Thursday 24 July 2014

Just married...

Now on honeymoon, both of us so happy that we found the right one after years of waiting.

Looking back to our big day on the 4th of July: the clouds parted after weeks of rain – and in golden sunshine I married Åke U:son Hellstedt, who looked like a handsome prince in his guard’s uniform. It was a perfect country wedding among the warm and happy faces of our 135 extremely elegant guests.

A shower of rose petals as we step forward to the rest of our lives together
My son Jonatan is the one who gave me away –
here we enter the church to the tones of Mendelssohn
A packed church. Left - the bride's guests, right the groom's

It was a moving ceremony with heart-breakingly beautiful songs by talented friends. 

Like a nightingale Birgitta Birkenfalk sang in the church and later again at the dinner. Her husband Sigge Birkenfalk had the honourable task of toastmaster

Arja Saijonmaa brought tears to the eyes with Evert Taube’s – ”Min älskling du är som en ros” (my beloved you are like a rose). 
The IT mogul from M-brain, our dear friend Kim Nyberg, showed us why he also made a success of opera
Casting a spell with her beautiful voice, Aprill Spendrup 


Vicar Anders Pihl conducting the ceremony to join us as husband and wife



Into the sunshine, showers of rose petals

My dashing groom enfolds me in a romantic embrace

With our wonderful Sigge Birkenfalk.
Sigge was our brilliant toastmaster and master of ceremonies, who kept the wedding and reception flowing with ease and style, and a kindly eye on the time. Thank you Sigge for all your warmth and competence. 
Just married...
What more could a woman want?
Waiting outside the church, a very important person, Åke's mother Jane Hellstedt, forever young at 92, with his brother Gustaf Wilhelm. Jane is a successful writer and art historian among other things
Lifting my long wedding gown to get into the Jaguar, on the way to our wedding reception at...
The romantic Fjelldalens Slott, Halmstad
Sharing a royal antique glass of bubbly
Looking radiant, Åke's daughter Emilie Hellstedt with
Henrik Serlander in matching tie

Best man Dag von Segebaden and his wife Ann -
owners of the charming Fjelldalens Slott (manor)
Jonatan with his lovely girlfriend Louise Lundius, who wore
a coppery brown dress that highlighted the glow in her eyes. Jonatan runs Mexican restaurant Coba in Stockholm
while 
Louise is an invaluable person at Select Collection

Bridesmaid Lena Lones in a royal midnight blue, with her husband, the
prominent lawyer Christian Luthman
At the reception dinner…
Hundreds of gorgeous roses for the decorations were flown in from Equador
by our friends John and Mia Nevado, who own Nevado Roses,
one of the most exclusive and sublime rose gardens
Jonatan makes a punchy entertaining speech
Åke's beautiful daughter Emilie, giving a lovely speech

Another entertaining speech
Home-made snaps by Åke
and the lovely labels by our adorable Max Albrechtsson,
Select Collection marketing co-ordinator
The main course was topside of venison with summer chantarelle mushrooms, primeur salad and red wine sauce. Dessert was Bolivian gold and rainbow colours from Ladnurée, topped with caramel and a "touch of love".
This amusing bridal couple was at the top of the cake stand
Our first dance as a married couple to Strauss: An den schönen blauen Donau. 
After that the band Stämbandet played live till 2 am -
much inspired by the Halmstad pop hero Per Gessle, the Rolling Stones,
and lots of other danceable, rockable sixties and seventies nostalgia
After the dance the Prince found Cinderella's shoes .... "and they lived happily ever after"

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See the next blog which will be up soon,  "Guests on a golden day",  for lots more images of our beautiful friends and relations at the wedding.


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