our going-away party

we're moving away in a couple weeks, so last night we had lots of friends over to celebrate our farewell. it was exactly as wonderful as we wanted: friends from multiple different contexts mingling together until the wee hours of the morn. 

most of our friends in berlin are twitter- or twitter-adjacent friends, but we also have friends from church and friends from my modeling escapades. until now, they've never really mixed. it was an absolute delight to introduce them to each other and later observe how they continued on independent conversations, finding new connections and enjoying the night. 

this was the second "house party" we've thrown, the first being our halloween party last year, which was also a raging success. one hit from the halloween party was showing movie clips of people's costumes on our projector, so if someone dressed as an obscure character, they could point at the relevant clip and explain their costume. 

we decided to modify that for this party too, and i put together a folder of photos of our memories in berlin, attempting to include one with every person who planned to attend, and played them as a slideshow on the projector throughout the party. it worked as intended, sparking conversation about the various memories, which helped us reconnect as we reminisced, and connect anew as new friends told stories of the memories to each other. 

i had intended to include another hit from the halloween party, our photobooth, but ran out of time and didn't feel like asking early guests to help set it up. this was fine from a vibe-perspective (it was nice having every in the same half of the apartment, scattered through the living room, balcony, hallway, and kitchen), but my only regret is that without the photobooth to remind us, we forgot to take photos with the friends who came! i took exactly one photo and one video during the party, which is certainly better than nothing, but it would have been great to have better photos of everyone too. we didn't even get a photo of my fiancé and i, looking quite lovely i might add! 

friends who hadn't seen our apartment before questioned, with mouths agape, why we would ever leave it. indeed, if we could pack it up in a giant box and move it to sweden with us, we would in a heartbeat! i'll miss the bright, towering windows, the impossibly spacious ceilings, and the cozy layout we put our hearts into. we hope we can pass it on the friends, if the giant landlord accepts our pleas. 

it was hard to see everyone together finally, knowing the very purpose of the gathering was to say goodbye. i couldn't believe how many kind, curious friends we had brought into our lives and our home in just one year of living here together. 

setting up for the party