Something Sweden - Day 2

I know, I'm slacking on posting the Sweden pictures this week. I've been having major headaches everyday this past week since Monday. Must be the heat here in Florida. Times like this is making me appreciate cold days like when we were in Sweden for Erika and David's wedding :) Below are some of the pictures from their rehearsal/prep-day before the wedding :) This is on the second day we were there. Enjoy!

XOXO

Something Sweden - Day 1

It's not Monday anymore, but here I am posting pictures from our Sweden trip anyway. I had the worst headache/migraine yesterday that I tried not to stay on the computer too long. That wasn't easy because I had tons of photo-editing to do this week. Anyway, the pictures below are from our first day in Sweden. It was a super long flight from Jacksonville, FL to Gothenburg, Sweden! From JAX to Chicago, then to Chicago to Stockholm, and lastly from Stockholm to Gothenburg. I think the whole trip took about 21 hours, but I can't remember it now.

Bobby and I are really both pleased with the Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) :) This trip was Bobby's first time flying over the Atlantic Ocean, and I'm thankful for SAS on making his experience a great one :) They took really good care of us during that looong flight! We flew over Iceland, and we're very lucky that though the volcano there erupted a couple days prior to our trip, the volcanic ashes didn't disrupt our flight...or else we would have never made it for Erika and David's wedding!

Here's the link for more pictures from our first day in Gothenburg. I was also experimenting with the LensBaby lens then :)

http://corinnahoffman.blogspot.com/2010/04/1st-day-in-gothenberg-2nd-day-with.html

iPhone pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055140&id=1099542901&l=927ab29beb

Enjoy and more pictures later today! :)

XOXO

John & Kadri picked us up from the airport that morning and later met up with Linda at her university, where she's studying to be an architect :)

Photos around Chalmers University campus

Still at the campus...and even though it was Spring time already in Gothenburg, it was still very wet and cold there!

Around downtown Gothenburg

The Swedes love their tea over there! I've never drank so much tea in my life until we got there!

The view from John & Kadri's kitchen window :) That little pond is frozen.

Took this picture when we were in the car driving around. It's Liseberg and the largest and most visited amusement park in Sweden. Too bad that it was still closed for the season when we were there :(

Linda & Jonatan are Coming!

Bobby and I are super excited that a couple of our wonderful friends, Linda and Jonatan, are arriving today from Sweden! We had SO much fun hanging out with them, their family, and their friends when Bobby and I went to Sweden in March for Erika and David's wedding :) We had the best times of our lives, and we were very sad when we had to say our goodbyes. I was really sad that looking at all the pictures we took from our trip made me cry...yeah, there I said it, the pictures made me cry. So therefore, I never got around to posting them in my blog except for a few "sneak peeks" and of course, Erika and David's wedding pictures :)

Well, Linda and Jonatan's arrival is making me happy again that I think I will start posting the pictures in the blog--it's really quite beautiful there, and I want to share with you how lovely Sweden is (even when it's rainy and cold the whole time!) :) Will post "Something Sweden" once a day starting on Monday :)

XOXO

Linda & Jonatan at Haga in Gothenburg :)

Shopping in Downtown Gothenburg & thank you, Kadri, for taking this shot :)

The Old Town in Stockholm :)

Erika & David are Married!! - Gothenburg, Sweden Wedding Photographer

When it rains, it pours! Yet that still didn't dampen the fun wedding festivities :) It still seems like a dream that Bobby and I got to photo-shoot Erika and David's wedding in Sweden!! We had so much fun photo-shooting their wedding, and though, we don't understand the Swedish language, we never felt like there was any language barrier at all. LOVE is definitely a universal language!

I've known Erika since maybe she was about nine years old, and who would have known then that I get to meet the love of her life and capture their own love story on photos?! It's amazing how God put special people in our lives and how friendship grows stronger over the years :) I'm very thankful to know the Hutchins family, and I'm glad that we all keep in touch every time they visit their grandparents here in Jacksonville :) I'm also thankful that I got to meet David and have gotten to know him more and his wonderful family :)

Beautiful couple, beautiful church, beautiful country...simply loved every moment we were there :)

Congratulations, David & Erika!! We L-O-V-E you both dearly, and thank you for having us there photograph your special day! Thank you also, Hutchins family, for making us feel right at home!

XOXO

>>>CLICK HERE FOR THEIR FUN SLIDESHOW :-D

>>>CLICK HERE FOR THEIR FUN SLIDESHOW :-D

The LOVE STORY......

How did the two of you meet?

We actually met a while ago. We had some common friends, but we didn’t actually start getting to know each other until the summer I got back from the States, summer 2007.

How did he propose to you?

One day David surprised me with a trip to Norway. We went to Oslo, the capital, and walked around in the summer of late August. We had lunch and then he blindfolded me and drove out to the coast. He led me up on some rocks and before I opened my eyes, he had spread roses on the ground around us. As I opened my eyes, he started singing "Wonder Wall" (by Oasis), a song we sang together on our first date. The view was wonderful! The place was called ”Verldens ende” which in English means ”worlds end” and could see way. He came up to me saying the most wonderful things, dropped to his knee, held up a red little box, and said ”Erika, vill du gifta dig med mig?” (in English, ”will you marry me?”).

What do you guys do together for fun in Sweden?

We like watching and going to movies... :) Also, we like doing outdoor things and sports.

What's your favorite detail(s) at your wedding reception?

This is a though one, I loved the whole thing! I loved my family’s Michael Jackson dance to the song ”Beat It” and the Lahti family singing ”Umbrella,” the version by The Baseballs. There are so many more I want to mention but I guess I shouldn’t be writing a novel about it here... :)

What's the fun part of your wedding planning?

Actually, what I thought was the greatest and what got to me was seeing how everybody got engaged in it, and realizing that they were doing it all for David and I. We really felt so loved.

Describe your invitations:

They were, hmm, hard to describe. :P There were three layers, the middle one dark purple, the two in front and back were white, a little bit see-through. We had our names and a picture of us kissing (taken by Corinna Hoffman) as our ”logo” In the invitation text, which was both on the front and the back. Then we had a white satin band on abot half of them and a thinner purple band on the other half. On the band was a beaded heart, either white or purple. We used cellophane ”bags” instead of envelopes.

Describe your wedding flowers:

My bouqet consisted of the flower ”hortensia” (probably not the same in English) in the colors light purple, blue and some white. In it, there was a few pearls and woolen thread, going down and around the handle. The bridal party all had matching flowers, but the in the church and at the reception we had old-pink roses.

Tell us more about your wedding cake:

The cake was big and beautiful. It was covered with white marsipan and had purple details as the ”red thread”. I think it’s hard to describe the details, you should look at the picture! :) As a detail, I made the couple decoration on top.

Where did you guys go for your honeymoon?

We had the greatest honeymoon you could ever imagine! :) We went to Florida, first Jacksonville to visit family that had not been able to make it to the wedding and then to Miami for a day and then one day in Boca Raton. All the time just hanging out, driving around in a Mustang cabriolet. Then we flew to Puerto Rico and got on the ship, Serenade of the Seas (Royal Caribbean). The cruise went to the Eastern Caribbean, stopping at St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Kitts, Dominica and last but not least Barbados. We went snorkeling, diving and rainforest hiking. One day we were just hanging out on the beach and the other we were driving around, checking out houses where my father and his family lived a while back. We simply had the greatest time, especially not having to think of anything practical, and also, getting the best service. Breakfast on our private balcony was also one of the highlights.

What are you looking forward to together in the future?

Oh, I’m longing to just share life, getting to spend ALL the time together with the one I love, who loves me back. There is so much we can do together, I simply look forward to LIFE.

WEDDING INGREDIENTS:

Ceremony Location - Fjärås Kyrka
Reception Location - Fjärås Bygdegård
Caterer - The Östman Family with friends
Wedding Coordinators - The Hutchins and Lahti Family
Videographer - Simeon Frohm Jeremia Hörnqvist
Cake - Jasmine Svensson
Florist - NK Blommor, Flower bar
Officiant - Pastor Åke Carlsson
Hair & Make-up - Mazi
Entertainment - Band: Jonatan Appelfeldt, Filip Svalander, Magnus Emanuel, Samuel Hallén
Transportation - Sixt, Mercedes
Wedding Dress - Brud & Fest Alingsås
Bridesmaid's Dress - Trollhättan
Groom & Groomsmen Wear - Tony´s Högtidskläder