Heidi und Holger

This page is supposed to provide answers to the most commonly asked questions surrounding our wedding and our lives in general. If you still have questions that have not been addressed here, please feel free to email us at wir@heidi-und-holger.de.

Question: Why don’t you guys make a wedding list of all the presents you would like to have?

Answer: Both of us have been living on our own for several years, so now the challenge presents itself for us to combine two households into just one. Therefore we already have plenty of electronic devices, dishes, cutlery and the like. We simply have no space to store even more toasters and frying pans. So if somebody wants to bring a present, a small contribution towards our honeymoon expenses would be very much appreciated.

Question: Why do you get married in Solingen and not in the church that Heidi grew up in?

Answer: Heidi has left home more than ten years ago which is why there is little connection to her original church in Gelenau. Holger, on the other hand, has been an active member of his church for many years with a large circle of friends living close by. Heidi’s friends are scattered all across Germany. Since we are now both part of Holger’s church and live here, getting married somewhere else really wouldn’t make any sense at all.

Question: How about games at the reception – you’d like that, wouldn’t you?

Answer: Those who know us a little bit are well aware of the fact that we both love to laugh and are generally known as funny people with a strong sense of humour. However, when it comes to parties, we both suffer from a severe lack of appreciation for games that make you run, jump, hide, eat, scream, sing, drink, draw, seek or bend over backwards. This is what usually makes us want to run for our lives. It would be pretty sad if this very urge would overwhelm us at our own reception. We hope that for any kind of contribution to the programme the guiding factor is that it’s enjoyable for us. If that is the case, we certainly are happy to laugh with you when our past and weirdness, embarrassing moments and foolishness are being made the centre of attention in one way or the other

Question: I heard that in Germany you have to have a civil wedding beforehand – when is that and can I come?

Answer: Our civil wedding will be on June 4th, two days before our wedding ceremony in church. For us the church part is the actual important event which is why only a handful of people will accompany us to our civil wedding.

Question: Do you need any help with your wedding preparations?

Answer: Actually, we’re getting on quite nicely so far. What we could still use help for is the clean up after the reception. Since our reception will take place in the church hall, the venue needs to be ready for Sunday school the next morning. So anyone invited to the reception, who is happy to stay till the end in order to help clean up could send us a quick email.

Question: I read something about financial support – is that your way of collecting extra pocket money?

Answer: For several years both of us have been working for an international organisation called OM. Since this is a non-profit organisation, the only way workers can receive a monthly salary is by raising their own financial support. Except for the two years when Heidi served onboard Doulos, the costs of our salaries have always exceeded the amount of financial support we received. Even small donations towards our support help reduce this gap and are therefore much appreciated.

Question: So where are you going on your honeymoon?

Answer: First we’ll have a real holiday in the sun (which, if you know Germany, certainly can’t be taken for granted in June). We’ll fly to the Canary Islands, Tenerife to be more exact and if you need to know even more details, to Los Gigantes. After all the stress of preparing for the wedding, we’re looking forward to a relaxing time in a nice hotel on the cliffs and in calm surroundings. Shortly after we get back, part two will follow – and since we can’t afford to stay away from work for too long, we’ll just combine work with this second trip. We’ll take the car to England in early July and we’ll stay there for six weeks (only interrupted by a quick flight home for a family reunion). During our stay, we’ll work in the Carlisle office during the week and hope to take a few trips to the Lake District and Scotland on weekends. And of course we’ll stop in London along the way. We can hardly wait…