Different

Remco, husband of Rosalyn, between cans

Another happy couple at the monkey park

On Saturday I went to the wedding of Remco and Rosalyn, two friends of mine. I was there when they first met each other at a party in Paradiso, Amsterdam. Seven years later they still can stand each other and decided to get married.

Instead of having a usual marriage in a church with a priest, they decided to do things differently. More modern, if you can call it that way. It was at a farm next to a forest and the ceremony took place in the evening. In a circle of candles they performed several mystical rituals with Celtic music on the background. It was unlike any wedding ceremony I've ever seen. In the beginning it was a bit strange, but it was refreshing to see that two people made their wedding promise in such an original way.

The next day I went to the 'apenheul', a famous monkey park in Holland. This park is different than any Dutch zoo because the monkeys are running freely to the park, among all the visitors. No fences or walls, they're so close that you can almost touch the monkeys and you have to wear monkey-free bags so the little critters can't steal anything. Only the more dangerous apes, like the gorilla's, are safely on an island.

In the beginning of Apenheul, in 1971, the idea of a park where monkeys are running freely was considered insane by the other zoos. But the founder Wim Mager believed in the idea and it resulted in one of the most popular and most animal friendly zoos in Holland.

Doing something different might sound as a risk in the beginning, but being different is actually the only way to go a step further. And afterwards the risks are never as big as you thought they were. No matter if it's about an animal park, a wedding or advertising, if you're different you'll stand out. Albert Einstein was right when he said: "if at first an idea doesn't sound absurd, there's no hope for it".