Recap | My nephew’s first communion

Just a heads up, this post will be photo-heavy.

Just like I did two years ago  for my niece’s communion, I planned my visit back home this year, so that I could attend my nephew’s first communion. It’s one of these once-in-a-lifetime events for which I had to try and be there. I miss out on too many events as it is.

We had an amazing day that started at 9 a.m. and went late into the night. Germans know how to party, is all I am saying. If there is something big to celebrate, we make it an all-day event.

First thing in the morning, we headed over to the local church for the church service. When Greta had her first communion two years ago, multiple congregations had to share one pastor and the service was held in one of the bigger churches in the city. It was crowded and we couldn’t really see or follow what was going on at the altar.

Luckily for Tom’s communion, the service was held at a much smaller, neighborhood-church which meant that less first communion goers and less people overall were in attendance, which in turn made for a much more pleasant ceremony.

After the service, our family (and friends) gathered in front of the church for some pictures and then we headed over to my sister’s place for a reception.

My aunt, my uncle, and cousin.

My aunt and cousin.

My cousin and his girlfriend. 

My  aunt and uncle.

My Mom and I.

My cousin, my sister, and my cousin’s girlfriend.  

Lunch was catered from our favorite Italian restaurant in town, Alla Scala. 

… but my sister made the beef bouillon herself. Including bone marrow dumplings and custard royale (I had to google that and hope it’s the right translation).  She used my great-aunt’s recipe and so it felt like she was there somehow.  

Lunch seamlessly morphed into afternoon “Kaffee und Kuchen”  (coffee and cake). The cakes were homemade by different people and one was more delicious than the next. I almost tried them all. 

We were super-lucky with the weather, as it had been raining a lot during my visit, but the day of the communion was dry and the sun came out a few times! All the kids were able to play in the backyard for most of the day and as you can see  from the pictures, we had to squint quite a bit. 

Father and son.

Just as for Greta’s communion, the dinner buffet was prepared mostly by my parents: a variety of pickled antipasti, salads, pickled salmon, turkey and pork, bread and herb butter. Delicious!

My sister’s beautiful family.

#proudaunt

My parents and my nephew. 

Tom and his two godfathers.

Germans know how to party and we preferably use any occasion to make a whole  day out  of  it. The celebration  went late into the night.

Haha. Not sure what’s going on here.

Sisters. ♥

It was a wonderful day and I am so grateful that I was able to be there and spend precious time with most of my extended family.