Björn and Petra’s Star Wars Wedding

Want to make Star Wars as a part of your special day or party? Here’s how one of our members did it.

From: Björn “Blarth” , Alpine Outpost Austria
Mission: Wedding
Mission status: successful
Mission Date: 2013/02/28

Months had passed since the announcement of this mission, but the night before was not very receptive. I had done honor service before, guard duty, served in the front line, but no battle I ever faced made me this nervous. Same applied to my dear princess Petra. Nevertheless, nothing could have kept us from fulfilling our destiny that day.

0730 – first duty of the day: Cleaning up the barracks to clear out the head
0830 – preparing wedding dress and accessories
0900 – preparing Armor for ceremony
0930 – preparing Uniform for post-ceremonial celebration
1000 – standby for coordinating guests & helpers via comlink
1100 – arrival of dear-to-me-like-a-brother Jedi Master Maurer, who served as my best man. Together we tried to calm down bride and groom. His main advice to me was: “Just follow the girl in the white dress, and when somebody asks you something, say ‘yes, I will’, then everything will be alright.”
1200 – putting on ceremonial attire and arrival of the bride’s attendant, the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader himself (aka the Austrian Garrison’s CO Manuel). Having parked his TIE in a nearby hangar, he put on his shiniest armor and a brand new cape before we left for the civil registry office.
1300 – On our way to the office, we must have been quite a sight, judging by the looks of passersby. One could actually have thought that they’d never seen a princess in a ceremonial gown, accompanied by a Sith Lord, a Jedi and a Clone Trooper before.
1330 – We were very happy to find Jedi Master Andrea, Petra’s maid of honor, already waiting. Republic bureaucracy, though, is a chapter of its own. Although we were asked to be there at least 30 minutes before the wedding, the officer in charge had “never heard of that before” and would “surely not unlock the door earlier than 20 minutes before the ceremony”. I tell you, if we lose this war, it won’t be due to the Separatists, it will be due to the bureaucrats. So we waited, nervousness blocking out the cold. Well, Petra’s cloak and my undersuit did their part, too. As did all who had chosen to accompany us on our great day: family, friends from Vienna’s Star Wars dinner, comrades from the 501st’s Austrian Garrison, and even an attendee of the Galactic Academy.
1400 – Finally, the doors opened and we could occupy a warmer location. Petra and I, with our Jedi witnesses, headed to the office for ID confirmation. I don’t know about the others, but our hands were shaking. Minutes seemed to stretch like hours, and when we finally got our last instructions on the ceremony from another official, I felt the excitement rise yet more.
1430 – The doors to the ceremonial room finally opened, the robed marriage registrar waiting behind his desk. Cameras clicking, we entered the room and took our places, Lord Vader guiding princess Petra to my side. Being in the center of such a ceremony is, I discovered, much harder than just attending one. My heart was beating so fast that I was afraid it could burst through my armor. I looked at Petra, and she gave me a loving smile, and Master Maurer nudged me encouragingly. When the registrar asked us to sit down, I needed a moment to find the nerve and apologize that this was not possible due to armor specifications.
The ceremony itself was almost mandalorian style short, and sooner than I had expected I was to answer the most important question of my life. Actually I had planned to say something like “yes, I will, from the bottom of my heart”, but instead, I just said “yes”, and only one moment later, I heard my dearest say the same. Funny thing: Afterwards, in the evening, she told me that she had actually wanted to say “yes, I will, and may the force be with us all”, but couldn’t. A kiss, a signature, and we were finally declared husband and wife – well, maybe not in that exact order. I was so happy, all through the following photos and congratulations I could not wipe the grin off my face.

1500 – While most of the guests followed the bride to the restaurant where the dinner would be served, Master Maurer and I, and a few of the guests went home first to put on a more comfortable attire.
1600 – When we met again in the restaurant after some traffic related delay, almost everyone wore civilian clothes or off-duty uniform. Again there were congratulations and hugs from all sides, accompanied by a glass of champagne or two. This way, we were at least kept occupied, because “Darth Maul” Umberto and his lovely wife Michaela did not allow us even a glance at the wedding cake that was being arranged. Judging by the warning look in his eyes, I was happy that he didn’t have the club from my bachelor party with him. When it was finally revealed, we were delighted, to say the least – we had never seen a more awesome cake. But like the Jedi, we had to be patient, there was a whole delicious menu waiting for us.
For the following hours we ate, drank, talked and laughed, Manuel even held a little speech before he gave us our own little Death Star.
2000 – Finally it was time to cut the wedding cake. I confess, I was already full by the time, but which clone could withstand such a sweet surprise? And I was not the only one: At the end of the evening, although it had not been easy, we had nothing left of (in total) seven cakes and a whole lot of Yoda- and Vader-muffins. The force bless our guests for taking so much with them, and thanks also to the the other restaurant guests who helped eliminating these delicacies! We could never have eaten that all on our own!
We continued having a good time (it would be too much to call it a party) until approximately 2300. By then, most guests had already gone home, leaving only a hard core behind. After all, it was a Thursday, and on Friday duty awaited. Petra and I too welcomed the opportunity to return home. We were both a little exhausted, now that the excitement had ebbed down. After all, even after 16 wonderful years, this was the most important day in our life.

Congratulations Björn and Petra!