Last weekend I had the honour of being bridesmaid to Ellen, my host-sister from when I was an exchange student in Norway. Ellen and Dag and been going out for years (about 12 years I think) and have finally tied the knot.
So I had a four day weekend and went over to Norway to help celebrate. It was lovely getting back to Reinsvoll. I had visited Ellen before in Oslo but it doesn't really feel like I'm coming back to Norway when in Oslo but being back in Reinsvoll where I have many fond memories is for me coming back to one of my many homes. If that makes any sense at all.
It was so lovely to see paople I hadn't seen in so may years. Some on for 6 years since I visited with my sister Kate, and some not for 15 years when I lived there in 93-94 school year.
The night I got there, we had a bit of a girl's night and chatted and drank wine and ate nibblies. I soon remembered why I put on 25kg in Norway. Such good food!
The next day was Tor's (Ellen's Dad and my host-dad) birthday and also being the night before the wedding, we had Dag's family and some family friends over for a special dinner which was lovely.
Sun and warmth - not something that can be expected on a Norwegian spring day but something we could all hope for even as ice still lay on einafjord in front of the church and not all the snow had yet melted from the garden. But the wedding day dawned with perfect weather which stayed with us all day. The sun shone and the temperature was 17 degrees (yes everyone in Oz that IS warm!). It was beautiful and we were surrounded by beautiful countryside, the bride was beautiful and the groom handsome. It was fairytale day.
Ellen and I went and got our hair done together for a bit of fun before the wedding then got home to get ready. I was in charge of getting Ellen's dress on her. If you saw the dress you would realise it wasn't as easy as it sounds. Layers of underskirt to arrange. We got there just as the last people were arriving at the church and I went in to sit opposite Dag and his best man.
Eventually Ellen was brought in on the arm of Tor and she managed not to cry too much (at that stage) and Tor delivered her up to Dag who helped her up to her seat next to me. Te priest spoke and then our firend Benedikte sang "Songbird" by Eva Cassidy. That was when my next duty came to me full force. Delivering tissues to Ellen which started crying in happiness. I started to as well but soon we were nearly in fits of laughter at ourselves. Luckily we were able to be discrete and didn't come out with the loud guffaws which come so easily to Ellen and me when we are together.
Ellen and Dag then approached the altar and said their vows, exchanged rings and kissed. They sat down next to each other then and I say next to Dag's best man. The priest said sime final words and Benedikte once again brought us to tears.
Then we walked out of the church to a beautiful day with Dag and Ellen as man and wife.
We went down to Gjøvik gård for some photos before the reception and then got to the restaurant. The reception was small with only 25 guests and we had a lovely time. For me it was good to catch up with people I hadn't seen in a long time as well as the fun of celebrating the wedding. ButI was a bit nervouse about my speech which luckily went fine. After dessert, we saw a slideshow Ellen and Dag made of the life together and it struch me how much they have seen together. It is really quite beautiful.
The tablet of cakes was covered since several guests had brought different types of cake. Again I realised why I put on 25kg while living in Norway.
Last of all, Dag got Ellen up for a bridal dance which she had not expected which was really very lovely and romantic that he had made that effort. Ever the sucker for romance am I!
And that was the end of the festivities and we all went off to bed. I had a flight to catch the next day. Luckily it was in the afternoon so there was no need to rush and slept in very well before the 1pm bus to the airport and then flight home for work the next day.
