the wedding

One of the guys at work invited us to his wedding. It was held in a small country town about 30-45 minutes southwest of here. It was pretty exciting to have the opportunity to attend a French wedding. We had no idea what to expect, didn't really know the customs or ettiquette, but were really interested in learning. So with the help of Mappy, we struck out on our journey. The drive to the town was absolutely beautiful. We rode through country and hills, then up into some mountains with really narrow roads and breathtaking views. We arrived at the town and saw a sign posted there that said it was "one of the most beautiful towns in France" (en francais, of course) and we certainly agreed. The wedding was held in an old, old monastery from the Middle Ages that is now the city hall for the town. There was a courtyard inside the monastary and the 'event' was celebrated in the courtyard.

Everyone gathered and anxiously awaited the arrival of the couple. They showed up..... driving an old antique car through the archway into the courtyard, tooting the horn and waving to us all. The car was beautiful and decorated with flowers. The bride was exquisitely dressed, as was the groom. Flowers were everywhere, even on her shoes! They exited the car and then each personally greeted (with kissy-kissy) everyone there. After a while, they walked over to the Maire (mayor) and did the wedding. The room was tiny and crowded so not everyone fit into it. Those who couldn't fit just sat under the trees and waited for it to end. It was a pretty warm day but I stood outside on the steps where I could peek inside. As the photographer and I stood on the steps, he commented that I was the only one brave enough to stand in the sun. He remarked that since I was from Houston, I could probably take it! So true!

The ceremony sounded to me like the reading of a lot of formality stuff, with lots of numbers being said. My French isn't quite good enough yet! But at some particular moment, as though they were playing the old-fashioned game of "gossip", one person said to the next, and then to the next, and so on.... "they said 'OUI'". So they don't say "I do", they say "yes".

Then, after the official part, everyone just visited out in the couryard. We were there for 3 hours when we finally decided to leave. I was surprised that everyone was so content to just sit around, very content, for hours and hours. Paul remarked to a co-worker that the wedding didn't seem very lively, didn't have a party feel. We were told that the parties start much later and can go into the wee hours of the morning. Since Kate was arriving for her stay with us this summer, we really had to head back home. Who knows what we missed!