№47 — Being Best Man
My long-term friend Peter, whom I have known since we were both thirteen and spent a lot of time with during high school, was getting married at the end of July in Düsseldorf. I was extremely honored that he selected me to be his best man at the wedding — the first time for me being in such an important position. Luckily for me, I was sti in Düsseldorf for work at the time, allowing me to easily join the wedding.
My responsibilities during the whole day were quite limited apart from the very important task of witnessing the legal act and signing with my name. However, I had one very crucial task: pick up the bouquet for the bride and a flower pin for the groom. Both tasks not taken lightly and requiring substantial effort from my side given the 35°C outside. Eventually, I overcame all odds and delivered the flowers to both as instructed.
The ceremony at the courthouse — ”Standesamt" in Germany — was short and the official even delivered a nice speech despite it probably being his 29th wedding that week. After that we all came together in the bride’s family home to celebrate this special occasion together. We had great food, an overwhelming cake — both in size, complexity and calorie density — created by a friend of the bride, and a lovely get-together, all accompanied by nice and cold Alt beer.
The bridesmaid and I prepared a little surprise for the couple, which involved helium balloons and post-cards tied to them. Every guest wrote their wishes to the newlyweds on the cards and then we collectively let them fly away, hoping to be found and mailed back to the couple for them to redeem a present. Unfortunately, we did not tie one of the balloons shut so it already crashed right there in the garden. Bad for the groom’s parents, great for the newlyweds.
Overall we had a lovely ceremony and I am looking forward to the big party next year.
