We were married on a Friday morning. Afternoon weddings cost an extra 80 euros, and we decided we’d rather spend the cash on decadence than extra sleep. Raised on fairy tales and Hollywood romantic comedies, German wedding regulations came as something of a surprise. All the paperwork, signatures, and officially stamped forms that we were asked to trade for a wedding date. Proof that we were both single. Proof that we both lived at the addresses that we said we did. Proof that we were who we said we were. They never mentioned any of this in Cinderella…

The true meaning of marriage: paperwork!