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When the Princess got her Swordsman - looking back5.11.2003 
On the day of the wedding, the sun was shining and the day promised to be beautiful, just as we had both hoped. It was pleasantly warm, but not too hot. Especially Marko was very relieved, considering the hot suit that he was going to wear that day, and it did not hurt Ulla either with her hairdo. The first hour after we had got out of our beds was still relaxed, as we drank our morning coffee and ate some breakfast, contemplating on what the day would bring us; the day that we had looked forward to, and planned for so long was finally here. We were both very excited, although we tried to take things one at a time and not think too much about what was to happen (at least Marko did, because he was going to have to give a speech later on, and he had not quite realised before how nervous it would make him). 
At about nine o'clock, we got out of our apartment and drove to the florist to pick up the roses that would be part of Ulla's hairdo. Then Marko dropped her off at the hairdresser and went to pick up his bestman to make other preparations that had been left for this morning. Mika took over the driving, having noticed Marko's nervousness. They then took the wedding goblets to the reception site and placed the signposts at the sides of the roads that led there from the church. They also visited the local supermarket, so that the bestman could buy a card to accompany his wedding present. Meanwhile, Ulla was transported from the hairstylist to the make-up artist. In total, it took three hours to finish the hairdo and an hour for the make-up, so she had a lot of time to think about what a wonderful day it was going to be. After Ulla's hair and make-up were done, she got back to our apartment with cousin Eeva, who helped her to get into her dress. Meanwhile, Marko and Mika had picked up the keys to the hotel suite, the bouquet and the car that would be used to transport the bride and the groom. They arrived to the flat just in time for Eeva to help them with their red rose button holes. They had already got into their suits at the wedding suite and had come back to pick the girls up to go to the photographer. This was also the first time that Marko saw Ulla in her full attire and it was a breathtaking sight, indeed. The photographs were taken at the studio and at the church where the ceremony would take place. It was hard to concentrate on the photo shoot, while we were nervous (Ulla says 'slightly') about the ceremony. Finally, the photo shoot was over and the ceremony could begin. 
Ulla met her father and stayed in hiding until all the wedding guests had gone into the church, while Mika and Marko went to stand by the altar, eyeing the crowds nervously. Then, as the guests had all sat down and the church was peaceful, the organ player started playing the wedding march. Soon, the bride and her father appeared to the front door, with the bright sunshine at their backs, and they started walking up the aisle. Marko, feeling his palms getting sweaty, walked down to the middle of the aisle to meet them. Jussi, the bride's father, bowed solemnly to the young man who was going to run away with his daughter and the young fellow bowed back as graciously as he could. Then he gave his arm to the bride, who took it eagerly, and they started to walk towards the altar. When we reached it, we knelt down and the actual ceremony began. The bestman stood on the groom's side of the altar, while the maid of honour, Ulla's sister Anni, stood on the bride's side, holding the bouquet during the ceremony. We were both so nervous at the time that it is hard to remember all that happened thereafter, but we do remember that the priest had prepared his speech especially for us, remembering even to call us the princess and the swordsman, which were the names that we had used of ourselves in the wedding invitations and are also the pet names that we use of one another. At one point, Ulla's father and aunt, as well as Marko's sister walked up to the altar and they all read a prayer for us. When Jussi spoke, his voice shook with emotion and it got tears in our eyes to hear it. When it came time to say the "I do's", Marko said his part loud and clear and Ulla was almost up to par with him. Then the bestman brought the ring to the groom and he handed it over to the priest to be blessed before it was put in Ulla's finger. After this, the priest held a longer speech for the husband and wife. Then, we walked down the aisle as another wedding march was played in the background. It was easier to smile now, as the hardest part was over. A light shower of barley saw us off to our car. 
At the reception site, which was a small mansion from the 18th century, after the guests had greeted and congratulated the freshly married couple, Ulla's father made a toast for us and welcomed all the guests. This was when we were able to show off our beautiful Arthur and Guinevere pewter goblets. The guests were then ushered to the dining room where the tables had been set ready for the wedding banquet. There were favours, beautifully wrapped rum-raisin fudges, ready at the tables for all the guests. The greatest nervousness had already passed, but Marko was still a bit worried about the speech that he had promised to give. The casual and intimate mood in the dining hall was, however, so relaxing that one could not worry too much. (Notice Marko's rigid posture on the pic on the left here, however!) The wedding buffet was designed so that it represented our personal taste in food. Thus, there was a lot of fish and vegetable dishes, such as Salted salmon and sour cream sauce with salmon roe; Mousse of cold smoked salmon, salmon roe, and cream cheese; Smoked salmon pâté. There were some meatballs for the kids, however. The dinner progressed nicely, and some of the guests visited us at out table for a few words and to see Ulla's ring. The music in the background included themes from the Lord of the Rings and Rob Roy movies, as well as some Celtic and Scottish music. At the end of the dinner, Jussi gave a speech in which he went through Ulla's early years and also told a few stories of her when she had first brought Marko to his attention. After Jussi's characteristically excellently delivered speech, it was Marko's turn to stand up and speak. His speech was somewhat shorter than Jussi's, but, according to Ulla, it was a very good speech. 
After the speeches, there was a short break, during which we had a chance to talk with some of the guests. We had invited only the closest people, but there still seemed to be too little time to meet and talk with them all. Thus, the wedding waltz was delayed a little, but then we all gathered to the dance hall where the best man had prepared the electronic band (a stereo system). The waltz was the Six Ribbons by Jon English. We admit that it was an untraditional choice, but it is a song that we both have loved from a very early age. Ulla is too young to remember the TV series, the theme song of which it was, but Marko has some faint memories of having watched it. One must mention here that we had been a bit worried about the length of Ulla's dress and how we would be able to handle it during the waltz. We are happy to say that we neither stumbled nor fell and that the dance went very well. After the first waltz, the rest of the wedding guests joined us on the dance floor and the best man played the next song. Luckily, it was only now that his electronic band failed a bit and the originally four minute song was over in less than a half as the record kept jumping and skipping over some less important parts. Well, one has to say that the best man acted quickly and efficiently under the pressure of a hilarious crowd and corrected the situation in no time at all. A few dances later, we took a break again to cool off before we had to move back into the dining room to enjoy the wedding cake. The guests gathered around to watch the cutting of the cake and to see who was to be the boss in the new family. With alarming deftness, Ulla avoided the first trap and waited until Marko had taken a hold of the cake cutter before she placed her hand on top of his. This would have meant that she would be the boss in our family, but, luckily, Marko knew a way out of this dilemma. With his natural grace, he grinned to himself as his right foot found its way under Ulla's dress and stomped onto her small foot to undo the spell. Afterwards, the foot was properly and carefully checked at the hotel room, by the groom himself, and found unharmed. The cake itself was a chocolate cheese cake with an occasional tiers of berry mousse. In addition to the cake, there was coffee (this is Finland, you know!) and aged rum and flowering quince (or dwarf Japanese quince - whatever). The rum was Marko's specialty and the result of a careful choice. To his surprise, even the maid of honour tried it out at some point of the night. During the enjoyment of the wedding cake, the maid of honour and the bride's cousin, Eeva, told the guests about the bridal sauna and the witchery that they had done to ensure that Marko would get a perfect wife who would be able to even keep his tie clean during lunches. 
After the wedding cake had been devoured, it was time to toss the bouquet and the garter. Thus we returned to the dance hall where there was more room for the unwed young women to gather around to fight over the bouquet. One of the most eager catchers was the maid of honour, Anni. Fortunately, the bride had been thoughtful enough to arrange for a bouquet that consisted of loose bundles of three roses each, so that all the girls could get what they wanted. The tossing of the garter was a different thing altogether, as Marko had to brave the uncharted (eh...) territories under the bride's gown to find the tossable item. He spent enough time under the hem of the dress to cause some laughter amongst the spectators, but finally he was able to pull the garter off with his teeth and come out from under the dress, grinning victoriously. He then tossed the item towards the four single men and it headed straight towards the best man, who was also holding the video camera to save this moment. Mika, who happens to be a confirmed bachelor, saw the danger coming and ducked aside so that Antti could get the garter and the accompanying promise of being the next one to get married. It was soon after the tosses had been made and the last dances of the evening started that the guests started to think about getting back home. Inbetween the dances, the newlywed couple said goodbyes to their guests. Soon after that we gave our helpers small gifts to remember our celebration by. Then we left the reception manor ourselves, into the dark and rainy night. The best man drove us through misty roads to the hotel where were to spend our first night together. 
Menu
Salted salmon and sour cream sauce with salmon roe |
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