Look into my eyes - you will see
What you mean to me
Search your heart - search your soul
And when you find me there you'll search no more

Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for
You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for
You know it's true
Everything I do - I do it for you

Look into your heart - you will find
There's nothin' there to hide
Take me as I am - take my life
I would give it all - I would sacrifice

Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for
I can't help it - there's nothin' I want more
Ya know it's true
Everything I do - I do it for you

There's no love - like your love
And no other - could give more love
There's nowhere - unless you're there
All the time - all the way yeah

(background quote)
To your heart baby

Oh - you can't tell me it's not worth tryin' for
I can't help it - there's nothin' I want more
Ya I would fight for you - I'd lie for you
Walk the wire for you - ya I'd die for you

Ya know it's true
Everything I do - oooww - I do it for you

…. Bryan Adams Everything I Do (I Do For You)

Sat., May 18, 2013 - the ‘Town Church' …

About a half hour prior to the ceremony, two limousines pulled up and both bridal parties entered the church's ‘South Door' entrance. Once in the church the parents joined the rest of the wedding party and everyone was directed to a room to await Reverend Gotthard.

Maddy, her parents and her bridal party were eventually escorted by the minister through back halls to reach a room directly opposite to Gaby's bridal party, at the back of the church. The plan was to have each bridal party enter from the opposite side of the church, when it came their time to walk up the center aisle.

As the invited guests began to walk across the town square and filter through the main doors of the ‘Town Church', the people that shared the town square that day sensed a wedding was about to occur but also noticed things were a bit unusual.

In Bad Neuenahr, a town that was home to a pro cycling team, a few nationally recognized faces on the town streets was not unusual. What was unusual was the number of well-known faces that crossed the square and entered the church. Once inside the church the guest's were instructed to fill in the seats, but to sit wherever as the seating plan was unstructured

At the appointed time, Reverend Gotthard left the girls at the back of the church and after walking up the center aisle, took up her position in front of the invited guests. As she held her prayer book against her chest, she addressed the assembled friends.

“guter Nachmittag, Damen und Herren … er … sorry… Good afternoon, ladies und gentlemen”,

“Before we begin, I'd like to take a few moments to explain what you're about to witness. In talking to both girls I think I've come to know them fairly well … well … certainly well enough I think to understand the sentiment behind their requests for changes to the standard ceremony. I feel it's fair to say, with all the thought they've put into this, they've effectively re-written the marriage ceremony - truly making it their own.”

The minister briefly paused before continuing, “The girls have informed me that everyone here either speaks English or is reasonably fluent in the language and since not all speak German, the majority of the ceremony will be conducted in English. However, even though both girls are fluent in German, whenever I ask the same question to both, out of respect for their new lives in Germany und the invited guests, both girls have decided that Maddy will respond in English, while Gaby will respond in German.”

Following another brief pause, she continued to explain the changes the girls requested.

“You'll notice that there is no ‘groom figure' standing here before me. Instead, there will be two bridal parties, separately walking down the aisle with each bride escorted by both her parents.”

“Also, instead of the traditional Wedding March, the girls have elected to both walk down the aisle to a single selection of recorded music by Bryan Adams, entitled “Everything I do (I Do for You)”. I'm told the piece has great sentimental significance for the girls und after listening to it last night during rehearsal, I can't think of a more appropriate piece.”

She added, “I invite everyone gathered here to pay close attention to the lyrics as the girls walk up the aisle … I think it says it all about their love for each other.”

“Perhaps the most striking change requested by the girls, is what will occur once both bridal parties reach the front. While the music is still playing in the background, they will have one last symbolic kiss. It will be the final one between Fräulein Madeline Peters und Fräulein Gabrielle Bond.”

Pausing to look over the faces of the guests, she continued, “Although the bridal parties will carry small traditional bouquets of wild flowers, each bride will only carry a representation of herself in the form of single silk rose. The symbolism of the rose will be made evident as the ceremony unfolds.”

Reverend Gotthard finished her explanation of the changes with, “Finally, the girls have combined their thoughts and written their own vows. Maddy will say her vows in English und Gaby will repeat them in German.”

Shortly after she concluded her pre-ceremony statement, the piano intro to the Bryan Adam's tune began and all eyes turned to the back of the church.

As the lyrics of the first verse started, Mfawny, holding her bouquet in front of her, slowly started up the aisle walking in time to the music. With each girl separated by a few paces, she was soon followed in turn by Nina, Judith, Kristen, and then Jules. Finally, Gaby made her appearance, slowly walking up the aisle, holding her rose in both hands and escorted by Jenny on her left, and Dave on her right. As she walked past the guests, Gaby looked into their faces and tried very hard not to get emotional. Steady on, girl - now's definitely not the time to cry!

Upon reaching the front, the girls turned to their right and walked to their places. Almost as soon as Gaby arrived; Jules, who noticed Gaby was a bit on the nervous ‘side of the fence', engaged her in small talk in an attempt to relax her. At least she got Gaby to smile.

Aware that Maddy's bridal party had begun their walk up the aisle, every one in Gaby's party turned to look towards the rear of the church. Like everyone else, they wanted to catch that first glimpse of Maddy, walking down the aisle.

Even though both girls had already seen each other, Gaby started to tear up when she caught sight of Maddy walking up the aisle. This is actually happening … after everything that's happened to us …we're finally doing it ... we're really getting married! …Maddy ... my Maddy …

As Gaby watched Maddy, the site of Ally leading Maddy's bridal party made Gab's thought's turn ever so briefly to the extent of their planning. Even during their own wedding, the girls took on the role of matchmaker and ensured that the positions given Em and Ally in the bridal parties would see the two paired up as they exited the church. Also, from the positions they had their parents take when escorting them down the aisle, the girls ensured that their mothers would be standing next to each other at the front.

After Maddy reached the front and stood opposite Gaby, a few words were exchanged between the minister and the couple before they each turned to hand their rose to their respective ‘Maid of Honour'.

Turning back to face each other, Maddy embraced Gaby and tenderly, but far from symbolically, kissed her on the lips. As it was the ‘last kiss', Maddy decided she simply had to make the best of it. Not that it was excessively prolonged, but it was somewhat ‘more passionate' than the minister expected from the rehearsal and it was plain to those near-by that Gaby didn't mind one bit!

Kat couldn't help but notice that Jules was trying very hard to keep a straight face through all this, all the while maintaining a dignified-like composure. However, looking across at Jules and then at the two girls, Kat found that she too had to fight to keep her composure. Even the minister and the parents, saw the humour in the turn of events. At one point, Jules was about ready to discreetly remind the girls to surface for air. However, before she was forced to make that decision the pair broke the kiss and they continued with the ceremony as if nothing unplanned happened.

The girls each turned to their Maid of Honour to retrieve their rose and then turned back to face the minister. As both Maddy and Gaby were silently offered the open prayer book by the minister, each lightly kissed her rose and placed it like a bookmarker, in the book. The two girls then faced each other, reached out and joined hands.

At that point, the minister then spoke, saying “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Fräulein Madeline Elizabeth Peters und Fräulein Gabrielle Drew Bond, in holy marriage.”

She briefly paused, then followed with the declaration, “If any one here can show just cause why these two should not be joined, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

In an effort to be absolutely clear, she immediately followed it with its German equivalent, “ Wenn irgendein gerechter Ursache zeigen kann, warum hier diese zwei nicht verbunden werden sollten, sprechen Sie jetzt oder halten Sie für immer Ihren Frieden .“

Reverend Gotthard paused and upon hearing silence, she let out an almost inaudible “sehr gut”, then turned towards Maddy and her parents, asking, “Who gives this bride away?”

Both Carol and John replied, “We do” and the minister nodded for them to be seated.

She then turned to Gaby and her parents, asking the same question; “Wer gibt diese Braut weg?”

Jenny and Dave simply replied, “Wir” and they were also motioned to sit down.

After the parents were seated, the minister said a few words about marriage then looking at the guests, announced; “Madeline und Gabrielle have decided to express their true feelings, in the writing of their own vows … Madeline … “

While Maddy said her vows, the minister offered the prayer book to Kat, who then placed Gaby's ring on top of the two rose stems. As Maddy completed her ‘vows', she took the offered ring and placed it on Gaby's finger. Reverend Gotthard then turned to Gaby and upon hearing her name, Gaby repeated the vows with Jules producing Maddy's ring.

After Gaby completed her vows and placed the ring on Maddy's finger, both girls stepped to the alter behind the minister. With each girl using a small candle, together they lit a larger ‘Wedding Candle' and then following the candle lighting, returned to their positions at the front.

Silently the minister offered in turn, the opened prayer book to Maddy and Gaby, allowing them to remove a rose. Maddy then offered up her rose to Gaby who held the two flowers side-by-side and twisted the stems together, thereby interlocking both roses.

Gaby shifted her gaze directly to Maddy's eyes and holding the twisted roses in her right hand, reached across with her left hand and gently grasped Maddy's left hand.

With a gentle squeeze to Maddy's hand, Gaby clearly stated, “Just as these roses are now joined … so are our hearts … our souls … our love”. Gaby then lightly kissed both roses and passed them to Maddy.

The minister blessed the couple, then announced “With the authority bestowed upon me by the church, I now pronounce you married. You may both kiss the bride” - at which point, they did.

The newlyweds and their Maids of Honour then retired to one side of the church where a table had been set up for them to sign the registry in full view of the assembled guests.

Following the signing, everyone returned to their positions at the front of the Church. Once back in place, Reverend Gotthard had the happy couple turn, face the guests and following Maddy's suggested phrasing, announced in a mix of English and German,

“Damen und Herren, I'm pleased to publicly present, for the first time, Ms Gabrielle und Frau Madeline Bond”.

Maddy had long since decided in her own mind, that she would take Gaby's last name. Mad suppressed a nervous smirk as she thought to herself how odd it would sound to introduce the three Frau Bond's, at the same function.

With the minister's last announcement, the newlyweds exited down the aisle followed by the combined wedding party; for photos and mingling with the guests outside the church's main entrance that opened onto the town square.

A reception at the luxurious “Steigenberger Bad Neuenahr” followed, but any notion of a ‘honeymoon' would have to wait until the “off season”. Gaby still had races to ride and a ‘World Champion' title to secure.

While the guest list only numbered about eighty, those invited included Caroline, Fran and Jessica, all with their husbands. Other notables included the Grandparents, Josh, Diane, Erin, Britney, Debbie, both Team's Apollinaris, George, Harold (aka Mr. Woods), Sylvia and even a few names from the cycling world, as well as an Apollinaris representative, in the form of the CEO, no less.

Frank and his wife were invited but due to medical reasons, they couldn't make it. However, they sent their regrets and best wishes for the happy couple.

The elder Walters were also invited, but maybe the idea of attending a same-sex wedding, put them off. That of course, wasn't the reason given for their absence, but even though the girls couldn't put their finger on it, something told them differently and the Walter's girls seemed evasive when asked about their parent's absence.

Whatever the reason, Maddy and Gaby chose not to pursue the matter any further. Instead they joined with the other Warsop exchange students and enjoyed the reunion with those able to make the trip from Grottoes.

At the reception, the girls did the ‘normal' things like greet the guests; endure the speeches and the ‘embarrassing' anecdotes. Much to the family's credit, whatever the tale, there was no mention of Drew – only Gaby.

During the dinner, the girls asked the guests to refrain from the ‘tinkling of glasses'. Although left unsaid, they thought that at some point the kissing would eventually include members of the wedding party and they just didn't wish to ‘force' themselves on their friends for the sake of the festivities.

They also didn't really expect the two bridal parties to pair off to join them for the traditional ‘first dance', for the same reason. To be fair, the newlyweds did poll all the girls before hand and asked if they would mind slow dancing with another woman, but the lack of response seemed to indicate the expected “we'd rather not”, so Maddy and Gaby ‘dropped' it.

As “Everything I do (I do it for you)” started to play, the newlyweds walked to the floor for their ‘first dance'.

Unknown to the newlyweds, Jules and Kat had been scheming behind the girl's backs. By the second verse, the entire wedding party appropriately paired off and dancing as close as any other couple would, joined the girls on the dance floor. This didn't go unnoticed by the newlyweds, who expressed their sincere happiness with all the girls following the dance.

This was followed by another slow dance, this time with Maddy and Gaby paired with their respective fathers, only to switch dads, mid-way through the piece. The rest of the time, the girls spent more time mingling with the guests and posing for photos, than on the dance floor.

The newlyweds happily noted that Em and Ally seemed to be paying a lot of attention to each other and dancing a little closer than many of the other couples. Maddy even swore she saw them out in the adjoining garden, bathed in the romantic moonlight and locked in a kiss. At one point during the evening, as Gaby and Maddy watched their childhood friends, they congratulated themselves by giving each other ‘high-fives' … to the discrete amusement of Jules and Sylvia.

When it came time to announce the throwing of the bouquets, both Maddy and Gaby picked up more traditional bridal bouquets for the toss.

Meanwhile at the head table, Jules had just put down a wedding card she read and was preparing to participate in the bouquet toss. As she turned to walk away from the table, Gerhardt, her boyfriend of three years, walked up to her. Jules was totally gobsmacked when he suddenly dropped to one knee and in front of anyone looking at the head table, proposed to her. After her initial shriek, whether Jules intended it or not, she was the centre of attention.

Dave was the first one to move to her ‘aid' but as soon as it became clear what the ‘emergency' was he pulled up short. No one in the room moved until they heard Jules say “Yes”, then all the family, including the newlyweds, went up to the front and congratulated the couple - accompanied by the applause of the other guests.

After things returned to something that resembled normal, the bouquet toss or rather tosses, went ahead without Jules. To those on the sidelines, the crush of young women resembled a cross between the annual sale at Harrods's department store and a rugby scrum. After the dust cleared, it was Kat and Debby that emerged victorious.

Following the newlywed's changing of clothes in their hotel rooms upstairs, more mingling and dancing, the time came for the them to call it a night. Before the girls went back up to their room, Dave reminded all the wedding party of the post-wedding lunch the following day at the ‘elder' Bond's and the last chance to visit some more with the UK and Grottoes guests.

The next morning, Dave and Jenny arrived to pick the newlyweds up, much earlier than agreed. After getting dressed and a quick breakfast, Gaby's parents quickly ushered them into the backseat of the family Volvo. With no reason for the early morning rush being offered, the frowns on the girl's faces showed they were less than amused. They ended up aimlessly driving around in silence for a time while Dave pretended to be lost.

Eventually, he pulled into a drive that turned out to be only a few streets from the ‘elder' Bonds house and parked behind an Audi S8. Saying nothing by way of an explanation, Dave and Jenny just turned in their seats.

“Both of you hold out a hand.” Jenny ordered. The girls did as they were told and without another word, Dave and Jenny dropped a set of keys into each girl's hand.

“What's this?” Maddy finding her voice first, directed her question to no one in particular. Both girls were genuinely surprised.

The girls silently emerged from the backseat of the Volvo both in a proverbial state of shock while Dave and Jenny exited from the front seats of the car, in a more alert state. Jenny took Maddy's hand and led her around to the front of the Volvo where Dave and Gaby were standing.

“You'll need these if you're going to look at your new car and house.” Jenny produced a pocket pack of tissues from her purse. The two girls accepted the offered tissues after they unsuccessfully tried to suppress the tears of joy. Despite the emotion of the moment, they still both managed to tightly hug Dave and Jenny.

“Hey, save some of that for us!” The girls looked up and saw Maddy's parents come out of the house.

After Carol and John joined the four standing by the car, the floodgates opened again as Maddy and Gaby hugged both sets of parents. Once they regained their composure, the girls realised that it was no dream. The Audi was Gaby's ‘team car' and the house the girls saw in front of them, was theirs!

Dave and Jenny explained that when the girls were on the 2012 World Cup tour, they'd decided to take the money set aside over the years for Gaby's education and deposited a down payment on the house as well as purchased some furnishings. John and Carol admitted that they also had a hand in this scheme, as they furnished the master bedroom, living room (lounge) and the formal dinning room.

At some point both sets of parents had even managed to move the girl's belongings into the house and the girls never suspected a thing! Both girls were on the verge of tears, the whole time they toured the house.

Gaby and Maddy followed the parents back in their new car. Once reunited with the rest of the family and still shocked at the totally unexpected wedding present, the girls had a grand visit with the extended family.

Besides all the grandparents and the wedding party, the assembled lunch guests included Harold (Woods), Josh, Sylvia, Fran and Bryan, Caro and Greg, as well as the entire Grottoes crowd – Brit, Debby, Erin, Diane, Jessica and her husband, Robert. To say Dave and Jenny had a full house was a bit of an understatement.

Of course, Jules and Gerhardt rightfully shared the spotlight. It was hard to tell who was more excited for them, the newlyweds or mum and dad. Now Dave and Jenny have another wedding to look forward to and the sobering prospect of ‘an empty nest' ... an' dare they think it(?) …. Grandkids?????

From the beginning of the 2013 World Cup Tour, Gaby's aggressive style of riding convincingly put her in the standings as 1 st overall. Following the short break in the schedule, the team resumed the ‘Tour'. That July, Maddy, Gaby and the rest of the team headed to France for the prestigious “Tour de Féminine” and Gaby's second real try at the ‘yellow'.

It was during their travel preparations that Gaby conceded to Maddy's insistence that she should get a full-time job to help out, despite Gaby's income. Thus Maddy eventually applied for some of the positions applicable to her degree, which were available in a couple of the local hospitals - including the large teaching hospital in Bonn. After all, they still had to pay off the house despite the generous down payment Gaby's parents managed and Maddy wasn't about to let her Gaby shoulder that responsibility by herself.

During the Tour de Féminine, Gaby not only dominated the field as an individual but also played a big role in leading Team Apollinaris to an overall 2 nd place standing. Kirsten took the green jersey and as icing on the cake, she also won the sprint on the final stage.

Even though Gaby didn't win the final stage, she took the polka-dot jersey as ‘Queen of the Hill'. In addition, she easily took the yellow jersey as the race leader, with her overall point total that she accumulated on all five stages of the Tour de Féminine. The victory gave her the title she fought so hard for; not only for herself but also for her mum – the ‘2013 Women's pro cycling World Champion'!

It was during the podium ceremony for the yellow jersey that Gaby, in front of the crowd and gathered international news media, simply ‘lost it'.

She was ok when Maddy came out on stage to join her. However when Jenny, who Gaby thought was still in Germany, walked out on the stage seconds after Maddy and slipped the prestigious yellow jersey on her daughter, Gaby broke down. Maddy went behind her wife, to fasten the jersey's back closure. As they posed for the mandatory photos, emotion overcame all three women. The camera shutters went off at a furious pace!

During a later press conference, both Jenny and Maddy joined Gaby. Once they were seated at the front, George quickly brought the room to order and then let the media ask their questions. The general mood of the affair was relaxed as Gaby and occasionally Jenny, fielded several questions with ease and confidence.

One reporter, lacking in sensitivity and obviously more interested in the fact Maddy and Gaby walked into the room holding hands, nodded towards Maddy and bluntly asked, “Gaby … is Maddy your girlfriend?”

While not a question they wanted to hear, it was one they knew would be eventually asked. They knew that once the tabloids even suspected the two were lesbians, they both would be hounded until they admitted it.

By admitting it outright, the girls reasoned they would remove any ‘justification' the media thought it had for the story and it would go away – ‘take the wind out of their sails', so to speak. With Gaby in the limelight either from her own accomplishments or by virtue of being Jenny's daughter, both girls felt this had to be dealt with quickly. Besides, Maddy would also be just as vulnerable to the tabloids and Gaby didn't want to allow that to happen.

Maddy looked at Gaby, gently squeezed Gab's hand and nodded her agreement. As Gaby turned to face the reporters once again, she glared at the reporter and sarcastically stated, “What are you doing covering a sporting event? … Looking for some juicy celeb gossip, are we? “

Then without giving the reporter a chance to answer, she continued in a tone that conveyed her displeasure. “To answer your question … is Maddy my girlfriend? …No … We're legally married. That's the last question we'll answer on that subject … any more questions?”

Maddy slipped her hand on top of Gaby's and looked at her. The room understandably went silent with Gaby's candid, abrupt and totally unexpected answer.

One of the other reporters finally broke the silence and asked, “You were all pretty emotional on the podium. Can each of you describe what you were feeling?”

“What-ever happens to me in the future as a pro cyclist … nothing will or can mean more to me than when Mum walked out on that stage and put the yellow jersey on me. It's one thing to be awarded a yellow jersey from a cycling legend, but when that legend is also your Mum … I really can't put it into words what I felt, except to say it was literally a dream come true.”

Taking hold of Maddy's hand, Gaby continued. “ To be able to share this moment with both my Mum an' m … ”. As Gaby choked back the tears, Maddy pulled Gaby close and comforted her.

Glaring at the reporter who seemed more interested in ‘celebrity gossip' than sports, Jenny quickly spoke up, her voice fraught with a combination of anger and pride.

“I'm very proud of everything … everything … both my daughters have done in their lives, but today is one of the special days that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I've always said Gaby will be better at the sport than I was and I take great pride in watching her prove I was right!”

The tone of Jenny's answer and the underlying message she put into her reply with her strong emphasis on the word ‘everything' was not lost to the offending reporter, who quickly broke eye contact and sheepishly focused on the note pad he held in his hands. Gaby turned to give her mum a hug then turned back to face the reporters. Again, all one could hear was the sound of camera shutters.

As Gaby turned to look at her, Maddy spoke up; “I'm very proud of Gaby and what she's accomplished ... I'm also extremely happy I could be here to share this moment with her.”

Gaby and Maddy rose from their chairs and embraced each other. Then as if to leave no doubt about the two of them, Gaby gave Maddy a tender kiss on the lips. The sound of shutters permeated the air, once again.

Following several more questions that had Gaby recounting the individual race stages from her perspective, they were about ready to end the press conference, when from somewhere in the room came the request, “Gaby? … one more shot with the three of you, please?”

“Reconciliation”