Wedding Bells and Guitars

It’s our Danish Copper Wedding today…12 and a Β½ years of wedded bliss!

For the non-mathematicians amongst you, that means we got married on 11 April 1998. (If you’d like a – sort of – explanation of this quaint Danish tradition…I already wrote one for you, it’s here.)

Instead of celebrating the traditional way – a formal dinner for family and close friends – we’ve decided (is this beginning to sound familiar?!) to do our own thing…  At the end of this month we’re throwing a big ‘let your hair down’ party with retro food, a DJ and – the icing on our Copper Wedding cake – a live performance by (our own personal favourites) Denmark’s finest rock band “Magtens Korridorer”.  Just because we’ve been married for so long, doesn’t mean we have to act like it too..? And – just like at our wedding in Scotland – standing on the chairs will be allowed! πŸ™‚

Have a marvelous married Monday!

PS: Those of you familiar with Magtens Korridorer will no doubt remember that their very first hit was “Lorte Parforhold“. Rather apt in the circumstances?  [ I have refrained from translating the title for fear of offending my more genteel readers…. Use ‘google translate’ at your own risk!  πŸ˜›  ]

Hey Mr DJ! – Part One

DH and I have started the detailed planning for our Copper Anniversary in October. How many years have we been hitched? Em, that would be twelve and a half… For those not familiar with this quaint Danish custom of celebrating wedding anniversaries 12 years and 6 months after the fact, it’s all explained in a previous blogpost – Those Crazy Danes (Part 4)

The celebrations will include a big party and, of course, a professional DJ. And, as DH is  we’re paying, we get to choose what he plays – he he! I’m putting together a list of essential tracks, which I’ll add to my Flylady Copper Anniversary Control Journal. Lots of stuff from the 90s (when DH and I first met, aww), new hits and, naturally, some oldies but goldies. Guaranteed floorfillers, each and every one… But, as this list is only a starting point, please, please won’t you feel free to chime in? Here are the first tunes that popped into my little head. Errors and exceptions (and country music) excluded! πŸ˜‰

            * * * * * * * * *

War – Low Rider

Gil Scott Heron – The Bottle

Curtis Mayfield – Move on Up

Rose Royce – Car Wash

Sugar Hill Gang – Rapper’s Delight

John Paul Young – Love is in the Air

Oliver Cheatham – Saturday Night

Blondie – Heart of Glass, Atomic

Dead or Alive – You Spin Me Round

Black Box – Ride on Time

Bizarre Inc – Playing with Knives

C+C Music Factory – Gonna Make you Sweat

The KLF – 3am Eternal

Snap – The Power

Depeche Mode – Enjoy the Silence, Personal Jesus

Crystal Waters – Gypsy Woman

Moby – Go

Edwyn Collins – Girl Like You

Dee-Lite – Groove is in the Heart

Inner City – Good Life

Faithless – Insomnia

Bech – Loser

Oasis – Cigarettes + Alcohol

New Order – Blue Monday

Everything But the Girl – Missing

Stereo Mcs – Connected

Culture Beat – Mr Vain

Haddaway – What is Love

De la Soul – Me Myself and I

Blur – Boys and Girls

EMF – Unbelievable

Deee-Lite – Groove is in the Heart

Corona – Rhythm of the Night

Michael Jackson – Thriller, Billie Jean

House of Pain – Jump Around

Jamiroquai – Cosmic Girl

George Michael – Star People, Flawless

Mylo vs. Miami Sound Machine – Dr Pressure

Kent – FF

Justin Timberlake – Sexy Back

Madonna – Vogue, Hung Up

BeyoncΓ© – Crazy in Love

Blackeyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling

Calvin Harris – Acceptable in the 80s

Calvin Harris + Dizzee Rascal – Dance Wiv Me

David Guetta (feat. Kelly Rowland) – When Love Takes Over

David Guetta – Memories

Agnes – Release Me

         * * * * * * * *

Have a fabulous Friday…see you on the dancefloor – mind you don’t step on my handbag! πŸ˜‰

Those Crazy Danes – Part 4 (Copper Wedding)

My (darling) sister-in-law asked me yesterday for the date of our Copper Wedding because she wanted to keep her calendar free for the big celebrations we should (she inferred) be planning. So how long have DH and I been married if we are going to celebrate our Copper Anniversary? Well, if you google it, you could choose between 7 or 22 years in the USA, 9 years in Scotland or 32 years if you live in France….

But you do know that those crazy Danes love to do their own thing, don’t you? They don’t worry about what others think and are very liberal. And thank the heavens for that – that’s one of the best things about living here! πŸ™‚ One of the first countries in the world to have a woman minister, Nina Bang, in the government of 1924, one of the first countries to decriminalise homosexuality in 1933, one of the first countries to allow women to vote at local elections in 1908 with full suffrage in 1915. And…the only country in the world to celebrate a Copper Wedding after 12Β½ years of marriage. 12 and a what? Where on earth did they get that Β½ from?!

Cynics might suggest that, as one in three Danes get divorced, there isn’t much chance of actually making it to 25 years and holding a Silver Wedding party. So they just divided it in half. Pardon? Whatever the reason for it, the Copper Wedding is a ‘Big Thing’ in Denmark and not to be taken lightly. Family and friends expect you to throw a Party. Hire a venue kind of party. And will sneak in to your garden during the night and put up an archway (but just half!) of flowers around your front door. And expect to be invited in for breakfast at 7am on the morning of the glorious 12Β½ years.  Yikes, Shaggy, I’d better make a Flylady Control Journal and get planning…and hope DH is writing another good speech.

DH and I got married on 11 April 1998. So officially our Copper Wedding will be 11 October 2010. Mark it in your diaries now! πŸ˜‰

Have a wonderful wedded Wednesday! πŸ™‚