Saturday 15 June 2013

Another Fairytale Wedding

It is not every day that one wakes up in the morning with no particular plans for the day, and ends up at a fairytale wedding. Just now I seem to be making a Saturday habit of it, though. Last week it was our Princess Madeleine (even if I only took part via television). Today I still don’t know whose wedding it was, but I ended up enjoying (part of) it anyway. And live this time!

We had another beautiful summer day today, after rain yesterday and more rain predicted for tomorrow (actually it’s starting as I write this, Saturday evening); so I decided I’d better take advantage och spend some time outdoors this afternoon.

When I set out from home (after a salad lunch) I still hadn’t decided where to go. I knew that there were “things” going on in the town centre – a sports event, a triathlon… So there would be photo opportunities. But also a LOT of people, and I wasn’t really sure I was in the mood for that. My other alternative was our Museum Park, but that’s a longer walk… I actually postponed the decision until half-way into town (where I had to choose).

But I chose the Museum Park; and no regrets!

I took some photos on my way there too, but I’ll save those for another day and post. This is what I want to share today:

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One of the buildings in the park is this old church, originally built in 1690. It was moved to its present location in the museum park in 1914. I’ve blogged about this church (and museum park) before so some of you might remember it. The church is part of the museum, but is also used for wedding ceremonies and christenings and other special occasions. When I passed it today I noticed a sign on the door which announced that a private wedding ceremony was taking place (“welcome back later”).

So I decided to hang around for a bit and maybe get to see the couple when they came out. While waiting, I had a cup of tea at the café, and a pastry which goes by the name of “mazarin” here (I don’t know what it may be called in English, if you have it at all):

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(I’ve been on a “salad and strawberries” diet all week otherwise… But it was such a long walk today…)

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The café. An old inn which like all of the other old buildings in the park was moved here from somewhere else in the area (instead of just being torn down).

As I sat down at a table outside, I spied with my little eye something interesting half-hiding behind the next building, so I had to go check that out before I drank my tea:

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 Well, now I really had to stay and watch the rest!

Eventually, out they came:

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The couple stepped onto the special flat bridal stone outside the church which has traditionally been used for the same purpose way back through generations. They stood there quite a long time while all the wedding guests came up one by one to hug them and congratulate them.

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The sign says: “Bridal stone from Toarp parish, known to have been used there as late as 1820. The stone was placed just outside the wall around the churchyard, and was used by the bridal couple after the ceremony in the church. They were then supposed to show themselves to all the people while music was played and the horses were prepared for the journey back home.”

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This couple today had evidently decided to follow the old ritual literally. While they were standing on the stone being greeted by all their friends, a musician was playing the accordion in the background, and the invited guests were served strawberries and champagne (or it might have been low-alcohol cider, considering that some of them must have been driving).

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Finally, it was time for the bride and groom to enter the horse-drawn carriage to go wherever it was they were having the reception. Not all easy getting the dress aboard:

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Goodbye, and thanks for the “show” :)
May you live happily ever after, whoever you are!

16 comments:

  1. i do love me my fairy tales and princess weddings, this fits that to a T... love the whole story.. so we don't have to marry a king or queen to ride in a carriage... love it love it... what a day you had. i like the photo of the cup... great shot.

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  2. Oh those black horses, they look like Friesians to me, used to carry knights in to battle, and that church being moved to its safe new home, how great.

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    1. I'm no expert on horses so I don't know what kind they were. But they were beautiful, and very patient (they had to stand still and wait for quite a long time).

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  3. Oh that does look like a fairy tale wedding. What beautiful scenery and what a beautiful dress.

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  4. Talk about being in the right place at the right time....what a great photo op.
    Aren't you glad you decided on a walk to the Museum Park?
    Loved the bridal stone.... a nice piece of history that has been preserved and still being used.
    What gorgeous looking black horses for the carriage ride as newlyweds....wish them all the best.
    Did you have to order another cup of hot tea when you finally returned to your table?

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    1. Yes Virginia, I was very glad I chose the Museum Park as it proved to be both quiet and entertaining at the same time. There were a few other people besides the wedding party, but not very many.

      I did not have to order a new cup of tea, I did not leave the table for that long. I just went to take three or four photos of the horses and then came back and enjoyed my tea. There was quite a long wait before the couple even came out of the church, and then as it was a beautiful day they were in no hurry to get off. I even had time to nip off into the museum shop and buy some postcards, and then when I came back out the carriage had been brought up in front of the church to meet the bride and groom - and I was in better position than most of their guests to get photos of that!

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  5. A fairytale wedding indeed! Thank you for showing us these pictures and telling us about the bridal stone; this is the first time I hear of such a tradition.
    Your strawberry-and-salad-diet sounds delicious, but I am sure I'd miss my carbs after two days :-)
    The bride must have been expecting less nice temperatures when she chose her long-sleeved wedding dress, I hope she wasn't too uncomfortable.

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    1. Meike, I have never seen a special bridal stone like that anywhere else. But it is traditional for the couple to stand still for a while outside the church with guests lining up to greet and hug them (and take photos).

      Even though it was a sunny day it wasn't really hot, and rather windy, so my guess is the bride was probably glad of her long-sleeved dress (I know I would have been!) I have to say I never understood the fashion where in the same context women are supposed to be bare-shoulderd while the men are supposed to wear jackets over long-sleeved shirts, and vests and ties as well! It makes no sense! (Myself I was wearing an unlined jacket of rather thick cotton fabric and was not tempted to take it off.)

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  6. Very nice :) Härligt att se bilder hemifrån. Ha en skön Söndag!

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    1. Tack Eva. Ja, visst utstrålar bilderna Svensk Sommar! :)

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  7. What a great weekend wedding invite for us all!!! How far away were you, did they spy you? Her gown is really pretty, I got a good look at it close-up while she is in the carriage. We do not have these wedding stones to stand on, what a great idea. When I think of most of the weddings we have here, this just really outshines them in the ROMANCE department!!! The country, old church, horses and carriage, I am very impressed! Kudos to YOU for staying and waiting, it was all SO worth it!!!

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    1. I did not go so close as to mingle with the invited (party-dressed) guests. I doubt the bride and groom took any notice of me. There were a few other people (not wedding guests) in the park as well even if not exactly a crowd.

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  8. A day to remember - and not just for the bride and groom! Love the idea of a Bridal Stone, that's the sort of tradition that is worth preserving. Thanks for waiting.

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  9. Indeed, a fairy tale, the clothing resembles those from early 1920s and the 19th century.
    air conditioning bel air

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  10. A splendid snapshot of tradition filled in with real players in the form of the bride and groom and their friends.

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  11. Catching up with your psts and loved this one.

    We do have the mazarins - we call them Bakewell tarts after the town they were supposedly invented in. I love the almopnd filling of a Bakewell and we do often have them iced but I think the traditional ones are not iced and just have a well cooked lid.

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