It took us quit a while to write this post, but we took our time to reflect on our wedding day. And with me, Kristof, tied to the couch for a while, due to a little accident at work (crushed foot, you don’t want to know), I decided to compile all the little notes we wrote about our wedding, and mold them into a blog. Finally!
When Stefanie and I were younger we both studied “Audiovisual Formation”, which included every aspect of making movies/videos, aswel as a lot of photography. We also did some work as wedding photographers, which gave us a lot of insight in what a wedding day actually looks like, prior to leaping into it ourselves. We learned that a wedding day just flies by for the couple. Everything just happens, hopefully according to plan, but more often than not, the couple doesn’t really get the chance to enjoy the moment. That was the very thing we would try to ensure for ourselves. Make it our day. Nothing too fancy, but recognizable for the people who know us, and memorable for ourselves. Not just by looking at the pictures afterwards.
When Stefanie and I started planning our wedding, we knew right from the bat we wanted the wedding to reflect us in every way. We did not have a ceremony in a church, or any other religious setting. We just had a small ceremony at The Casino. It is not a casino by any means. It’s actually a cultural center, in a beautiful old building, with a large beautiful theater, and a large foyer, where certain ceremonies are held. Like ours. Our family was there to watch us complete the official formalities with the civic representatives of the city, and joined us for a very nice dinner at t’Hoeveke, a very nice local restaurant.
Normally they don’t have any vegan option on their menu, but they managed to create a very lovely vegan menu for us.
For the party, we wanted something different. At first we were thinking about an open air party, with tents, and a somewhat festival kind of vibe, but that ended up being a bit of a risk.
We do live in Belgium, and dry, warm weather is never guaranteed, so we decided to look into local venues that had an inside aswel as an outside option.
We quickly realized that Whatz Hap (which as actually also located at the Casino, where we got married earlier that day) could deliver. Strange we didn’t think of it at first, since we’ve been friends with Jeroen and Sam, from Whatz Hap, for quite a while. They were very keen to accommodate us, and think about ways to make our day one to never forget.
In the end, our day (July 20th) ended up being one of the hottest summer days of the year, and everyone just sat outside, on the benches and lounge chairs, in a candlelit garden, in a very care-free atmosphere.
We wanted to create a relaxed get-together among friends and family, with an amazing soundtrack. We actually listen to pretty much all kinds of music, but for the party, we picked some 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s music. It ranged from Frank Sinatra, all the way to Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. And of course the whole Guardians Of The Galaxy soundtrack. We also like our cheesy 80’s hair metal stuff, but that wasn’t the party we were looking for, haha!
Since we already had an exquisite meal at the restaurant with our family, we decided on a luscious dessert buffet for the party.
Jeroen and Sam took care of the desserts for our omni guests, and De Gastvrijheid delivered all of the vegan desserts.
Every dessert you can think of…. was there!
We had the most amazing day with the people we love, and we managed to savour every moment.
We got a lot of positive feedback from our guests. Most of them told us it didn’t feel like a wedding party at all. More like a perfect summer evening with friends, dancing, great food, and for some… a lot of drinks! Exactly what we were going for.
If everything after our wedding will go like we envision it too, our lives will continue to be filled with love, joy, family and friends.
The next day we took off to Amsterdam, for a very nice honeymoon weekender. More about that in a following blog!
Thanks to everyone who made that day better with their help, presence, love and wishes.
Kristof.
SANS SAUCIS 