Our Norwegian/American Wedding

We officially got married in April 2011 in a simple Civil Ceremony performed by Pastor Larry at my family's church in California. This wasn't intended to be a big celebration, but simply to kick start the paperwork process in anticipation of my move to Norway just a few weeks after our big wedding in July that same year.

You can see pictures from the Civil Ceremony here.

Our "real" wedding took place on Sunday, July 3, 2011. It was a red, white, and blue affair - perfect for the holiday weekend, and perfect for this Norwegian/American combination. It took place at the church I was practically raised in in California, and nearly 40 Norwegians flew out for the occasion (and to do some touring, of course!).

It was fun, light-hearted, and of course, went by entirely too fast. I keep saying how I wish I could have been a guest at my own wedding, but that's why you have photographers and a videographer! I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

My dress:

My two criteria for choosing a wedding a dress were buttons down the back (my fave!!) and ruching.

Stian's outfit: 

He wore his traditional Norwegian bunad. 

We had pretty cool shoes, too. 

I insisted on red glitter pumps, and he wore the traditional bunad shoes. 

Our bridal party:

The girls wore tea-length navy blue dresses and matching red heels. Instead of bouquets, they carried red clutch purses with pinned on corsages. 

The boys wore black suits with matching red, white, and blue ties and socks. 

We were a pretty fun, good-looking group: 

My Dad walked me down the aisle...

....and Stian walked me back: 

18 children from my past preschool classes came dressed in red or blue to carry an American or Norwegian flag down the aisle. It was adorable. 

Trying to get that many kids to sit still for a picture was nearly impossible!

We had a cake and red-white-and-blue candy reception: 

The cake and of course, kransekaker (Norwegian marzipan cake). 

We had dinner and dancing in the evening at the Cheesecake Factory. 

My Matron of Honor and Stian's Best Man gave great speeches...and so did Stian. 

Beautiful speech - so glad we had a videographer to capture it!!

Everyone got party blowers to end the evening, and we kept on walking...

It was a perfect day!

Thanks to my Mom & Dad for such a beautiful wedding. Wouldn't change a thing and couldn't ask for more.