Today, no blog about Slovenia, but about the »journey« that Bine and I have made together so far. Today it is 25 years ago that we got married, on September 7, 1995, after we had met each other 8 months earlier, in a disco in Bled. So today we celebrate our silver wedding anniversary!

It has been 25 years of ups and downs, but luckily the ups dominate and we have made many beautiful memories together, of which the birth of our children were of course the highlights.

When we decided to get married, we lived together in Slovenia. As you can read in the section »About me«, we only knew each other for a week when I moved to Slovenia to be with Bine. Because it turned out to be very difficult to insure me and to arrange papers for my stay, we decided to get married, with the idea that it would make all those things easier. That turned out not to be the case and that is why we decided to move to the Netherlands after a year, where we then lived for 7 years before making another attempt to build a life in Slovenia in 2003. Even though our marriage had no positive influence on the »paperwork«, it turned out to be a very positive decision :). We have never regretted it, even though we have had some very difficult times. And now, just like that, we are 25 years (and 25 kilo’s ;)) later ……

We actually wanted to get married in Slovenia and had notified my parents and asked if they wanted to come over for the wedding. We would keep it very small and simple because we had no money for a big party. Bine was a truck driver at the time and I was unemployed and drove on the truck with him. To our surprise, my parents suggested a while later that we would come to the Netherlands to get married and that they would arrange everything and pay for the wedding. We were amazed and very happy of course. We then drove to the Netherlands together with a good friend and had a week of »vacation« there. Fortunately, Bine’s parents, his brother, and sister, and his godparents also decided to drive to the Netherlands for the wedding.

It was a beautiful day, with everything I could ever dream of for my wedding and I am still very grateful to my parents for that! Together with my mother, I had already bought a wedding dress in Slovenia in the summer, and in the Netherlands, we bought a suit for Bine. Bine and I had selected the wedding rings together in Slovenia that were co-funded by Bine’s parents, as their wedding gift to us. Mom and Dad had really thought of everything: an appointment with the beautician, who also did my make-up on the morning of the wedding, a beautiful wedding cake, a photographer and a dinner, reception and afterward a fantastic party with all family and friends in a hotel, where we also spent the night in the bridal suite. It was truly a day to remember! We first got married in the town hall of Venray, then again in church. The wedding photos were taken in between in the Odapark in Venray, where a number of works of art were on display at that time.

And now we are going to start the next 25 years and we are looking forward to it! We are proud of our children and grandchildren and of everything we have achieved together over the years. We are grateful to all the lovely family and friends around us and I am also very grateful to all my readers and the fact that this blog has been so well received. Bine and I hope to be able to make many more beautiful, new memories together in beautiful Slovenia and beyond. Seize the day!!