S&JWWedding.index.html

- Sue and Jan Willem's Wedding -

were married at 14:30 on April seventh, 1995
in the Markiezenhof in Bergen-op-Zoom, the Netherlands

A reception was held later that afternoon in the Hotel de Draak in Bergen-op-Zoom,
followed by a dinner in the couple's honor that evening in the La Castelière, Hoogerheide

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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.

The parents and two brothers of the bride volunteered to devote themselves to but a single task: to procure the wine for the wedding.

Au Beau Sarrazin, Fontaine-sur-Ay

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.

Buying the Wine for the Wedding

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Les Buisonnets, Fontaines	Au Plaisir de Ventre	Beau Sarrazin, Fontaine-sur-Ay

Château Pommard, Beaune		La Cremaillère, Auxay	Dinner With the Boubals

	Al at Ricciuti-Révolte	Rochepot - Orches

Thursday, April 6th

The Families Gather
Corra and Oma Greet Lois

On the day before the wedding, the celebrants started to gather.

Lois, Dick, Arthur, and Peter arrived from France in their station wagon, which was so filled with wine that their 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 Cutis who had flown in from Cincinnati; later that day Dick made the same trip to Brussels to fetch Ishraq, who flew in from Cairo (arriving alas sans luggage). The van der Werff family joined the party at tea-time.

Bram presented as a wedding gift, an admirable 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

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.

A Stroll to the Markiezenhof

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"The Future Lies Ahead...."	The Mothers	Intent Party	Outside the Draak

Once we were all settled in the Markiezenhof, the ceremony began. The Magistrate, garbed as if in a Rembrandt painting, graciously read the sacred words 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, gathering himself together in manly fashion, nobly answered with a majestic: "Yes! Gladly!".

All the Neergaards felt honored to have Jan Willem join our family.

The Ceremony

Ceremony Guests	At the Markiezenhof	The Bride and Groom	Groom's Family

The Minister	Listening to the Homily	Minister Mixes Words "Husband" & "Wife"	"Yes! Gladly!" "Nobly Done, Dear!"

I'm OK With That - How About You?	With This Ring....	The Bride Gets Her Kiss	Triumphant Couple

The bridal families were most honored by the attendance of guests from far afield

Out-of-Country Guests

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Arthur and Gerard	Pascale, Arthur and Gerard	Francine and the Andersons	Francine Michelle

Cato Anderson	Eric Anderson	Carola	Laura

Ishraq	Madie (of Honor!)	Peggie Shae	Mike Devlin

Mira Westhoff & Lois	Paul Westhoff	Trig, Richard and Ishraq, Delvaux	Waltraud Treadaway

Those who came to the wedding from outside the Netherlands, included Mary and Bob Cuti from the US; Trig and Waltraud Treadaway, the Fiores and the Vespers from Germany. From Belgium came Gérard and Francine Michel, Eric and Catherine Anderson, the Delvauxs, Mike Devlin, Pascal Sironval, and Peggie Shae. Mira and Paul Westhoff, and Madie and Jean-Paul Boubal, came in from France.

The wedding party poses for photos.....


Attendants	Couple and Parents	Wedding Party

After the ceremony, there was a high tea at the Draak Hotel for all the church-goers.....

High Tea at the Draak
Cutis, Jean Paul

...... followed a reception for a hundred or two of the bridal couple's closest friends.

Reception for Friends and Acquaintances


Guess Who Swallowed the Canary?	Receiving at the Reception	Arthur, Peter & Paul	Reception Conclave

	Reception Jollity	Sue & Gerard

Dinner at La Castelière, in Hoogerheide
Evening of the Wedding

After the day's whirlwind had setled down, sixty of the celebrants gathered in La Castelière in Hoogerheide to partake of what proved to be an unforgettable Provençal meal.


Opening champagne by saber à la Napoleon	Roastee, and Good Sport	Chanteur at Dinner

The soirée was launched by the dramatic opening of an ample supply of Al Riciutti's champagne, with the necks of the bottles being lopped off by saber (à la Napoleonic soldiers). The evening 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 about) him; the "roastee" graciously laughed harder than anyone.

It had been 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 spirit and execution. The bridal couple merit great credit for having organized such an elegant occasion so very well. Sue and Jan Willem fully earned their subsequent holiday-honeymoon, setting off the next day for a two-week sojourn in Frédèrique's farmhouse near Avignon. During their first week they were accompanied by the Cutis, then joined later by Arthur. (Getting into the vacationing spirit, Lois, Dick and Peter also headed out, eastward to Prague, for what turned out to be a marvelous week there.)

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