The church celebrated its first wedding in the building. An Iranian couple became Christian and had to flee their homeland. They landed in Peine and I met her son (from her deceased first husband) at the refugee center. He started to attend church and then they too started.
The couple has been married for 7 years but that was a muslim wedding according to the law in Iran. But they wanted a Christian Wedding and a blessing from God. I first had to find out what the difference between a Christian and Muslim wedding was. The couple really did not know themselves but they wanted something Christian. So I planned something with some German customs, some American customs and some things totally new.
Of course being refugees they have very little money, so the church helped in many ways. But they wanted to make the meal - an Iranian meal. So they cooked the meal for 35 guests the day before. The church supplied cake and coffee for after the meal and the decorations. The groom found a suit for a super price but the bride could not find a dress that she could afford. So Katy suggested the bride could wear her wedding dress - now almost 36 years old. They took it to a tailor and got it adjusted and the bride was set. We bought the flowers for the bride and a neighbour or people in the church provided flowers for decorations. A Ukrainian woman decorated the church building.
The meal and coffee and cake were in the back yard. The weather was hot but in the shade was quite nice.. And the costs were quite reasonable. I had a conversation with a woman attending the church about the amount of money people spend on weddings. She also remarked that that is often the reason young people do not get married these days.
It all came together for a beautiful day. A Christian wedding with their new Christian family.
For pictures of the wedding go to our Photo Albums or click on the picture