Lam and Rasmus's Wedding in Denmark

With only a carry-on (I planned it this way), I breezed through customs, grabbed a croisant and water before hopping on the train to Nykøbing Falster. Well, I thought it was the train to Nykøbing Falster - it was the same time as the one I looked up online! - but turns out it was to Osterport. Doh! Luckily everyone at the train station spoke English and they helped me figure out which train I needed to take to get to Nykøbing Falster. Once I got there, I waited almost 10 minutes for a taxi! Good grief. There was a guy and his 2 kids waiting for a taxi as well, and he mentioned to me that there are very few active taxis in the town. Great, I thought to myself, I'm going to be late to the wedding! Finally a taxi pulled up, I jumped in and explained where I needed to go, and that the wedding is at 3 (in about 20 minutes); the driver got me to the church with 7 minutes to spare! I was so relieved to get there on time that I didn't even register the fact that my fare costed about £25 (that's $50 to my fellow Yanks. Bloody hell, talk about sticker shock. Oh well, I got there on time and that's all that mattered.

The ceremony was short and sweet, with lots of organ music and hymn singing. Lam looked sooooooo beautiful. She was truly a 'radiant' bride! I was so happy to be there and I could tell that she was really happy to see me, too, judging by the huge smile she gave me. The entire ceremony was performed in Danish - funny, my first wedding and it's in a foreign language - so I didn't really know what was going on, but I could tell that they exchanged rings and said their
"I do's".

Lam and Rasmus walking back down the aisle.

Afterwards, we all gave hugs and kisses to the bride and groom and made a mad dash (because it was pouring down rain) for the little reception room in the next building. At first, I wasn't sure what was going on - all I could tell was that the bride and groom were taking some pictures in the church and everyone else was leaving - but my friends (Lam and Ras I mean) took care of me: they told the best man, Thomas, who I was and must've asked him to watch out for me. Poor little American lost amongst the Danes! Hahah. He came up to me and asked if I was from the US. Anyway, Thomas explained about the little reception and that we'd all make our way to the big reception afterwards.

At the mini reception, Ras pulled me aside and pointed to a group of his friends and told me that they were English, too. I looked and, hey, it was Ras's coworkers! I knew Daniel already, so thank goodness I knew someone other than the bride and groom. I also met his girlfriend, Soowoo, Rich, Darren and Neil. Eventually we all split up into different cars and taxis and found our way to the reception venue. Daniel, Soowoo and I rode with a really lovely Danish couple who have known Ras since university (I think). In the car, I found out that Ras had grown up in this little rural town (in the middle of nowhere, mind you) near the church they just got married in, and the guys found out that I flew over almost specifically for the wedding. Like I said, I'm so crazy.

Now I just want to mention something: the Danish are sooooooooo incredibly friendly! Everyone I'd met, from the information desk lady at the airport to the mom-to-be on the train to everyone that I didn't know at the wedding, were so nice and helpful. Of all the places I've been to so far, I must say Denmark's by far the friendliest country I've been to.

We were one of the first to arrive and when everyone else started trickling into the venue, they would all shake hands with everyone and say hello. A couple of Lam's friend introduced themselves to me and asked if I was from the US. When I said yes, they said that I was staying with them at the B&B down the road. Oh good, I have a place to stay! (Yeah, I went there without having planned out a place to stay at...) Coincidentally, Thomas arrived and asked me if I had a place to stay, and said to let him know if the B&B didn't work out for some reason and he'd sort something out for me. See? So nice!

Me and Lam. Doesn't she look gorgeous??

We spent a while in the small front room of the reception venue talking to other guests, eating peanuts and drinking coffee, and everyone got a chance to chat with Lam and Ras. When they opened the big room, we all filed in to take a picture with the bride and groom, then were directed to our seats. It was all very orderly and laid back, and finally, the food was ready to be served! (Remember, I hadn't eaten anything all day except for a croissant.)

Me and Rasmus, handsome as always in his wedding suit.

More wedding pics.

There was so much food, too! We had smoked salmon and cheese with pesto sauce as an appetizer. The main course was roast beef with string beans, carrots and a half tomato with horseradish sauce, and Danish new potatoes (very yummy!!), and lots of gravy. Fruit soup with ice cream and whipped cream was dessert. Rich, one of Ras's coworkers, and I totally chowed down and it turns out he's a certified 'Fat Kid', too! Yay. We were totally loving the roast beef, potatoes and gravy because neither of us has had any roast in ages. And get this: the main course was served three times. Yeah, that's right. I turned down the third time but Rich was still going at it. Awesome. Of course, there was also a lot of wine (red and white) and champagne floating around, as we all made toasts to the bride and groom throughout the dinner. I opted for Coke and water, as usual, but I think I had at least 4 cans of Coke that night. No wonder I was still awake at 5am despite only having 4 hours before I hopped on a plane over.

There were numerous toasts made to the happy couple, and I got singled out in several of the them haha. It was because I was the only one from the US (everyone kept referring to me as Lam's American friend) and was part of the few people who didn't speak Danish. Thomas was the toast master and when he started, he first spoke in Danish, then explained in English, thanking everyone for coming out, esp. those from the UK and even the US. They all apologized for making their speeches in Danish (as if they had to!!), but we didn't have to understand Danish to understand the love and emotions behind the words. I even cried during Lam's toast to Ras, telling him how much she loves him; even though I didn't understand a word of it, I could feel the love in her voice and feel the power behind her words. Even Ras started crying and then Lam put on a song, which made it that much more emotional, and they were both crying and laughing and kissing through the song. *Happy sigh*

In between courses and toasts, we sang songs - one of many Danish wedding traditions - about the couple using traditional melodies and just substituting words. Another tradition was if everyone started banging their silverware against their plate, then the bride and groom would have to stand up on their chairs and kiss each other. If everyone stomped their feet, then they would have to kiss each other under the table. If the bride leaves the room, then all the women present would have to get up and give the groom a kiss on the cheek; if the groom left, then all the men would have to give the bride a kiss on the cheek. Then there is cutting off the toe of the groom's sock - to prevent him from running I think - and cutting the bride's veil for good luck. We didn't cut her veil but the guys did hoist Ras up in the air, take off his shoes and cut his socks. It was funny.

Then came the cutting of the cake. It was a 4 tiered piece that the bride baked herself, with the help of her sisters and mother. Y'see, Ras is allergic to eggs so Lam decided to make the cake herself. It was very good, with one tier filled with raspberry, one with passion fruit and one with chocolate. With cake we had a choice of tea and coffee, then cognac and Bailey's. Then they pushed the chairs and tables to the sides, making a dance floor, and brought out the beer. There was a Wurlitzer jukebox in the corner with lots of old and new English and Danish songs, and I drank more Coke.

The party went on and on, and then there was more food! It's a tradition there to have a hot soup before one goes home from a party, so we had Vietnamese beef stew with bread. Mm mmm! We partied well until the wee hours of the morning. By 4am, I had decided to not go to the B&B and just go straight to the train station and the airport to catch my flight back to the UK. Thomas and another Danish couple offered to take me to the train station and if the station wasn't open or my train wasn't there yet, they'd take me to a bar for some shots. Haha, awesome! I really owe them for taking care of me that night (err, morning): they paid for the taxi, took me to the train station, checked my train schedule for me, then bought me a Coke when it turned out I still had about 20 minutes to wait. They then made sure I got onto the right train, told me which stop I'd need to change trains for the airport. Thanks to them, my trip back went very smoothly.