31 January 2008

An Unusual Request


Today I attended the wedding of complete strangers.

No, I do not make a habit of crashing random weddings. Not even if the buffet looks really good and I am hungry. (Well, maybe if I were REALLY hungry!)

I was actually invited.

See, last month I received an email from Sarah, a good friend and former co-worker. She wrote, "Some friends are getting married in Switzerland at the end of January. Can I give them your name and telephone number just in case they need some help?"

Sure, I replied.

Then two weeks ago I received a second e-mail from Sarah. "They just found out they need two English-speaking witnesses. Are you available?"

So I sent out an e-mail to the Bloggy Hausfraus. Laurie volunteered first. Which is how we found ourselves standing on Werdstrasse at 2:40 pm this afternoon, wondering why we hadn't thought to ask for a description or even what color they would be wearing.

Fortunately it wasn't a busy area and we did indeed find them.

Of course, we had to know why they were getting married in Zürich, of all places, even though neither of them is Swiss, knows anyone in Zürich or has any apparent connection to here. Turns out they had already planned a vacation to France and Switzerland when they decided to get married. Neither wanted a large wedding, so they just made it their wedding trip.

Note: You cannot get married in France unless you have been a "resident" of France for a minimum of 30 days. That law probably helps cut down on the number of people requesting a sunset wedding at the top of the Eiffel Tower! (Thanks for the correction, Samantha.)

After the very simple ceremony at the Zürich Cantonal offices, we headed for the Jules Verne Panorama Bar for a champagne aperitif and the best view of Zürich.

Good Luck, Susan & Crosby! Best Wishes for the Future!

By the way, did I mention that my "fee" for this service is that I have naming rights for your firstborn? Forgot to mention that part? Hmm. Yep, that was that second document you signed. The one completely in German.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

How very, very sweet.

What a cool thing to do.

Ksam said...

What a neat story! But just a tiny correction - actually (having worked as a wedding planner here), you 'only' have to have been a resident in France for thirty days before the wedding, not six months. But still, how many people could even manage that?

Sarah said...

Hooray! First thing I did after finally finishing my day was to look for a posting. Thank you for getting the photos up so quickly. I'll be distributing the link to the post to all the friends. :-)

You are wonderful!

Unknown said...

Haha - that is really cool and very interesting to know that you have to live in France for 30 days..

And I sort of knew it wasn't that easy to be married in Switzerland.. Although that is where P proposed to me...

Anonymous said...

Thanks again for being our witnesses. The whole trip was nothing short of perfect. I cannot say enough about Vals (the precious little village in which everyone you pass on the street says hello) or the Therme. The architect of the therme, Peter Zumthor had become one of my most admired, though only through photos and writings. Actually experiencing this building, it's siting, the defining of space with light, materials, water, sound, and smell...we were both awestruck. Go. Plan your trip NOW. Go as often as you can!