Ira and Matthias first met each other on a transatlantic Lufthansa flight and together they made their way through the airport and local transportation in Munich. She went on to meet her family for a trip through Central Europe, while he remained in Munich for a conference. Nevertheless they stayed in contact, and one thing led to another.
After their engagement proposal session at the Lincoln Memorial followed by the photo session at Georgetown, Washington DC, it was an honor for me to finally be able to photograph their wedding in Europe, in Germany!
For their wedding party, Ira and Matthias chose the Landgrafen Restaurant for its scenic view over the city of Jena, Germany, where they celebrated their happy occasion with friends and family gathered from all over the world.
The Bride and Groom took some private moments before their wedding reception.
Simple but beautiful summer blooms of Jena adorned the table along with the other decorations.
The reception started with servings of tea, coffee, juice and appetizing snacks.
Signature cakes from both Ira and Matthias’ home countries were served to the guests.
The Groom’s friend also made the couple went through some German wedding traditions. The Bride and Groom must compete against each other by cutting out a heart painted on a bed sheet. The one who finished last in cutting out his/her half of the heart, lose and had to carry the partner right through the resulting hearty hole.
Next was an old German wedding custom. It’s the tradition of cutting a log representing the first obstacle that the couple shall face in their marriage. They must work together to “overcome the obstacle” by sawing through the log. Using a large bow saw, Ira & Matthias demonstrated their teamwork to friends and family, and their willingness and ability to master the difficulties that inevitably shall rise in a marriage.
Next in the agenda, all guests get to write a message to the Bride and Groom on a post card. These postcards were sent flying to the sky with balloons. All postcards have the name and address of Ira and Matthias. Hopefully, anyone who gets the landed balloon would be kind enough to attach a stamp and send back the postcard to the newlyweds.
Then finally all the guests released the balloons together with big cheers.
Ira & Matthias’ friends certainly had in their minds to keep everyone busy during the wedding. Here, each guest were given a puzzle piece which they must paint on the corresponding box on the provided canvas.
Beautiful panoramic view of the whole city of Jena can be seen from the restaurant location which was above one of the hills surrounding the city.
Romantic photo session was followed by the dinner. There were so many delicious food! From beautifully arranged cheese platters and choices of salad, to the famous Saltimbocca, creamy potato gratin and biryani rice. Not to mention the rows of mouthwatering desserts.
After dinner, everyone gets to see photo slideshows featuring each Ira and Matthias from since they were babies until they’re together.
The painting was beginning to take shape.
The “photo booth” shots of some of the guests. The gorgeous view of the city in the background makes it a perfect backdrop!
In the evening the guests watched on as the Bride and Groom had to play a few games arranged by Matthias’ friends.
Congratulations Ira and Matthias!
May you live happily ever after! 🙂
Leo Dj
Beautiful session… The wedding is so cute and simple. ^^ I love it!