We have a very special connection with the Old The Merchants House. It’s one of the biggest buildings in Aeroeskoebing, right on the old historic town square, where we have our office and private wedding room. It’s a bit of a long story, how Danish Island Weddings ended up having headquarters there, but here we go… :-)

In 2010, Aeroeskoebing was suffering from what all small places around the world were suffering from, namely aftershocks of the financial crisis and depletion of the younger population gravitating towards the bigger cities. So our little town was pretty dead. At the same time Danish Island weddings was in it’s 3rd year and growing, however with closed down shops and restaurants, it was not only a problem business-wise as we had nowhere to send our couples where they could eat and celebrate or experience Aeroe; but also personally. There was nowehere for us locals to meet over coffee, and my English husband, John, was missing a good pub.

All my childhood memories of Aeroeskoebing in the 80’s were of this atmospheric, vibrant fairytale town, with its cobbled streets and colourful houses, alive and buzzing with locals and tourists from all over the world. But now it was like sleeping beauty in need of revival. I kept asking myself “why doesn’t anybody do anything to bring it back to life”? And after a winter of too many lost tourists wandering the pretty streets, hoping to find a light in a window, and a cup of coffee, I realized that no one was coming to the rescue. So, I decided that I should do something myself. I opened my own little coffee shop “Loulou’s Kaffestue”. My mother helped me bake scones and we served afternoon tea in my grandmother’s fine bone china cups. That same year my father lost his fight with lung cancer, and my mother and I poured our grief into our little coffeshop, creating some degree of relief in doing something for our town. The coffeshop was a little beacon of light in the winter months, but we soon realised it wasn’t enough. The bank closed next and the local mini-supermarket in the Merchants House went bankrupt that Christmas.

Looking back, I get really touched by how many townsfolk showed up to help and in 2012 a plan was set in motion to make the Merchants House the epicenter of Aeroeskoebings “downtown-ness”, open all year round, and most importantly it was to become a place for locals to meet. An army of Volunteers, with my mother at the front, worked day and night to repair the leaky roof, broken windows and revamp the inside space. Together we transformed it into an indoor market. The interior shelves and furniture put together with re-claimed and re-purposed wood and lots of donated items. And we filled it with local produce: jams, honey, vegetables, fresh fish, meats and even Aeroe grown handmade cigars!

It was a pretty simple concept, where the local suppliers paid for shelving space, and volunteers sold their products. Since I had no experience running anything like this, I muddled along and learned a lot along the way. I was inspired by the UK TV show “The Peoples Supermarket” and combined the concept of café and produce from what I had experienced on the 6th floor of KaDeWe during my time living in Berlin. After 4 years of hard work it was incredible to have created a business able to sustain 2½ paid staff members.

Year one, the owner of the building itself went along with the idea that if we cleaned it up and paid utilities, he would stand a better chance of selling this grand old building. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would one day be part owner. But that is what happened. A year passed by and nobody bought it, and god knows I did my best salespitch to anyone who’d listen. But after every viewing from potential buyers, came the same answer “it’s just too big!”. So in the end, my husband and I, and some good friends became part owners, and today it is a small shareholding company with 100 local shareholders.

In 2016, the lovely Rikke and Lennart took over the shop and café and quickly raised the bar. They now create the most exquisite wedding cakes for us and host small receptions and lunches in the cafe and cosy courtyard downstairs.

But most importantly, for the purpose of this blog post, on the 1st floor we have our own romantic wedding room for ceremonies and a “getting ready room”, so our wedding couples have everything they need in one place.

The rest of the property is leased to Ærø whisky distillery, complete with a microbrewery, a loft apartment, and 4 office spaces, including ours which is on the ground level next to the cafe.

The coolest thing about this place though, are the people. We all rely on each other’s good humour, tolerance, and willingness to take on shared tasks to keep such a big place running. Everyone plays their part, and especially at Christmas time when the building needs lights and decorations.

Quite honestly, everything is quirky, old-fashioned and full of personality as it so often is in old historic buildings, all of it creating a unique atmosphere that all the money in the world couldn’t buy.