"Nothing says marriage like a log and a saw"

That is what the German's think anyhow. At German weddings they have lots of classy traditions that differ from American weddings. My all time favorite German wedding tradition is the cars at weddings. Germans decorate the bride and grooms get away car with special flower bouquets that they adhere to the trunk and hood. So when you come out of the chapel your car awaits you all covered with flowers. Contrast this with the tacky American tradition of cans/condoms/shaving cream/shoe polish written JUST MARRIED. Yeah. The Germans have it figured out.

Admittedly Germans have much nicer cars as a whole. You could stick a thistle on a BMW and it would still look classier than a Chevrolet.
Unfortunately when I got married my family really dropped the ball on car flowers. I'm not complaining it really was almost the perfect wedding. We did do my other favorite German wedding tradition. That involves a saw and a log.

According to German tradition -and please all my German readers correct me if I am wrong- Right after the wedding (or in our case at the reception) the new couple saws a log together. This symbolizes the new couple working together for the first time as Man and Wife. I love the symbolism. It teaches the young couple that marriage is work and a good marriage is working together.

Last Saturday my dear friend Whitney tied the knot. Whitney and I met last summer during the program (MUTPED) I did in Leipzig. I instantly liked her! Not only did she speak fabulous German, she was hilarious, down to earth and LDS to boot! We palled around the whole summer and all kinds of adventures including the time Whitney dressed up like J.S.Bach.

How Whitney met Dave:

After the summer Whit when home to finish her Ph.D. at some university in the mid-west that I can never remember. She swoar up and down that their was NO ONE TO DATE. But as fate would have it a handsome grad student moved into her ward while she was in Germany. She came home, they started dating and the rest is history.

Her reception was Saturday at the Lion House and my job was to bring the log! Let me tell you that caring a very dangerous look saw through Temple Square will earn you a few suspicious looks from the security guards. Luckily we were escorted through the massive tunnel system under Temple Square into the safety of the Lion House court yard. The workers at the wedding said that no one had ever brought saw horses, a log and a saw to a wedding before.
Whitney and Dave did a great job sawing the log. Which means they will have a great working marriage! As Dave posed for pictures he said "Nothing says marriage like a log and a saw." Thati s unless you are German.

Congratulations Whitney and Dave! Marriage is the best! Especially if you work together.