Fun & Famous
Carolien’s Wedding Diary
Here I am: in my satin white bathrobe counting down the minutes until I can finally say ‘YES!’ to the love of my life. While Sanne is doing my makeup, I see a champagne glass in my hand on the left (so glad I only had two Hendrick’s G&Ts the night before) and on the right, my witnesses giggling and nervously painting their nails with the Caption package from the mega wedding goodiebag. I should be dead tired from nerves, but strangely, a veil of calmness falls over me. All those months of preparation, the days before busy arranging everything down to the last detail, but what is about to happen is something Jon and I never had to prepare for or discuss. It feels so natural to soon be husband and wife!
Once in my beautiful Bloomfeld dress with everything on it, the clammy hands start to appear: as long as I know my VOW by heart or what if I trip?! My godfather is waiting at the bottom of the stairs to bring me to the altar. Our walk is so long that we only hear the music properly halfway and can see the faces of the guests. Once I have Jon in my sight, I can’t hold back the tears anymore: they are streaming down his (and my!) cheeks. The altar is incredibly beautifully decorated by LM Flower Fashion and the lovely Jo Malone candles are wafting towards me. The sun is shining brightly on my skin, but after a minute I don’t even notice it anymore. I only have eyes for my groom, who can only shine in his beautiful custom-made suit.
Jon's best friend and witness, Diederik, marries us and does it so incredibly beautifully that no one can keep it dry. So it’s high time to wash away all those tears with champagne. I have secretly been looking forward to this moment for years: my perfect Ladurée macaron cake! Many brides can’t get a bite down on the Big Day, but apparently, I have zero problems with that: I devour five macarons in a row as if it’s nothing… Oh well, I’m already in that dress… In the evening we have one more moment that Jon and I are both extremely nervous about: it’s a bit of a tradition for the bride and groom to prepare a dance or something fun as a surprise act. Now Jon can’t do anything halfway, so when we decided to put together a full musical number, that poor boy spent three days in the studio writing and composing this song. But the result was fantastic. Disney, eat your heart out…
And to throw everyone off the scent, Jon started singing and I pretended at first that I knew nothing, only to suddenly join in loudly halfway through the song. Everyone was speechless! From now on, we really don’t have to do anything anymore and all that’s left for us is to enjoy the beautifully set table again, the perfect dinner, and all the unforgettable speeches. Jon kicks off the big dance party with his old band and then Géza takes over as DJ. To spare the ladies from their high heels, we hand out white Havaianas to dance until the early hours. The tradition that the bride and groom must leave the party first, we didn’t quite catch: as one of the last, we leave at dawn to our room, which is beautifully decorated with rose petals and countless candles.
The next morning, I pinch myself to check if everything was real. Fortunately: this incredible fairytale wedding was real and can only end with: ‘happily ever after’.
