Weddings in France

Bachelor nights of young girls and boys

The party starts with the hen night and stag night which takes place about 15 days before the wedding. In the countryside each guest brings a bottle of wine that he deposits in a coffin built for the purpose. Friends can also put surprises in to discover later. Some of the guys dig the hole the night of the party and it’s the groom who, at the birth of the first child , unearths the wines. This is an opportunity to have another party with friends and taste the wine that have aged well in the coffin. In town ,friends meet again sometimes disguised , in the streets singing , doing quests for a few pennies to put in the coffin.

D-day

The wedding is mostly paid jointly by the parents of the groom and the bride , sometimes they pay for their marriage , but in all case the guests pay their share .

At the town hall

The wedding begins at the town hall, whether the couple choose a religious wedding or not they must first mark the occasion by signing the papers with family and close friends at the town hall, this stage lasts 15 to 30 minutes. The bride and groom sign the register , there is the exchange of rings , and photos outside the hall.

At the church

The bride and groom and the guests go to the church to be greeted by new guests . The groom and his mother enter the church first , then it is the turn of the guests and it is only when everyone is there that the bride and her father enter . The ceremony lasts about 1 hour, there is the signing register and exchange of rings. At the exit of church a guard of honor, organized by friends, colleagues…. leads the march.Then there is the traditional photo session,then neighbors, friends and family are invited to drink a « wine of honor » an aperitif.

The reception

The reception takes place in a reception room, a meal is served and everyone eats copiously

Short break

After the meal, we ofen have an hour break for guests and the bride and groom. Some will go and have a drink of coffee,often close friends of the couple take the opportunity to go the hotel room or to the home of the bride and groom, to prepare a surprise for them,they will make a bed port folio for the honeymoon night, they will fill the room with balloons, the bed with candy or pepper or pictures of them collected throughtout their single lives.

The dance

A DJ is in charge of the guests to party until to the middle of the night, but between 11 pm and midnight we all share a brioche. During the evening games are organized by the DJ or friends, sometimes some are disguised, they prepare shows, well prepared in honor of the newlyweds, grandparents sing. All this is organized in surprises. Normally the newly weds leave first and the night turns out to be very short especially for the friends of the couple.

The wedding night

After discovering the surprises that await them in their bed , after falling asleep, the couple are woken up 2 or 3 hours later in the night by their friends ofter a long day to eat an onion soup prepared and brought round by their friends.It is eaten together Are the newly weds are woken up. Another tradition is also to the Newly weds a bowl of milk chocolate in a chamber pot with a carrot and two potatoes over on the side. After eating again and drinking in the night the newly weds resume where they had left off and hopefully sleep to get more energy because it is not finished.

Wedding breakfast

Next day at noon, the relatives and close friends of the bride and groom come together for what they call a wedding breakfast. It often takes place in one of the two parents of groom and bride, an appetizer is served, followed by the cold food remaining from the day before.One benefit of having this is it’s fun to look at pictures or videos of the day before.Needless to say the honey moon will be apreciated !!