Elisabeth and Mathias had their dream wedding: - We felt like celebrities

Elisabeth Mong Eide smiles from the sofa at Grand Hotell Egersund. On 28 May 2022, she and Mathias said yes to each other in the park in Egersund. Afterwards, they made the short walk to the hotel in the heart of the city. There, everything was ready.

Thinking practically

- "An outdoor wedding was a risk in our climate, but we had a plan B, which was to have the ceremony inside the hotel," says the couple.

But with glorious sunshine and fine weather, plan A was long enough on this fine May day.

Actually, Elisabeth had envisioned a romantic outdoor wedding in a garden.

- But when it came down to it, and with three kids, we had to think practically," she says with a laugh.

The youngest was just one year old when his parents became Mr and Mrs. The eldest was five and eight years old. All three attended the wedding ceremony, but the party was for adults only.

 

- "Shall we just do it?" asked Mathias with a ring in his hand on a rainy day at Eigerøy lighthouse.

 

Three years later and one child richer, Elisabeth and Mathias finally had their dream day. 

 

 

- Should we just do it?

Elisabeth and Mathias had been a couple for nine years when he surprised Elisabeth with what she describes as a proposal in hermetic letters, to the cautious protests of her husband.

- We were on a trip to the Eigerøy lighthouse and I was looking through the binoculars that never work and he was just standing there with a ring. I think you said something like: “Shall we just do it?”

Elisabeth laughs. She explains that she had realised that something was going on.

- "But it was a proposal," the husband interjects to get rid of the umlauts.

The calendar then rested on 2019 and the two decided on the date 29 August 2020. The wedding dress was bought and invitations sent. But what no-one had predicted would happen happened, Norway became corona-restricted and the wedding had to be postponed.

- Excited to see if the dress fit

The following year, the soon-to-be married couple asked family and friends to set a date in June, but the pandemic still made it difficult to plan a big celebration. In addition, Elisabeth became pregnant and the wedding was once again postponed.

But in May 2022, everything was in place for the big day.

- "We'd been looking forward to it for a long time, and it was exciting to see if the dress would fit after pregnancy and childbirth," says Elisabeth.

Both Elisabeth and Mathias are from Egersund and wanted to have their wedding here.

- "We had good experiences as wedding guests at the Grand Hotel and thought it was a very nice venue," says Mathias about why the wedding party was held here.

- And with three kids and a busy schedule, we realised that it was great to have someone who could just arrange everything for us," says Elisabeth.

That's why the couple contacted Iselin Grøsfjeld Skogen at Grand Hotel. Together they agreed on how the wedding party should be organised.

The couple chose the colours of the flowers, napkins and candles, got to taste the food and choose their favourite wines together with their best men.

- "We have a wedding package as a starting point, but all wedding celebrations are customised and exactly what the couple wants," says Iselin about the process.

Marthias and Elisabeth wanted round tables for 79 guests and needed access to some technical equipment. The hotel took care of the table decorations.

- But we stopped by the day before to have a look," says Mathias.

- Felt like celebrities

On the day itself, the newlyweds felt relaxed the moment they walked in the door of the hotel.

- Everything just happened. We got to the set table and everything was ready. What was so nice was that it was the same people we dealt with all the way. It was very easy and it was so nice that Iselin welcomed us when we arrived. It felt so safe and nice," says Elisabeth, who also appreciated that the hotel took care of the entire dialogue with the toastmaster about the schedule for the evening.

- We could simply lower our shoulders, relax and enjoy ourselves," she adds.

The couple had several travelling guests. Naturally, they were given rooms at the hotel. So did the newlyweds, who got to choose the room they liked best.

- "I feel like the people who work at the hotel really wanted us to shine. We felt like celebrities," she says, smiling at her husband who laughs a little at the description, but doesn't disagree.

- It was an incredibly nice day. Everything was top-notch. We would do it again, in exactly the same way," says the couple.

They are happy that they chose not to organise everything themselves.

- "If we'd rented a venue and figured out and organised everything ourselves - that would probably have cost us too," she says.

- The bride and groom take centre stage

Iselin Grøsfjeld Skogen is conference and event manager at Grand Hotell. She also slips smoothly into the role of wedding planner when needed, and it's easy to see that she thrives in the role.

For Iselin, it's important that the bride and groom really feel cared for and that they are at the centre of the day.

- With us, they get full package. We fix everything, but of course in the way the bride and groom want. As I said, what we do is customised," says Iselin.

The hotel has its own wedding menu to choose from, but anything is possible.

- "The bride and groom should get exactly what they want. If they want a different menu, we'll make it happen," she says.

The hotel has an agreement with a florist. All the bride and groom have to do is make their wishes known, whether it's specific flowers or just colours.

- We want the bride and groom to put their shoulders down. When they walk through our doors, they should know that everything is in place.

The hotel sets the table and decorates according to the bride and groom's wishes, whether it's a long table, round table or both. Everything is ready the day before the party.

- Planning is part of the package

- In a way, I'm like a wedding planner, but with us the planning is part of the package," says Iselin, emphasising that quality at all levels is important to the hotel, whether it's the food, decorations, equipment, staff or service.

- "We're all very keen for our customers to be at the centre of everything we do, and we always go the extra mile for weddings. Nothing is left to chance here and when the bride and groom walk through the door, everything must be ready," she says.

For those who want a church wedding, it's a short journey. Egersund church is just a stroll away and with the hotel on board, it really is a short-distance wedding in every way.

If the weather is fine, the reception can be held on the hotel's own roof terrace.

Rogaland's oldest

Founded in 1878 as Hotel Jæderen, Grand Hotel is Rogaland's oldest hotel still in operation.

Grand Hotell Egersund is spread across 10 different buildings, and it's easy to be charmed on a tour of the hotel corridors.

Sitting here historian both in and on the walls, whether it's old timber walls that come into view, an old sailing map or a black and white picture from earlier hotel times.

- In fact, the old sailing charts were used as a vapour barrier when the building was built," says Iselin.

Both she and the rest of the hotel staff are keen to tell the story of the unique Egersund hotel.

Protected and unique

The hotel has 101 unique hotel rooms, restaurant, wine and cocktail bar, wine cellar and a first-class kitchen. All the buildings that make up the hotel are part of the listed wooden buildings from the 1850s in the centre of Egersund.

Hotel Jæderen was totally destroyed by fire in 1896. The owner took the opportunity to rebuild the building in a way that was more suited to hotel operations, and by the time it reopened in 1897 the hotel had also been renamed: Grand Hotel.

Grand Hotell Egersund has been expanded and remodelled several times. Most recently in 2019, when the ground floor of Storgaten 12 was converted into what is now Eigra Kitchen & Bar, a meeting place as much as an eatery, both for hotel guests and Egersund residents.