Sadly, the Big Happy Day is now over!  However, it was a weekend to remember forever and Keld and I owe everyone who was there, and everyone else who sent their well wishes for producing the most magical and spectacular day of our lives.  Everyone says your wedding is one of the best days of your life - ours was that, and then even more.  It was beyond even what we had dreamed it could be.  The weather, the people, the atmosphere, the setting…you name it, we had it and it would have never have been possible without each and everyone of our guests.  Thank you will never seem enough to say to all of you for sharing this incredible day with us.

We got back this week from our Honeymoon in Greece and are slowly but surely making our way back into the real world.  We’re still going through wedding gifts and again, thank you doesn’t seem hardly enough. The kindness shown by each and everyone of you is overwhelming, we are and will remain very very grateful.

The official wedding photographer photos won’t be in until next week sometime but until then we have added pictures from all of you onto our photos page - it is amazing how these pictures recreate everything so very clearly for us.  Thank you for helping us document this amazing weekend.

All our love,

Petra and Keld Juulsgaard

WE CAN’T WAIT….. it’s so close now….. the 1st people have already arrived in Amsterdam, and the weather is gorgeous…. it’s all so PERFECT!!!!

We have posted the driving directions to the hotel for those coming with car - please see the link on top of the page (all the way to the right)

See ya all there in the course of the next days…. it will be unforgetable for sure.

Love

Petra & Keld

The big day is almost here and we couldn’t be more ready!  We spent last weekend at the wedding location to do a testing test of the wedding menus and we were duly impressed.  We were also surprised with unbelievably warm weather and were able to spend both weekend days lounging at the large outdoor pool at the hotel.  Unfortunately the weather has turned cooler again but the promise for warmth returns for this weekend.  Our sun dances are in full swing as one can never rely on the weather in Holland!

 Any last minute questions?  Please let us know!

 Love, Petra (and Keld)

It’s a gorgeous, not even spring, but SUMMER day here in Amsterdam.  Somehow we went from nasty winter on the weekend to summer this week.  It’s gorgeous and a good omen for the wedding weather!!  Plans are starting to really come together and Keld and I are off to the wedding location next weekend to do the penultimate set of plans.  It’s getting sooooooooooo close!!!

If you have not yet responded to let us know if you’re coming then please do so as soon as you can!

 Love

 Petra

Here it is finally, the first shot at our very own first website!  It’s a bit of work in process but if you check back every now and again you’ll hopefully see progress.  All wedding information will be posted here on the site but if you don’t find the answer to a question you’re searching for then please don’t hesitate to send us an email at:  petrakeldwedding@yahoo.com !

We can’t wait to see you in July!

Love,

Petra and Keld

    

Dear Family and Friends

Saturday, 1 July 2006 was as close as we could get to the two most important dates in our lives – one year since our engagement on 3 July 2005 and two years to when we first “met” online on 3 July 2004. So, date chosen, we searched high and low for the perfect spot to celebrate, and have now finally found it. It’s a lovely, cozy hotel set in the forest on the edge of one of the biggest National Parks in the Netherlands. The location is called the Hotel De Beyaerd and is situated approximately 80 km northeast of Amsterdam near the city of Harderwijk. The hotel is a four-star property and is a gathering of several old farmhouse buildings that have been converted into hotel facilities - so it’s not your average hotel, and probably not something you’ll easily find outside of Holland (we hope that you will also think this is a good thing!). It’s incredibly charming, warm and cozy – or better said in Dutch as “ gezellig” or in Danish as “hyggelig” – by the end of our wedding we’ll make sure everyone knows both how to pronounce and understand the true meaning of these words.
The wedding activities will officially start on Friday evening, 30 June 2006, around 7pm with a barbecue at the hotel where we’ll have the chance to have everyone together for the first time. We’ll keep it informal that evening, making sure there’s enough time to enjoy ourselves and chat with old and new friends.
Saturday the 1^st will be the BIG DAY. Breakfast/brunch will be organized in the hotel and the morning will be yours to spend as you please. Although the details still need to be worked out we’re currently planning on having the wedding activities commence around 2pm. We’ll have the wedding ceremony at Castle de Essenburgh, which is just down the road. After “tying the knot” and enjoying a cocktail reception at the castle we’ll head back to the hotel where the dinner and party will be held directly thereafter.
Sunday morning we’ll meet up for a well deserved brunch. The newlyweds will be around for most of Sunday so no need to rush home, or to some other destination!

Although an invite list of 100+ people certainly doesn’t seem like a small wedding, a small wedding atmosphere that goes beyond a handshake and quick conversation is what we are aiming to achieve for our wedding. This is why we’ve chosen this “gezellig and hyggelig” setting that will be reserved just for us and our guests for our wedding weekend. We’re hoping it will feel like we are sharing our home with you. We are of course hoping that everyone will be able to attend our wedding, but we are very aware of the cost and time commitment that this will involve for you.
Given the location of our wedding we completely understand if you cannot make the trip; but you are very special to us and we want you to know that.

We cannot wait to share this magical day/weekend with you and look forward to seeing you at de Beyaerd!
Love,
Petra and Keld

A few details for you
Hotel and Transportation Information

• We have agreed a rate of €80 per room, per night. There are plenty of rooms for everyone. We’ll send out further details about making room reservations – at this point we’ve made a block reservation and we’ll either handle your room requests or direct you to the hotel itself for the bookings. We will let you know, but safe to say that for right now we have a block of rooms reserved for Friday and Saturday night.
• The hotel has a fitness center, squash court and outdoor tennis court and pool.
• For those not traveling via car, the hotel is easily reached via train and the hotel will pick guests up at the local station, called “Harderwijk”. From Amsterdam it’s a one hour and twenty minute train ride that costs around €20/$25 roundtrip. You can buy your tickets upon arrival in Amsterdam so there’s no need to organize this ahead of time.
• You will not need a car while you are at the wedding, unless of course you’d like to have one.

Attire

• The Friday barbecue is casual.
• On Saturday, the wedding will be Black Tie. Danish wedding tradition sometimes includes a change of outfits on the day of the wedding, i.e. a nice outfit for the church and reception and then black tie for the dinner in the evening. If you would like to change outfits so that you have a nice excuse to buy two new outfits (probably more for the ladies?) then you are more than welcome to do so. However, we’ll be wearing the same thing all day and we think most people will probably opt for this as well. We are not expecting anyone to change outfits.
• Sunday will be casual or Black Tie if you’re just rolling in from the wedding party.

Wedding Traditions

• We’ll be combining US, Danish and some Dutch wedding traditions into our wedding so it might not be like anything you’ve been to before. We’ll provide a little guide to “our” wedding traditions in advance so that you won’t be too surprised by some of the more crazy antics like the men coming up to kiss Petra every time Keld goes to the bathroom, and vice versa.
• And probably the most important tradition to be aware of that we plan to honor … Danish weddings go deep into the morning, count on a very long and fun Saturday night.

Friday-Day Activities (Optional)


• We are looking into arranging some activities for those that would like to arrive earlier than the Friday barbecue, say Thursday evening or Friday morning. We’re currently trying to work through the various options for Friday activities and the ideas that we have come up with so far include an adventure / team-building park in the backyard of the hotel where we’re thinking the boys will be able to have some fun with activities such as racing quad -bikes, maneuvering jeeps on dirt tracks, or competing on a highland games course. For the more refined guests, err, the ladies, we’re looking into a day spa that is located a few miles away or perhaps even a shopping trip to outlets about 30 minutes away. Other options include lounging at the outdoor pool (Dutch weather permitting), golf, doing the Dutch bike thing around the countryside, canals and nearby harbor city, a stroll in the nearby National Park, horseback riding or even possibly sailing on the IJselmeer Sea.