Nuptials

Breakfast was served in the dining house, adjacent to the castle. Dave announced that there would be games between the end of breakfast and the ceremony, so participate as long as you can, accounting for however much personal preparation and grooming time needed. The afternoon games included archery, clay pidgeon shooting off the dock with a 12-gauge, segways, kart racing in the parking lot, Kubb (a lawn game where the object is to knock over wooden blocks by throwing wooden sticks at them [a cross of bowling and horseshoes]). Light rain came on and off through the afternoon and a salmon lunch was set out for people to grab as they pleased. We gathered for the ceremony a little before five with umbrellas for a couple more showers that rolled through. Then the ceremony officiated by Sara Martin, where Loe was escorted by Mr. Larsson down the stairs of the castle and to the lake where Dave stood.

A couple of Loe's friends said the bridal processional that Loe and Dave did is uncommon in Sweden and called it American style. Sara had a few nice words and Loe and Dave exchanged vows, though unfortunately for us out of earshot. Back up to the castle we had champagne and waited to pummel the couple with rice. Then to the dining room for a wonderful dinner. One of Dave's Georgia Tech friend's, Greg Sitkiewicz, was appointed Toastmaster, which means he was the emcee of entire wedding dinner, and no one speaks until given a proper introduction by the Toastmaster. He was up for occasion, took his role seriously, and did well. The best man gave a fine toast of his own, but then regrettably stood up a second time a while later and told a story that had nothing to do with the couple and wasn't of great taste. We toasted his obtuseness. Many other toasts followed, mostly from Loe's family. In fact, her whole extended family got up at one point and with lyrics sheets in hand, sang a parodied version of "Those Were The Days My Friend" to Loe, as arranged by Loe's mother. It was outstanding. Her friends composed a poem for her that rhymed in Swedish, and then proceeded to do the same poem in English...and impressively make it rhyme in English as well. I was particularly touched and humbled by toasts to Loe, especially from her parents, being in English when they could have been in Swedish (and everyone would have completely understood). It was a tribute to Dave and his family, all other guests who were not of Swedish origin, and maybe most of all a way of honoring their Loe and the life she lives among two worlds and cultures. It is tradition that every time the groom leaves the room, the men in the room can approach the bride and kiss her, so naturally a line formed and curved around the corners of the room each time he reluctantly stepped out. It goes the other way, too, but that of wasn't as much an issue (no offense, Dave). After dinner we headed back to the boathouse for a full night of dancing. The DJs found we liked Indian tunes and kept playing one song in particular (because Mayur busts a groove on the dancefloor and shared a few of his secret moves with everyone). They also weren't bashful about using the smoke machine they brought, which made for good comedy. Mayur saved the day later on in the night by heating up Swedish meatballs and the wild boar from the night before just when we were all getting hungry again. At one point Ted Gast and I tried on a snus and couldn't believe the potency. Hats off again, Swedes. An excellent time was had by all and it was a lot of fun getting to know one another. A number of us Americans discussed the idea of adopting all of these Swedes and bringing them back to the U.S. with us since we so enjoyed their company. When they explained that they had careers and families and friends in Sweden which would make this difficult if not impossible, we were devastated. Another round of latenight saunas and hanging out until the sun came over the trees.