It was a magic day – for all of us: happy people, smiling faces, laughter and excitement wherever you looked. It was a day of love, merry-making, of making new acquaintances, trying new languages; it was a perfect blend of the old and the young, of friends and relatives, a day of reconcilement.

The atmosphere of the day, the mood of our guests, all was a perfect reflection of our commitment, of saying “yes” to what we consider a very special and very precious relationship. I think, one cannot imagine or wish for such a wedding. From the beginning, we wanted a wedding that was as informal and as natural as possible.

Looking back, we are still surprised by the fact how smoothly and naturally the different moments interconnected, constituting a plot of love and joy, a comedy, some might say, not even Shakespear could have conceived. Still this special day was infused by a similar magic and enchantment that is so characteristic of Shakespeare’s green world.

The many positive and warm responses, some even enthusiastic, are perfect proof for us that this was not only a very special day in Sylvia’s and my life. And after all, this is how our wedding was always meant to be.

June 21 started early. I got up at 5.15 a.m. Looking out of the window of my bedroom in the Winzherhaus overlooking the rolling winehills with the bright sun rising into a clear blue sky, I already knew that this was to become a special day. I jumped into my runners and led John on a 12 ks run through the beautiful countryside of the South Styrian wine region. As we were rolling along, the sun was starting to come up over the wine hills, reaching for his highest position in the northern hemisphere, ready to provide the perfect scenery for this special day.

After a cool shower and a hearty breakfast, I was driving along with Simone and John, heading for Roman, to get the perfect styling. Simone took a turn herself, enjoying perfect Austrian hairstyling skills. On the way back, we picked up Sylvia’s bouquet.

At about noon time, the first guests began to arrive. Martha hadn’t turned her watch to summer time and was the first to arrive. Then came Christa and Michaela, getting busy with balloons in the garage. In the meantime Sylvia’s guests were arriving in Haydngasse: Ulla, her maid of honor, Anni, who was supposed to drive Sylvia to the vineyard, and Christa Strobl, who was in charge of the camera.

Anni did not surprise Sylvia but also me when she turned into the drive-way with her cool, black Audi cabriolet. Sylvia was just beautiful in her red dress. I couldn’t wait to get her out of the car.

From there we started to the stone terrace where the wedding ceremony, conducted by Franz Hierzer, mayor of Gabersdorf, was to take place.

Franz had prepared a long, entertaining speech, funny and contemplative at the same time.

Thus we were married: at one of the most beautiful places, with the sun trying to keep up with the smiles of our guests – and ourselves -,

accompanied by the delicate sound of Lothar’s accordion with Ulla and Jean-Pierre at our side.

Then more surprises were waiting for us. Ulla had prepared a white blanket with a red heart in it, which I had to cut out and carry Sylvia through. On the other side we were greeted by flowers, rice and red heart-shaped balloons. Almost every guest grapped one of them and let them – with a good wish – fly.

The heat was on and made us thirsty.

Willy Zach had just delivered tasty cannelloni and Stefan’s Summertime Ratsch was waiting for all the thirsty throats: a perfectly light wine for hot summer days like this one.

The agape, as it is called, was a merry coming together and time just began to fly. The wind was causing a little bit of havoc among the sun shades but was welcomed for bringing at least a bit of refreshment besides the wine.

When the sun apologized in order to take a rest behind the clouds, a big stretch limousine arrived to the surprise of everyone.

It was surprise present from Elfriede and Helmut which was to take us to Georgi-Schlössl. Now the time had come to say good bye to the vineyard and move on to the next stage.

Jean-Pierre, Ulla, Julian, Anna and Stefan joined us in the limousine as did a bottle of champagne. The Georgi-Schlössl is beautifully renovated castle, in which Eva-Maria, one of our guests grew up. It has a very nice backyard where the reception took place.

Champagne and wine was served and seamlessly the whole party continued where it had stopped in the vineyard.

Later on, it was time for the speeches, by Chris, Sylvia and a great and passionate one by Jean-Pierre, recited in perfect German. Thanks, JP for that!

The speeches were followed up by Sylvia throwing the bouquet which almost resulted in a fight among those still unmarried, eager to catch it.

After some elbowing and a sprint, Irena outrun Ulla and was the happy one to get it.
It is said that the one who catches the bouquet was to marry within a year. And it seems to be true – Sylvia caught Elisabeth’s bouquet back in 2007.

So let’s see what is going to happen with Irena and Martin. We are certainly prepared for another great wedding!

After all those drinks, it was time to have some food. And there was plenty of great food waiting for us. Willy Zach had come up with an outstanding cold dish buffet, reaching from meat, salad to mussels and shrimp. But this was only the start. The feast lasted for almost two hours.

Then the band started to play. As we didn’t want a traditional wedding band, Sylvia had focused upon choosing professional, skilled musicians that ran the gamut from Bukovina to pop music.

And what a band it was. Their music, you could hear, came from their heart and their skill and rhythm quickly enthralled our guests. Despite the humidity in the room, soon a lot of people were dancing, shaking, grooving. Thus the evening continued and with happy, dancing, talking, smiling, joyful people at its heart.

Again, we would like to thank all our guests for being there with us, for celebrating with us (some coming a long, long way to do so), for making this day such a wonderful, unforgettable day for us. Thank you so much for all those presents and good wishes. But most of all thank you for really being there with all your heart and soul!

Last not least, a big love and thank you goes out to our parents for their support before, during and after the wedding. Thanks Stefan for the wine and the vineyard!

Sylvia & Christoph

We have had guests from the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the United States and Australia. They came a long way to be there that afternoon. I hope you have enjoyed the stay and again thanks for following our invitation.

Thank you Franz Hierzer for marrying us. I know you received a lot of flack for coming to the vineyard but I think it was worth the trouble. This is greatly appreciated.

A big thank you goes out to our parents for their support and being there for us, making sure that we grow. Thanks here especially to my mother, my father and Stefan, my brother, for offering their beautiful vineyard for the wedding ceremony, for their preparation efforts.

I am lacking behind with posting the pictures. We have a lot! And they are just beautiful. I have just uploaded the first wave of photos, taken by Stefan, to my flickr account. They are from the wedding ceremony in the afternoon and from the Agape which followed our wedding. You can see the pictures here.

More photos will be uploaded soon, including those from the reception at Georgi-Schlössl in the afternoon and evening.

To see the first shots from the wedding ceremony as a SLIDESHOW click here.

We met for the first time in October 2004 and again in December 2004. Since January 4, 2005 we are a couple and got engaged on Petrín Hill in the beautiful city of Prague almost two years later, on December 15, 2006, .

There were many plots for our marriage. Finally, we have settled for a big event with lots of friends and our relatives. The ceremony takes place in the beautiful surrounding of our family’s vineyard in Ratsch an der Weinstraße.

After the ceremony, which will be conducted by my friend Franz, we will celebrate the occasion with cool, dry Potzinger wine and some fine food in the vineyard. Later in the afternoon we will change places and go to Georgi Schlössl, where the dinner reception will take place. A 4-course menu will be waiting for our guests and we are sure that we will spend an unforgettable evening together, laughing, dancing, – and singing…

Here are the facts:

1.30 p.m.: Guests arrive at the vineyard, Ratsch a. d. Weinstraße 6; there will be ample parking available, just follow the signs. You can find a map and driving instructions here and here.
2.00 p.m.: The wedding ceremony
2.45 p.m.: Agape with delicious wine and fine food
4.45 p.m.: Convoy to Georgi-Schlössl in Ehrenhausen
5.15 p.m.: Reception at the castle
6.30 p.m.: Entering the ballroom
7.00 p.m.: Dinner – Willy Zach’s finest
9.00 p.m.: Music and dance – we have some great music!
10.00 p.m.: Dessert
11.00 p.m.: The Wedding Cake
01.00 a.m.: A late surprise over open fire in the castle courtyard
01.45 a.m.: iTunes-Discotheque