My Immigration Journey Part 3

The Wedding Day, acrylic, 16" x 20"caption

Blog 12



1995 was a year full of excitement. The biggest highlight was scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend when my parents and sister came to our wedding. I had not seen them for almost half a year, and I was excited like a little kid about the reunion. We drove to Mississauga at the same time as my parents and sister sat on their plane. After everyone had arrived, my future in-laws served champagne and freshly baked cake, which is a rather German custom, followed by a barbecue, which is rather Canadian. I did not realize at the time that they had found their unique way of combining the traditions of their home country with the ones of the country they had chosen to make their home.

The next day, we went to some of the must-see sights of the greater Toronto area: Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake. The sun was shining so that two beautiful rainbows formed while we were all outfitted with blue raincoats on the “Lady of the Mist”.

On Saturday, we got married in a civil ceremony at City Hall. Only our parents, siblings, Ingo’s best man Derek and two close friends of the Peters, did attend the ceremony. Luckily, all my in-laws and their friends spoke German. Therefore, my parents felt right at home during the celebration. Finding some evening entertainment was not as easy. In the end, we saw the musical “Beauty and the Beast”, a perfect choice as music breaks all the language barriers.

The day after the wedding, my parents and my sister came with us to Ottawa. For the next three days, I went sightseeing with my parents and sister, while Ingo went to work. Soon, it was time to drive with them back to Toronto. In the months since Ingo started his new job, we had purchased a house. Instead of a honeymoon, I left Canada with my family to organize the move of my possessions to Canada to furnish our house.

I was very busy during the four weeks in Germany as I also had to say goodbye to lots of friends and relatives. I missed Ingo, and without emails, our communication was limited to letters and occasional phone calls, which were still quite expensive.

We moved into our house at the beginning of December. The isolation and repeated colds increased my homesickness. I found it hard to adapt to the new neighbourhood as everyone stayed in their own secluded space during the cold weather. What helped me to find comfort was our new family member, our Golden Retriever, Jessie. I was also busy organizing our church wedding in German in June 1996. I created all the decorations, from wedding bear centrepiece to invitations, place cards, and table decoration. While it saved us money, creating all these unique decorations also gave me something to be proud of and let me dream about the happy celebration.

I hope you enjoyed this part of my story. Please share my blog with friends and family, especially if they have experienced a similar journey. Thank you in advance for your help to increase my audience.