Present time at the Bridal Party was full of sweet moments. Anni has a silly side to her personality, but also a thoughtful, emotional side which we got to see a lot during the wedding week. The little ducks she was holding up in this picture were so cute! Perfectly representing her silly, fun-loving side. Bride and Groom rubber duckies that Maria (in the background) found in Berlin. The Groom duck even had red hair, just like Timmy.
One of my favorite gifts that Anni received was this HOME MADE memo board, hand-crafted by her friend, Lissie. Lissie created the wood backing, as well as the sewing of the front cloth. It was absolutely adorable! What talent! Plus, the time and thought she put into her gift was really touching. Talk about a sweet gift. I noticed that Germans seem to put a lot of thought and creativity into their gifts. They don't just throw gifts in a bag, they'll hand-wrap a gift with some sort of personal touch: like ribbons, hanging decorations, or some other sentiment. Don't get me wrong, my American gift bag was front and center, I don't even TRY to attempt crafty gifts. It's not me, and no one would think it was special if I attempted to hand-craft something, haha! I just admire that trait about the Germans, and the Dubbe family in general. (Yes, my husband is 100% more creative and crafty than I will ever even attempt to be.)
Here we are, the Dubbe sisters. I just love these girls! Something I love is that our relationships were not the meet and become best friends right away kind. These relationships have taken time, effort, attention, and more time to grow. After pouring lots of love into the mixture, we have slowly become the sister-in-laws I have always wanted. Between long distance, language barriers, protectiveness, and different personalities becoming sister-in-laws was not a walk in the park. But I was struck at the Bridal Party at how we've all grown closer, more comfortable, and deeper in love with each other. Praise God for the gift of girls in the family!
Group shot! True to herself, my sweet Mother-in-Law tried very hard to blend into the background. She's the pretty lady hiding in the back middle in the green top. I had to call her over to join the group as she was slowly sneaking away when we gathered for the group photo. Mom Dubbe is so much fun for me to be around. And it's not just because she was 1 of only 3 people I could talk to that day! ;) I enjoy how much she laughs, the insight she has to offer, and her observations of what's going on around us. I've never had Mother-in-Law issues, and am very blessed to be Tricia's first daughter-in-law. Oh, I'm happy to share the D-i-L role with Anni now, too!
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| Anni's sister, Inna, is on my left. Incredibly lovely girl. |
Another sweet moment during the party was when one our nephews, Gabe (4), came sneaking (hhmm, lots of sneaking in this family!) around the back of the house towards his mom, Becky with flowers behind his back!
To finish my observations of sweetness, I really loved how after Anni opened a gift, she would hug the giver of the gift. Her appreciation for each friend, or family member was evident not only by the smile (and dimples!) on her face, but in her affectionate hugs as well. I know this picture is blurry, but it's the only hug moment I caught!
Well, after the Braut Party came much more wedding stuff! I'll save that for another day though.... ;)
