The wedding was celebrated in five separate events through the day of April 7th:  a pre-ceremony champagne reception for the wedding party, the ceremony itself at he Markiezenhof (the Marquis' mansion, now a museum), High Tea for the congregation at the Hotel de Draak, followed by a general reception there for several hundred of the bridal couple's relatives and friends.  In the evening the wedding party  and guests repaired to La Castelière restaurant in Hoogerheide, for a wedding feast.

These events were planned and executed with great skill by Sue and Jan Willem themselves.      Au Beau Sarrazin, Fontaine-sur-Aÿ The parents and two brothers of the bride volunteered to devote themselves to but a single task:  to procure the wine for the wedding.   To this end Lois, Arthur, Peter and Dick Neergaard met eleven days before the event, in Paris, then headed into the French countryside in pursuit of their sacred mission.

Trip though Burgundy and Champagne to buy wine for the wedding Les Buisonnets, Fontaines Au Plaisir de Ventre, Meursault Chateau Pommard, Beaune La Cremaillère, Auxay Rochepot - Orches Dinner with Boubals, Frédérique Beau Sarrazin, Fontaine-sur-Aÿ Al at Ricciuti-Révolte, Avenay

The Families Gather Corra and Oma Greet Lois

On Thursday April 6th, the day before the wedding, the celebrants started to gather.  Lois, Dick, Arthur, and Peter arrived from France in their station wagon so filled with wine that personal luggage had to be left behind, to be brought later by Madie.  Sue drove to Brussels in the early morning to pick up the Cuti's, who had flown in from Cincinnati;   later in the day Dick made the same trip to fetch Ishraq, who arrived from Cairo (sans luggage).   The van der Werff family arrived at tea-time.  Bram presented as a wedding gift, an antique barometer;  Corra, a framed needlework she'd done.  That evening, Bram hosted a dinner for eighteen at the Bali, an Indonesian restaurant in Bergen-Op-Zoom.  By chance the Treadaways came into the same restaurant, so were able to join us for dessert.

The Rehearsal Dinner Dinner Richard Gets Off a Good one

Friday April 7th:  The WEDDING!    The day started off at 1:30 PM with the wedding party gathering at the Hotel Draak, on Bergen-op-Zoom's Grote Markt, to share a champagne toast in honor of the event.   Pre-ceremony Reception Starting With Champagne The assembly then strolled the short distance to the Markiezenhof ("House of the Marquis" - a town-palace with a delightful ambiance, now a museum for avant-garde art) for the ceremony, at 2:30 PM.    The magistrate, garbed as if in a Rembrandt painting, graciously read the ceremony in English as well as Dutch, missing linguistically only once..... when he asked Jan Willem if he would take Sue as his lawful wedded husband.   Sue and Jan Willem both squinched up their faces at this, then Jan Willem, nobly gathering himself together in manly fashion, answered with a majestic:  "Yes!  Gladly!".  All Neergaards felt honored to have Jan Willem join our family.

Ceremony at the Markiezenhof Ceremony at Markiezenhof Ceremony Guests Groom's Family The Bride and Groom The Minister Listening to the Homily Mixing Words "Husband" & "Wife" Nobly Done, Dear! I'm OK With It... How About You? With This Ring.... The Bride Gets Her Kiss Triumphant Couple

Following the ceremony, the wedding party paused for photos.....   Post-ceremony Photo-Taking Attendants Couple and Parents Wedding Party   .....while the guests socialized in the Markiezenhof courtyard, then strolled back to  the Hotel Draak for High Tea.

In the Markiezenhof Courtyard Outside the Draak Intent Party "The Future Lies Ahead...." Outside the Markiezenhof 1 Outside the Markiezenhof 2 The Mothers

The bridal families were most honored by the attendance of guests from far afield Cato Anderson Eric Anderson Francine Michelle Francine and the Anderson's Pascale Sironval, Arthur & Gerard Arthur and Gerard Michelle  Trig, Richard & Ishraq, Delvaux Waltraud Treadaway Ishraq Neergaard Carola Vesper Laura Fiore Madie (of Honor) Boubal Mike Devlin Mira Westhoff & Lois Paul Westhoff Peggie Shae

Those who  came to the wedding from outside the Netherlands, included the Cuti's from the US;  the Treadaway's, Fiore's and Vesper's from Germany;  The Michel's, Anderson's, Delvaux, Mike Devlin, Pascal Sironval, and Peggie Shae from Belgium;  and Mira and Paul Westhoff, and the Boubal's, from France.

After high tea back at the Draak Hotel for the church-goers.....       High Tea at the Draak Cuti's, Jean Paul   ...... there followed a reception for a hundred or two of the bridal couple's friends and acquaintances.

Reception for Friends and Acquaintances Arthur, Peter & Paul Receiving at the Reception Sue & Gerard Who Swallowed the Canary? Reception Conclave Reception Jollity

Dinner, the Evening of the Wedding Opening champagne by Saber Roastee, and Good Sport Chanteur at Dinner

That evening, sixty of us gathered in La Castelière in Hoogerheide to partake of what proved to be a marvelous Provençal meal.   The soirée was launched by the dramatic opening of an ample supply of Al Riciutti's champagne, the bottle tops being lopped off by saber à la Napoleon -  and built from there.   Madie and Jean-Paul imported an operatic Italian singer from a Montmartre night club, a favorite of Sue and Jan Willem's, to provide the entertainment (his voice may have cracked a bit on the high notes, but he was exceedingly jolly).   Jan Willem's friends crafted a clever skit for (and of) him;  the "roastee"  graciously laughed harder than anyone.

It was was truly a delightful day, not just for the newlyweds but for all of us in attendance:   graciously choreographed, festively presented, and full of joie de vivre in both its spirit and its execution   The bridal couple merit great credit for having organized such an elegantly structured occasion so very well, and they surely earned a holiday.   Sue and Jan Willem set off accordingly the next day for a two-week honeymoon in Frédérique's farmhouse near Avignon, in the first week accompanied  by the Cuti's,and joined later by Arthur.  Getting into the vacationing spirit, Lois, Dick and Peter headed east, for what turned out to be a marvelous week in Prague.

From the Neergaard's perspective, it was truly a fitting occasion to welcome into their family so fine a son-in-law.