A French wedding is very different to those in Australia because you have a legal town hall ceremony in the suburb you grew up in, followed by the fun wedding. We were lucky enough to be invited to both.
The legal ceremony was held in the town hall of the 5th arrondissement in Lyon, close to where Mel grew up. About 50 friends and family went. It was a short 20 minute ceremony, all in French, where the marriage was formally announced. Although we didn't understand it, it seemed very much like a civil ceremony in Australia.
After the ceremony, there were some photos in the garden of the town hall. On a hot day, it was lovely in the shade.
A group of about 30 of us, including the 12 Australians, drove for an hour to a beautiful village called Loyette for lunch. Sitting outside on the banks of the river, this was beautiful!
After a leisurely lunch, we drove for another 30 minutes to the Chateau where the wedding was to be held. A quick shower and change and we were ready for part 2!
The second ceremony had music, speeches and lots of tears. It was a beautiful ceremony. Some of it was translated, but unfortunately not the speeches. The ceremony was held in the garden of the castle, and was just spectacular.
After the ceremony, we moved around the pool for champagne and canapes. The French certainly don't do things by half. As well as canapes on trays, there were three small bbq set up, cooking prawns, scallops and fois gras to order. Very rich, but delicious!
At about 8.30pm, we were moved on to the official reception in the underground cellars. It was simply amazing! Here we were treated to a 4 course meal, games and dancing! We didn't have dessert until about midnight. Clint and I left at 2am, but some of the other guests, including the bride and groom, continued on, finishing with a swim in the pool at 5am!
The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast around the pool and enjoyed relaxing in the gardens. Afterwards, we got a lift back to Lyon.
We have plenty more photos to show, but it was a fantastic day.
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