The Reception - 15 July, 1999

Restaurang Sandviksbaden

When we arrived at the reception, Jonas rowed me across the bay in a white rowboat to the dock where all of the guests were waiting -- a tradition at the Sandviksbaden and, as you can imagine, a great photo opportunity. After requiring some assistance in getting out of the boat, we joined everyone in the garden for a welcome drink and toast and mingled a bit. The weather was better than we could have hoped for -- perfect temperature and just a few wispy clouds in the sky. After a while, Andreas rang a bell and we all went into the dining room.

Welcome drink!

Andreas and Camilla

Once everyone had arrived at their seats, I sat down and everyone followed suit. Andreas and Camilla stood up and introduced themselves as the hosts/toastmasters, welcomed everyone and made some announcements. Then the dinner began:

Menu
West Coast salad, bread and butter
roast filet of beef with balled potatoes, haricots and red wine sauce
lingonberry parfait

Julia and Jonas

Harold, Julia and Jonas

Speeches and toasts were held by Christer Sjöberg, Harold Van Zanten, Anders Björck, Heidi Kleinheksel, Jonas Sjöberg, Jonas Elfström, Mattias Qvist, Andreas Melander and Camilla Fogelström. A special toast was also held for absent friends. Throughout the meal, several songs were sung, and we also received many telegrams, which were read aloud. When the meal, songs and telegrams were over, we left the dining room to get ready for dancing.

Our rings

About to start dancing	The dancing was held in a room adjacent to the dining room. Two musicians played guitars as well as sang. For our first dance to "our song," however, we had brought along an Elvis CD, as we wanted it to be the real thing. The song was "Can't Help Falling in Love." Now, neither Jonas nor I really know how to dance, so at the advice of Camilla we just faked it! Unfortunately, most of the photos turned out quite dark. After our first dance, I danced with Christer and Jonas with Majbritt. After a few more dances, Andreas announced that it was time to go outside and throw the bouquet.		Julia and Jonas
Jonas and Julia	Jonas and Julia	Julia and Jonas	Majbritt and Jonas, Julia and Christer
Julia and Christer	Mary and Christer, Henrik and Julia	Jonas and Majbritt	Andreas is very excited to dance!

About to throw

As soon as I threw the bouquet behind me, I realized that it was not a good throw. It went almost straight up and straight back down again. It wasn't a total loss, however, as one of Jonas' 11-year-old cousins leapt forward to grab it. Somehow I don't expect she'll be the next to marry, though!

It goes up ... and comes down

Receiving our instructions	Andreas and Camilla had arranged some "games" for us which would supposedly test our compatibility and such. The first game's objective was to cooperate in order to wrap a gift, with each of us using only one hand. We did pretty well on that one and managed to wrap it with no problems, but I have to admit that we had arranged ourselves so that I used my right hand and Jonas his left (he's left-handed). Sneaky!			Wrapping the gift
Wrapping the gift	Done!	Andreas	Which leg?
The brave volunteers	The second game was a bit more silly. I was to be blindfolded and touch several legs, determining which one belonged to Jonas. Three brave volunteers (Daniel Niklasson, Mattias Qvist and Christer Sjöberg) offered their bare legs for the game. I'm proud to say that I knew and guessed Jonas' leg from the others almost immediately!			Which leg?

The dining room	After the games, we went back inside to the dining room, where the wedding cake was waiting for us. It was four tiers with dark red roses on white marzipan and white with raspberry sauce inside. Jonas and I cut the first pieces of the cake and did the obligatory feeding each other a piece. However, we didn't smear it on each other's faces or make any other kind of mess of it. Originally, at the restaurant's suggestion, we had planned for the guests to each come up and cut their own cake. Unfortunately, it proved to be too time-consuming so after the first few pieces were cut, the restaurant staff cut and served the rest. I hadn't expected to like the cake very well as I'm not terribly fond of marzipan, rather than frosting, as a topping, but it actually turned out quite good. Coffee was also served with the cake.	Cutting the cake
Cutting the cake		Feeding a piece to Jonas

Anders wielding a camera and a drink	After the wedding cake and coffee there were no more scheduled events for the evening, so everyone was free to do whatever they liked: dance, talk, visit the bar, etc. I had a fantastic time, even better than I had imagined. It seemed everyone else was having a great time as well, so I'd say everything was a big success! More dancing!		Andreas and Camilla
Kristin and Louise	Pia and Kenny	Andreas and Birgitta	Mattias and Heidi
Jonas	Heidi and Andreas	Heidi and Andreas	Jonas
Julia	Anders	Julia and Heidi	Heidi, Camilla and Julia