If rain on your wedding day means good luck and children, Count Clemens von Moÿ de Sons and Duchess Katharina von Oldenburg certainly will have all of that. Their wedding on Saturday, 13 July 2024, was not the most sunny and dry day of the year, but there was enough rain. The couple got married in the St. Ulrichs Kirche in Rastede, just north of the city of Oldenburg, Germany. Even most people in Rastede were surprised about it. The couple – he is a Catholic, she is evangelical – was married by Pastor Friedrich Henoch together with Johannes Huber, a priest from Bavaria. The bride wore a lovely dress, as well as an old and heavy train with gold embroidery, as well as an old lace veil.
In front of the church, members of the Showband Rastede performed a musical surprise based on “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” by Elton John and George Michael. They accompanied the bridal couple and their guests to the castle also and there performed the Oldenburg-Lied.
Both the church and the mews were decorated with flowers in the Oldenburg colours red and blue. The facade of Rastede Castle, a summer residence of the Oldenburg family and occasionally still in use, was decorated with pink hydrangea and blush coloured roses. The floral arrangement was by Blumen Diers.
As witnesses bride and groom had chosen Victor Bergmann, Hereditary Prince Paul Anton von Esterházy de Galántha, Alexander Koepnick, Alix Lunau, Freiin Franziska von Oppenheim, Count Georg zu Rantzau, Ottonie von Saldern, Philippa Spieth and Countess Isabelle Schenk von Stauffenberg. Among the nine flower children were the Duchesses Katharina, Eilika Josefa and Elisabeth von Oldenburg.
There were around 200 wedding guests, including members of the families Croÿ, Isenburg, Leiningen, Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg, Neipperg, Oettingen-Wallerstein, Ortenburg, Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Schenk von Stauffenberg, Waldburg-Wolfegg-Waldsee, Waldburg-Zeil-Hohenems, Waldburg-Zeil-Trauchburg, Waldeck-Pyrmont.
Count Clemens von Moÿ de Sons was born in 1985 as the youngest son of Count Guy von Moÿ de Sons and Verena von Stein-Lausnitz. Duchess Katharina of Oldenburg was born in 1997 as the youngest child of Duke Christian von Oldenburg and Countess Caroline zu Rantzau. He did propose to her on one of the probably most romantic days of the year, Christmas Day.
I would have loved to go to Rastede to the wedding, if I had known. It is close enough for a day trip. Luckily a friend of mine – who has reasons to keep things quiet – knew about it and sent me pictures afterwards. As usual the photos are copyrighted.
Links to other reports:
