Sponsored by
Honeymoon for the twin towns
The close link between twin towns has been strengthened by an Anglo-German wedding.
Biggleswade man Carl Milton and long-term sweetheart Julia Wurm, of Erlensee in Germany are now husband and wife.
The two towns have been officially linked for more than a decade and celebrated the wedding of Carl, 27, and Julia, 29 in August.
Former Stratton Upper School student Carl – who first met Julia when he was a teenager – married his girlfriend of more than eight years in two ceremonies in the German town.
He said: “In Germany the church and councils are totally independent of each other when it comes to weddings, so if you have a church wedding you need to have one with a local registrar as well.
“It was good for us though as it meant we could effectively get married twice and invite a lot more people!”
The couple – who lived in Erlensee for eight years but moved to Biggleswade earlier this year – were congratulated by town mayor Stefan Erb and presented with gifts.
In a curious coincidence they were also married by Julia’s aunt Britta, who works as a registrar in the town, located some 18 miles from Frankfurt.
Julia, who now works for a healthcare company said: “The council were delighted and very generous.
“They presented us with a box of sparkling wine with glasses, with Stadt Erlensee, the name of the council on the top.”
The couple, who live in Prospect Place, were first introduced when Carl visited Erlensee with a group of other youngsters almost a decade ago.
He said: “The twinning link was quite new then. I was chairman of the 3 Style Association which set up the skatepark in Biggleswade and the town council arranged for a group of us to visit Erlensee as a reward for using our initiative to launch the skatepark.
“I met Julia on that trip but we didn’t actually become a couple until a little while later – after I had been on a few more visits.”
The relationship developed and the couple soon had to decide which town they wanted to live in.
Julia said: “I had visited Biggleswade quite a lot but I was doing an apprenticeship at the time which I really wanted to finish, so we decided that we would live in Erlensee.”
The couple quickly settled and Carl started a job at a company which imports American cars to Germany for members of the US military to buy.
He said: “It was enjoyable work and there was a good market as there are a number of American military bases in Germany, but towards the end I slipped a disc in my back.
“I was self-employed so I had some fairly hefty medical bills to pay, and my back had become quite painful.
“By that point I was quite keen to return home anyway so it seemed like a good time to do so.”
Carl now works at a firm which makes and programmes cinema projector equipment, and the couple have made a smooth transition from living in Erlensee to life in Biggleswade.
The only decision they have to make now is where they will live in the long run – and where they might start a family.
Julia said: “I like Biggleswade very much – the town is a bit larger that Erlensee but it is similar in many ways.
“We are enjoying life here but we will have to see where we will be living in the future.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Biggleswade
Friday 24 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 4 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 29 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 6 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North
