"At no time did we ever think of postponing our wedding date," says Vivienne Lützler (née Svoboda) in her long, white, lace-trimmed wedding dress. They had set the date a year ago. "Because we started going out together exactly five years ago on 4^th April 2015," the groom adds. With his light blue suit, waistcoat and silk bow tie, the groom is in perfect harmony with the bright blue sky.

Originally, the couple planned to get married at the palace ‘Kommende Ramersdorf’ and then celebrate with 50 guests. However, the palace had to remain closed due to COVID-19 and the city of Bonn offered the couple the Old Town Hall as an alternative venue. The newlyweds, who have been living in Lengsdorf for two years, were pleased about the stylish alternative offered by the city: "It could have been worse for us." At first the couple were told that they could attend the ceremony with a maximum of eight people, but the number was halved again at short notice and limited to the bridal couple and their two witnesses, Katja Zenzen and Moritz Möhler. "We had resigned ourselves to the fact that the four of us would go to Lengsdorf after the wedding ceremony and eat sushi together at our place", says Vivienne Lützler.

But as soon as they left the Old Town Hall - on whose grand staircase many crowned heads have enjoyed the view of the market square - the newlyweds were greeted by their parents, who cheered them with balloons and champagne. When they were told that they should go to the Hofgarten together and the groom's suggestion to walk there was rejected, it dawned on the couple that something unexpected might happen. And so they started on a journey through Bonn with many surprises - all of course with the necessary distance observed.

One stop was the romantic setting of the Poppelsdorf castle. Here the newlyweds were welcomed by Patrick's friends from his hometown Bockeroth near Königswinter. The brothers Bastian and Lukas Willcke were waiting for them with a huge heart painted on a white cloth. The Willcke brothers asked the couple to cut out the heart with tiny nail scissors. The husband was then given the opportunity to symbolically carry his new wife through the heart into happy married life. Songs were sung for the couple and games were played. The crowning moment: Vivienne's sister Jaqueline and her partner surprised the bridal couple in their apartment with a wedding cake, which they cut together - instead of the planned sushi - and enjoyed with the family.

The couple confess that the way they met was not very romantic - they used a dating app. But the marriage proposal in the vineyards of Oberdollendorf two years ago was an extremely romantic experience for Vivienne, who works at the youth welfare office in Troisdorf, and Patrick, who works at the employment office in Duisdorf. Their parents and friends only learned of the engagement when the couple returned from a Mediterranean cruise shortly afterwards. At that time, they had been living together for two years in an apartment in Duisdorf, which they then exchanged for a larger one in Lengsdorf. "We have an extra bedroom there," reveal the young couple, who now have to forego their honeymoon in Egypt. But instead of the trip they are both looking forward to a week's holiday together at home: “we’ll just put up feet up and relax."

(Original text: Stefan Hermes, Translation: Caroline Kusch)