full of graceful swans and coots (apparently it's "not a duck"...but it's essentially a duck my friends). It was the perfect setting for our last full day in the Netherlands and only fitting to celebrate Mike and Amy's fairytale love story. 
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