We arrived in the Netherlands last Tuesday and it has been really busy the whole week. It is really nice to see all the family and to celebrate Jet and Roel’s wedding! We started off with a party at Jet and Roel’s new house in Laren. Many of the Canadian friends and some of the family were also there and it was a great chance to catch up before the formal festivities started.

On Thursday morning, we packed up in three vehicles and drove south to Limberg to Maastricht. We are staying at a castle called Kasateel Vaeshartelt in a building called the Poorthuis. It is surrounded by beautiful ponds and gardens and up until yesterday, the weather has been great. Chris helped Oom Rob transport the wedding vehicle from Den Haag down here, so he arrived Friday morning early.

Thursday we just hung out and everyone did last-minute ironing and nails and, of course, made it an early night in preparation for the wedding marathon that was about to ensue. Friday morning all the men visited the rental company for their morning coats for Saturday at the church and their tuxedos for the gala in the evening.

Friday was the civil ceremony which was held at the Vrijthoff Theatre, in front of one the most famous squares in the Vrijthof which is the best-known and most important square in the city. The room where the ceremony was held was absolutely beautiful.

The following day was the church ceremony which was held at a beautiful church called St. Pieter op de berg .  We started off at the Vashartaelt with champagne and photos and then Jet, Roel and Julie were taken via military ambulance to the centre of the city to the church. The lovely ceremony was topped off by Ainsley Soutiere singing and of course, Jet and Roel exchanging rings and vows. Most ladies were sporting either hats or fascinators and the whole thing fe

lt was all quite royal! More to come tomorrow! I’m heading to bed soon.