John's and Majvi's wedding, June 1

The beautiful bride and handsome groom - yes it's a traditional and boring picture, but lovely nonetheless!

Well, this was definitely something I had been waiting for for a long while.

John and I are friends since like forever, or at least close to 20 years, and even if he and I have drifted apart somewhat the last few years, he is still one of my dearest friends. When he moved to Stockholm 10-15 years ago, we used to go out dancing together, when we were both single, it was almost every week.

It always felt a little bit weird, since the success at picking up a girl for either one of us would inevitably lead to the end of the single life that we both loved so much, so I guess we were lucky that none of us were ever very good at picking up girls! :-) I have to admit that it was more often than not me who broke up the fun we had by getting a long-term girlfriend, and I always felt bad for not being there for him as much as I wanted to, instead clinging to whatever current girlfriend like I-don't-know-what.

Well, one night three years ago, one of us was finally to about to make a catch on the dancefloor - and a big one at that!

It was a hot summer night and the beat was burning. When I listen to your heart I hear the whole world turning, I see the shooting stars falling through your tenderness. You were licking your lips with your lipstick shining, and we were lying together on a silver lining, by the light of the moon, and there was not another moment to wait.

No, I got sidetracked there for a moment, that was actually the lyrics to "You took the words right ouf of my mouth (Hot Summer Night)" by Jim Steinman. Let me try again:

It was a hot summer night and the dancefloor was crowded, so many people were starting to sweat. This led John to try what I at the time thought to be the lamest pickup line ever. Not so much a line as a gesture I guess - he wiped some sweat from the forehead of a girl he was dancing with and saying something or the other, I can't really remember if he had a line or not.

I wish that I could say that it was working great, but I seem to recall that he did not have much success with the move, except for this one girl... Unfortunately enough, she disappeared from the dancefloor after a while, and after a few minutes more I could see that she was at the bar, starting to leave. John of course was in another world, desperately wiping the sweat from the foreheads of more or less the whole dancefloor, so I had to tug at his arm and tell him that the special girl was leaving, and shouldn't he try to get her phone number or something, unless he really wanted to die alone?

And I'm happy to say that his pickup move wasn't that bad after all, since the last few years it has been John that has been isolating himself from the world, despearately clinging to his girlfriend - and who can blame him!? So yes, I don't want to take the credit for them getting married, but at least John has someone to blame if the whole thing don't work out! :-)

Majvi by contrast is a relatively new acquintance, but she grows more lovely by the day. Not only is she beautiful and smart, she has even managed to finally introduce some fashion sense to John's life, and that is not a small achievement by any standard!

With Majvi coming from Stockholm, and reportedly having never been out of the city center until she met John, when the engagement rings showed up on their fingers, I was expecting a Stockholm wedding, but instead the whole affair was arranged in Hälsingland (up north), where John's from. And it was all the better for it! Most of the guests were from other parts of the country, so going there over the weekend, only focusing on the wedding was a great plan. It really meant having the possibility to concentrate on the bride and groom, and think about them.

Unless of course you have been on the other side of the world for two months, and just met your girlfriend the day before! Yes, I must admit that most of the time I was more focused on the lovely Helena next to me rather than the young couple, but that didn't mean I had any less fun of course!

The wedding festivities was mainly organized by John's dad Bernt and his wife-to-be-as-soon-as-he-decides-to-make-an-honest-woman-out-of-her Karin. Karin has this huge farm, right next to the church where the wedding was, and they had definitely arranged a perfect wedding!

The ceremony in church was wonderful and very traditional, after which we all walked back to the farm where the party was. Well, the bride and groom rode in a classic car (A-Ford I think?) as the rest of us picked up the dust behind.

And the party was the best! Quite traditional in tone, but touches like not only having pitchers of water on the table, but also pitchers of moonshine(!) added to the enjoyment! Also, the band was a classic from our youthful days: Hion Martell. One of John's best friends plays in the band, and all the other members are old acquintances as well - it was really fun to get the opportunity to talk to them again for the first time in many years! I even managed to get John on the stage (he plays a decent harmonica) together with the best man (Johan, who is an excellent bass player) and the band for a few songs. Needless to say, that was the most popular setting of the evening!

Everyone was partying in to the wee hours of the morning, and partying hard. We had a 2 kilometer walk bak to the hotel where we were staying, and I remeber that it took me and Helena half an hour just to get 500 meters on the way! We would probably still be there if not for Jonas driving by and giving us a lift - thanks Jonas, you were a real life saver!

So yes, I had a great time at the wedding, but the best time I still had every time I looked at John or Majvi, and I could just see all the happiness radiating from their eyes. If you read this guys, all the best of luck to you!