Die Deutsche Hochzeit

Observations of German Weddings (after attending 3):
1. Dry pork instead of dry chicken.
2. Cheesy American music AND cheesy German music (a la '80s pop hits).
3. They Germans are surprisingly into the cheesy....I have now witnessed: the very unPC group-release of a bunch of red heart balloons all with postcards that will hopefully make their way back to the happy couple (alas, they were already sort of deflated by the time we did the release and I don't think any of them made it more than 50 meters away from the church), a dove release, and a wierd thing where the couple were roped out on to the dance floor by their "friends" and made to dance under a star-printed canopy while people stood around them holding paper lanterns, thereby simulating nighttime, which I *think* was supposed to be romantic.
4. The first dance is always a waltz, which they (unlike me) all learned to do in school. But hey, I don't think anyone else can do-si-do (sp?).
5. Apparently it is considered rude to use trays at formal events so banquet waiters, even when serving hundreds of guests must carry two plates at a time. I suggest packing snacks or eating a big meal before going to a German wedding.
6. Another thing that makes the weddings last so long is that they go around an introduce everyone to the rest of the group...nice, I guess, but sort of odd.
7. And my personal favorite: For whatever reason, storks nest on churches in Europe and they have babies in the spring (wedding season), so two of the three weddings featured stork families flying about. Too cute.