It seems that we are traveling all over the world to witness our friends tie the knot but no complaints. Our own wedding took place in Mexico under a gazebo on the beach. The next destination wedding we attended took place in a castle in Ireland. This destination wedding in Finland occurred in the largest wooden church in the world. Thank you for giving us a reason to travel and see and experience so many new things! I am looking forward to many more destination weddings (already have one on the calendar for January).
So after the long hours of traveling and brief tourist outings, the wedding festivities quickly arrived. On Friday evening, we attended the rehearsal at the church, dinner at the father of the bride's house, and drinks at a local place.
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The groomsmen....and I thought PDub was tall...
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The groom and PDub.
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Rehearsing.
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The lovely couple.
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On Saturday, we attended the ceremony and reception. The wedding was absolutely beautiful and was held in the Kerimรคki Church that was built between 1844 and 1847 and can hold 5,000 people. Although the rumor has been disproven, the size of the church was blamed on a miscommunication between the architect (working in centimeters) and the builder (working in inches). Ah, the beauty of having different measurement systems. After the ceremony, we went to the reception venue, which overlooked one of the many lakes. The dinner was scrumptious with the best reindeer meat I have had (tasted like a cross between pepperoni and salami); plus, this Fazer guy really knows how to do good chocolate. Paul's speech was fabulous (no really, it was), and the band even learned how to play country music. You couldn't have asked for a better evening!
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The largest wooden church in the world.
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The groom's family.
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Before the ceremony....
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| The interior of the church. |
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After the ceremony.....
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Rice.
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More rice.
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A happy couple.
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Another happy couple...wait...same people.
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Cheers!
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The boys gave the groom a ball-and-chain keychain.
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Caution: Suspenders.
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Every wedding needs a kick line.
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Two-steppin' for their first dance.
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| My favorite picture that their photographer took....really captures the beauty of the area (and the couple of course). |
