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Kristin Speed » Photographer Blog

Tag Archives: oberpfalz

For Dani & Josef’s wedding I headed a bit north…to the Oberpfalz! I was excited to see what new (to me) traditions I’d see and also curious to see how I’d get along with the Obferpfälzischer Dialekt :D

I met up with Dani at her parent’s house in Bodenwöhr after she had already been to the salon for her hair & make-up. She already looked beautiful with her elegant up-do hair style, and then with the help of her mom and sisters she slipped into her gorgeous Mode Du Pol dress in her childhood bedroom! As soon as she was dressed Josef came with her bouquet and their AWESOME wedding car ..an old time Cadillac convertable..it was a beauty!! After Josef so his beautiful bride for the first time we went back inside where their fathers gave a blessing which was very emotional!

I ran off with Dani & Josef to Neunburg vorm Wald where we did their portraits. It was right around noon which is generally not a great time for portraits, but we found some cool spots (especially that cool old wall!!) with great light, so I was really happy about that :) It turns out Neunburg is actually a really cute little town and I wish we had more time to explore, but wedding days are crazy and hectic and before we knew it (because time flies when you’re having fun :)) we had to head back to Bodenwöhr for the church ceremony.

One of the highlights (for me) of the ceremony was all the beautiful music that was played! Dani is a music teacher, so obviously music plays a special role in her life… some of her friends and fellow musicians played in the church and it was so beautiful! On top of that, the altar boys and girls were actually Dani’s relatives! I love when there are extra personal touches like that brought into the ceremony or even the wedding day as a whole! After the ceremony Josef’s soccer club lined up along with some of Dani’s music students and her girls from aerobics lined up to greet the newly weds. Of course they wanted to make things fun for Dani and Josef, so their first task was to conduct a song as Dani’s students played accompanied by Josef on the triangle which he mastered perfectly (hehe), and then Josef had to do some aerobics :)

After all of the guests were greeted, we all drove back over to Neunburg vorm Wald where the reception location was. Finding a location large enough for 250 guests (yep!! 250!!!) here in Germany isn’t a very easy task since weddings tend to be smaller, but the Schwarzachthalle, a local event hall where they often put on concerts, was perfect. After a short champagne reception outside on the patio followed by a group photo, everyone went inside for coffee & cake. Dani & Josef’s relatives backed SO MANY awesome cakes for the cake buffet! I even got to bring a few slices home which is definitely an added perk to the job, and one that my boyfriend is also quite fond of since I’m nice enough to share lol. After the guests got an energy boost from the coffee & cake, Josef & Dani opened the dance floor with a sweet first dance! But before long, Dani had disappeared…yep, you guessed it…she was KIDNAPPED! Usually when the bride is kidnapped these days, there’s a tent outside or a side room somewhere at the location she’s brought to, but this was different… all of the guests marched through the old town to the Gasthof Sporrer. Eventually Josef found his bride and managed to win her back! We stayed here for about 2 hours, during which one of the band members dressed up as a little old hunched back lady and at one point more or less started grinding up on Dani’s cousin while making potentially perverted comments… I’m not going to lie, I DIED laughing..like the tears in my eyes, cramps in my stomach kind of laughing..it was great :) And of course Dani’s cousin was a great sport for putting up with it..I feel like it will be quite awhile until his family lets him forget it, especially since there are plenty of photos to refresh their memory :)

After large amounts of beer was consumed, we made the trip back through the city to the Schwazachthalle where the buffet dinner was ready to be opened by Dani & Josef. There was so much food, and it was so good! Their caterer, Heizler Gastronomie, definitely did an amazing job. After dinner I snuck out with Dani & Josef for the last 5 minutes before sunset for a few more photos with some really amazing light..I’m so glad they were up for it!

Dinner was followed by a few little surprises from their guests and a lot of dancing! Especially Josef’s soccer club guys…they definitely owned the dance floor that night and made for lots of fun photo opportunities :) Of course I have to give props to the band… Stoapfälzer Spitzbuam … They.Were.AWESOME! Seriously good! I’m not sure how long they stayed until, but I feel like they seriously could have kept the party going all night long, they were that good and played everything from the classics to AC/DC to German Schlager and beyond.

It really was an amazing day! I had such a great time with Dani & Josef..their guests were so much fun and so friendly..just a really great crowd!