The date, the place, the thing

[GGT]

....It's not too cynical, sure, they can grow their own flowers, but almost all flowers are sold through the Netherlands

Is that a European trade thing? I find it hard to believe that Sweden doesn't have their own hot house flower factories, or florists who don't have to go through some Netherlands exchange first.

[RandBlade]

Is that a European trade thing? I find it hard to believe that Sweden doesn't have their own hot house flower factories, or florists who don't have to go through some Netherlands exchange first.

What's the big deal, do no US states concentrate on any industry?

The Netherlands is famous for their flowers (esp. Tulips).

[Flixy]

Is that a European trade thing? I find it hard to believe that Sweden doesn't have their own hot house flower factories, or florists who don't have to go through some Netherlands exchange first.

No, it's a world thing - 2/3 of all flower exports in the world passed through the Netherlands. I suppose historically that's where flower merchants were, and it has grown from there. Also, apparently, a third of all tomatoes, chilis, cucumbers exports in the world pass through our country.

It's not that a florist has to go through some exchange, but the place where he gets his flowers most likely got them from here.

[Aimless]

The following account contains links to image-search results and pretty pictures. Some are HUGE.


After much deliberation, we unfortunately had to cancel the booking for the place we'd loved so much. No matter how we cut it, we couldn't get past the fact that it was just a little too small for the number of guests. It was a shame, because everything else about the place--the house, the location, the food, the people, the price--was just great.

Then ensued a melancholy and desperate hunt for a new place. We revisited old contenders (a house dedicated to Astrid Lindgren's novels) and found new ones. One taunted us by being lovely and being situated close to one of the most perfect places in Sthlm (imo)... but shutting down that part of their business the others all had their strong points, but their downsides were just too difficult to ignore.

All hope seemed lost and we were about to resign ourselves to choosing the least of all evils. But then, completely by accident, we heard of a place. But the person in charge of bookings was far away on vacation and would return to Sthlm (maybe) on the same day we were set to leave sthlm. We had been about to confirm a booking at the Astrid Lindgren place, but decided to wait a couple of days. Managed to get hold of her, and she came in on her vacation to show us around a couple of hours before our flight.

It's located right smack in the middle of Sthlm's old city, in the great square. Unfortunately, our pics don't really do the place justice, so I've decided to borrow better ones.

It consists of two connected buildings, in which we get access to two separate but connected halls (plus some smaller rooms). One, the larger dining hall, known as the Knights' Hall, easily seats a hundred guests. It's in the part of the house that used to be owned by a Scottish merchant family, the Primroses. The ceiling is lovely--it's the best preserved painted ceiling in Sthlm from that time.

The other hall, slightly smaller, is in the part of the building that used to be owned by a Swedish merchant family that ran the Swedish East India Company. It's perfect for mingling and for dancing. There's a small and pretty courtyard which is lovely in the summer. Guests can move freely from one place to the other, as the night progresses and as they wish.

There are tuned pianos in each major room, and a proper sound-system. They have their own restaurant, with good chefs and sommeliers, and they take their food seriously even though they're very accommodating. We get to taste-test the menu and get several meetings to sort out the details. They have their own bakery and pastry shop, led by one of Sweden's better bakers. They take care of the flowers and decor etc and coordinate it with our wishes, with the wedding bouquet, etc.

Everything--almost literally everything including the fancy cake--is included in a price that's better than our other candidates', and even comparable to the one we had to turn down. The party coordinator was friendly, helpful, sensible and very clear. Sounds pretty sweet right?

Here's the best part: this is run by a social business. "Social" not as in "social media" but as in "social good"; as in all their profits go towards the social projects managed by Stockholm's largest organisation in that niche. I mean, this place would have felt like a great candidate purely on its own merits, but knowing that a large part of the money we're putting into this (summat more than we'd wanted) will go towards helping an organisation we both like do things we all think are important... well, it seems like a better deal. Think we're confirming tomorrow, even though it'll mean changing the date by a week. It's too good to pass up 10th of August, here we come.

[Dreadnaught]

Does this mean you can deduct the wedding as a charitable gift?

Sounds like a lot of stress but things landing in the right place. Are you okay with the nature vs. indoors component? The room looks really nice.

Also, non-Sveriges raise your hands if this was the first time you had heard of a Swedish East India Company.

[GGT]

Does this mean you can deduct the wedding as a charitable gift?

Dude, get a grip on your obsession with taxes. Seriously.


Minx, your new venue looks and sound absolutely gorgeous! I love the idea that you were both willing to make new plans in order to accommodate more guests....without sacrificing anything of substance. That bodes well for your union and partnership. Not just in flexibility that is so crucial to relationships, but including community as part of your 'family' and future happiness.



I look forward to your pictures of the ceremony and celebration. You'll look fine in your Bengali brocaded light blue silks, with sparkles and matching custom shoes. I imagine your soft ginger bride floating down the aisle, like a vision, dressed in cream tulle and pink confection sugar.

It will make the toes of your shoes curl up in gleeful anticipation.

[Dreadnaught]

Get a grip on your obsession with missing a joke.