International wedding

International wedding brings huge success, creates memories

By EMMA PALOVA

EW Emma’s Writings

Wabasis Lake Park, MI- On a beautiful last Saturday in October, Jake Pala and Maranda Ruegsegger became husband and wife.

They got married in the historical Saint Patrick Church in Parnell, Michigan. As the sun rays passed through the colored windows, the sun beams spread all over the altar, the floor, on reverend Mark Peacock and the bride and the groom. Peacock in the homily talked about love, relationships and the importance of wholesome families.

“That is a beautiful church, I was married there,” wrote Jeana Schwacha on facebook. “It looks like it hasn’t changed much.”

Mr. Pala and Mrs. Palova at Saint Patrick Church in Parnell

Anthony Amelia, brother of the bride, read the wedding classic reading on love 1 Corinthians 12 : 31.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs,” resonated through the church.

The bride’s colors were purple, beige and lavender which carried over to corsages, ties and sashes. The bride, the matron of honor Jessica Kraima and the groom’s sister Emma Chavent wore the ever-popular bustier strapless dresses. The bride’s wedding gown had a long train that dropped down several steps from the altar. The best man was Pala’s longtime friend Ken Kline. The French flower girl was Ella Chavent, 4.

It was a picture perfect afternoon with degrees in mid to upper 60s Fahrenheit.

Mr. Jakub Pala and Mrs. Maranda Palova enter the Wabasis Lodge

Just a few miles northeast of the church, overlooking Wabasis Lake covered with autumn golden carpet, sits the park lodge which was the place for the reception.

The scenery for the wedding featured blue skies and blue waters of the Wabasis Lake. The lodge has a large fireplace and it was decked out for a grand wedding celebration. French doors and windows span the entire northern and southern walls. It seats approximately 130 to 140 people.

“It will be rustic chic,” said the bride Maranda Ruegsegger in a previous interview for E Brides & Fashion blog.

The first dance belonged to Maranda and Jake

The tables were decorated with stumps that served as bases for large vases with candles floating in them.

“Grandpa Tom made the stumps for me,” Maranda glowed.

As Mr. Pala and Mrs. Palova entered the lodge, they got a standing ovation from the crowd.

The song “When a man loves a woman” settled into everyone’s heart as the husband and wife danced the first dance. Turning and swirling to the catching melody, the couple danced passionately and skillfully.

The buffet dinner included chicken marsala, roast beef, mashed potatoes, salad and more.

Three-tier wedding cake by CJ Aunt Jarmilka

“The food was delicious,” I kept hearing comments.

A separate dessert station was set up by the fireplace. Wedding baker Jarmila Karmaskova of CJ Aunt Jarmilka’s Desserts set up the three-tier wedding cake on a stump. The cake was topped off with pine cones in the spirit of the rustic theme.

“The desserts are very good,” said friend Jean Jeltema. “Bring me some of that cake log.”

CJ spent three days baking the wedding cake, cake logs and traditional Czech kolache. Karmaskova baked well into the wee hours of the wedding day.

“I was kind of scared out there,” she confessed later.

She and her two sons George & Paul flew 6,000 miles to get here for the wedding.

The wines featured Fenn Valley’s sweeter Lakeshore white and red Capriccio, French Vouvray chardonnay, Rodney Strong chardonnay and Spanish Sangre de Toro red and Sangria. The bar also offered plum brandy, pear brandy and Becherovka herbal liqueur.

“Everybody liked that,” said father of the bride Dan Ruegsegger at the tailgate party on Sunday.

No Czech celebration is complete without beer. Since it is the month of the Octoberfest, the groom ordered Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Ichabad pumpkin ale.

The international selection of wines and brandy reflected the international spirit of the wedding. Mr. Jakub Pala was born in former Czechoslovakia and Mrs. Maranda Palova, born Ruegsegger, is American. The groom’s sister Chavent is Czech, but her husband and children are French.

The difference in the names Pala – Palova lies in the gender and the grammar. All females in Slavic languages after marriage take on the man’s name, but because of the grammar rules, the last name is modified by adding either –ova to the end or –a to the end.

For example the famous Czech tennis player Martina Navratilova, a man would be Martin Navratil or Ivanka Trumpova, the man is Donald Trump.

My parents Ella & Vaclav Konecny stayed the longest on the dance floor celebrating 55 years of marriage.

And my dad Vaclav Konecny fills in the Spanish gap as a big fan of the Spanish language.

During the wedding, my parents Ella & Vaclav Konecny received a blessing for their 55^th anniversary and danced the longest on the dance floor. They had the greatest longevity of marriage of all the couples present.

Groom’s sister Emma Chavent made the wedding video accompanied by a great selection of music including Queen. It covered the groom’s childhood all the way to marriage.

The dance floor was busy until the closing. The DJ was accommodating also to requests for slow dancing music.

So Mr. & Mrs. Palova danced the night away under the bright stars.

Welcome Mrs. Palova to the family.