Some practical information

We were really sick that day. But we had a good breakfast. It's the little things.

We went to Erfurt for New Year's. It's really pretty. Case in point, above picture, Krämerbrücke. We walked around most of the time, sometimes the same streets again and again, just happy to do that. When you walk around Erfurt you feel like you've just stepped into a postcard so you'd better not make any sudden movements.  Our plans were pretty sketchy but Bastian was really intent on having some potato dumplings and that was the only thing we really made sure to do. Oh and spending midnight in the hotel, watching a terrible tv program set in Berlin with a countdown and some pop singers we'd never heard of because you can call me an old lady, but dodging drunken firecracker activity with a cold isn't my idea of ringing in the new year (we had fun anyway because the hotel room had a tv, which we don't have, so we watched tv with the kind of fascination that a . The next day we returned to Dresden and Bastian got really sick and I was all, "gee, glad that's over," because when one of us is really sick, the other isn't, or maybe just a little. And pretty much the second that Bastian became chipper, my upper respiratory system had a conniption and I lost my voice. Anyway.

Do you see how happy we are? It's because we got to sit down.  

There are some things about weddings* that nobody tells you. I don't know why. That's just how it is, man.

Look at that smirk. LOOK AT IT.

*There are a million magical things about weddings. We had a great wedding. We were happy to be surrounded by our friends and family. I am not down on weddings by any stretch of the means. But some things? People should tell you.

Consider your claimer dissed. Or something.

1. You won't ever get to sit down. You won't notice until you finally get to sit down how much you've missed it and taken it for granted. Every chair will appear to have a glowing choir of angels singing around it.
2. My cousin's wife told me this, which sounds painful and is completely true: If you have a veil, be careful while hugging people, especially when you're short. People will hug you around your head and unintentionally pull your veil down, which pulls your scalp down.
3. If you have kids at your wedding, hit the dollar spot at Target or dollar stores for some coloring books, crayons and stickers.
4. Sleep. This is really important and not to be messed with. We woke up around 7, did last-minute stuff at the venue, picked up the cake and a million other things I now forget. My cousin curled my hair and my aunt applied mascara. My cousin's wise wife (who gave the tip about the veil) made me some toast because she said I wouldn't get to eat (and I think maybe she should become a bridal consultant). I didn't wear any foundation (like always) because I am afraid of it. B and I drove to my mom's house and got dressed in a couple minutes and drove away to our photo location (Botanical Gardens in Alliance). I stuck my veil on while running out to the car. And friends, that's how it is sometimes.
5. If you are planning on writing your own vows and saying them in a bilingual fashion, try to translate them more than 10 minutes before the ceremony (poor Bastian).
6. Pay people before the day. I had to write a check really quick for someone and I couldn't find my purse. Kate came to my rescue and brought my purse. And then I didn't have a pen. The smallest things can seem tragic sometimes.
7. You will barely talk to anyone. It's a shame because they're all here for you and then you can't even really talk to them. And then sometimes you blurt out details of the circumcision debate in Germany because you don't know what to talk about.
8. This was also shown in "How I Met Your Mother," but you won't get to eat much. We were lucky to have lots of leftovers after the ceremony, which we took to a park for a picnic the next day, but we didn't really get to enjoy eating anything until afterwards. That includes the cake too.
9. We ordered cake from a local bakery (Checkerboard Cheesecake in Alliance, Ohio, if you're curious and let me tell you, it's amazing). We got 3 round cheesecakes and 1 sheetcake for 100 people. It was way too much. We didn't think about the fact that some people leave early, some people don't eat cake, and some parents will take one piece of cake for two of their kids to share. We just went along with what the bakery suggested, which I think was an honest estimation on their part, but for us we ended up with way too much leftover (one whole cheesecake and one whole sheet).

10. Even if you book a nice rustic hotel at which your husband will later tell you he had the best burger of his life, you have to be careful if it's like 40 minutes away by small back streets. We had a really lovely wedding night/next morning and later a lunch there and the food was amazing and the rooms were adorable (Spread Eagle Tavern). But driving 40 minutes at like midnight after doing wedding preparations, ceremony, pictures, reception is... difficult (B kept me awake by telling me stories).