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Wedding In France
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We are going to a wedding which is in France, first in a Town Hall, followed by a church service. Can anyone tell me whether the use of confetti is allowed there, like here, and if so which place would be best to use it. I shall also be taking a horseshoe for the bride, is that a common tradition there as well?
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French customs
In France, only civil weddings are legally recognized (due to the concept of laïcité), they are performed in the town hall by the mayor (or another civil servant acting on his/her behalf). At least one of the spouses must reside in the town where the ceremony takes place. Since many people choose to also have a religious wedding, the religious ceremony often takes place immediately after the civil one. Town halls often offer a more elaborate ceremony for couples who do not wish to marry religiously.
If the two ceremonies take place separately, the civil one will usually include close family and witnesses. Once the civil ceremony is complete, the couple will receive a livret de famille, a booklet where a copy of the marriage certificate is recorded. This is an official document and, should the couple have children, each child's birth certificate will be recorded in the livret de famille too. The civil ceremony in France is free of charge.
In smaller French towns, the groom may meet his fiancée at her home on the day of the wedding and escort her to the chapel where the ceremony is being held. As the couple proceeds to the chapel, children will stretch long white ribbons across the road which the bride will cut as she passes.
At the chapel, the bride and groom are seated on two red velvet chairs underneath a silk canopy called a carre. Laurel leaves may be scattered across their paths when they exit the chapel. Sometimes small coins are also tossed for the children to gather.
A traditional French wedding celebration at Château de Hattonchâtel
At the reception, the couple customarily uses a toasting cup called a Coupe de Mariage. The origin of giving this toast began in France, when a small piece of toast was literally dropped into the couple's wine to ensure a healthy life. The couple would lift their glass to "a toast", as is common in Western culture today.
In south west France it is customary to serve spit roast wild boar (or sanglier in French) as the wedding breakfast, a local delicacy.
Some couples choose to serve a croquembouche instead of a wedding cake. This dessert is a pyramid of crème-filled pastry puffs, drizzled with a caramel glaze.
At a more boisterous wedding, tradition involves continuing the celebration until very late at night. After the reception, those invited to the wedding will gather outside the newlyweds' window and bang pots and pans; this is called a shivaree. They are then invited into the house for some more drinks in the couple's honor, after which the couple is finally allowed to be alone for their first night together as husband and wife. This practice spread throughout France as a way to celebrate special occasions. Decorative replicas of these special sabres can be purchased from artisans in Lyon, (the French capital of cutlery).French customs
In France, only civil weddings are legally recognized (due to the concept of laïcité), they are performed in the town hall by the mayor (or another civil servant acting on his/her behalf). At least one of the spouses must reside in the town where the ceremony takes place. Since many people choose to also have a religious wedding, the religious ceremony often takes place immediately after the civil one. Town halls often offer a more elaborate ceremony for couples who do not wish to marry religiously.
If the two ceremonies take place separately, the civil one will usually include close family and witnesses. Once the civil ceremony is complete, the couple will receive a livret de famille, a booklet where a copy of the marriage certificate is recorded. This is an official document and, should the couple have children, each child's birth certificate will be recorded in the livret de famille too. The civil ceremony in France is free of charge.
In smaller French towns, the groom may meet his fiancée at her home on the day of the wedding and escort her to the chapel where the ceremony is being held. As the couple proceeds to the chapel,
In France, only civil weddings are legally recognized (due to the concept of laïcité), they are performed in the town hall by the mayor (or another civil servant acting on his/her behalf). At least one of the spouses must reside in the town where the ceremony takes place. Since many people choose to also have a religious wedding, the religious ceremony often takes place immediately after the civil one. Town halls often offer a more elaborate ceremony for couples who do not wish to marry religiously.
If the two ceremonies take place separately, the civil one will usually include close family and witnesses. Once the civil ceremony is complete, the couple will receive a livret de famille, a booklet where a copy of the marriage certificate is recorded. This is an official document and, should the couple have children, each child's birth certificate will be recorded in the livret de famille too. The civil ceremony in France is free of charge.
In smaller French towns, the groom may meet his fiancée at her home on the day of the wedding and escort her to the chapel where the ceremony is being held. As the couple proceeds to the chapel, children will stretch long white ribbons across the road which the bride will cut as she passes.
At the chapel, the bride and groom are seated on two red velvet chairs underneath a silk canopy called a carre. Laurel leaves may be scattered across their paths when they exit the chapel. Sometimes small coins are also tossed for the children to gather.
A traditional French wedding celebration at Château de Hattonchâtel
At the reception, the couple customarily uses a toasting cup called a Coupe de Mariage. The origin of giving this toast began in France, when a small piece of toast was literally dropped into the couple's wine to ensure a healthy life. The couple would lift their glass to "a toast", as is common in Western culture today.
In south west France it is customary to serve spit roast wild boar (or sanglier in French) as the wedding breakfast, a local delicacy.
Some couples choose to serve a croquembouche instead of a wedding cake. This dessert is a pyramid of crème-filled pastry puffs, drizzled with a caramel glaze.
At a more boisterous wedding, tradition involves continuing the celebration until very late at night. After the reception, those invited to the wedding will gather outside the newlyweds' window and bang pots and pans; this is called a shivaree. They are then invited into the house for some more drinks in the couple's honor, after which the couple is finally allowed to be alone for their first night together as husband and wife. This practice spread throughout France as a way to celebrate special occasions. Decorative replicas of these special sabres can be purchased from artisans in Lyon, (the French capital of cutlery).French customs
In France, only civil weddings are legally recognized (due to the concept of laïcité), they are performed in the town hall by the mayor (or another civil servant acting on his/her behalf). At least one of the spouses must reside in the town where the ceremony takes place. Since many people choose to also have a religious wedding, the religious ceremony often takes place immediately after the civil one. Town halls often offer a more elaborate ceremony for couples who do not wish to marry religiously.
If the two ceremonies take place separately, the civil one will usually include close family and witnesses. Once the civil ceremony is complete, the couple will receive a livret de famille, a booklet where a copy of the marriage certificate is recorded. This is an official document and, should the couple have children, each child's birth certificate will be recorded in the livret de famille too. The civil ceremony in France is free of charge.
In smaller French towns, the groom may meet his fiancée at her home on the day of the wedding and escort her to the chapel where the ceremony is being held. As the couple proceeds to the chapel,
The idea that a horseshoe, as hung over a door, is a symbol of good luck is known in France. Until you mentioned it, I'd never thought about confetti, but I don't think I have ever seen it used there. You don't see it lying outside town halls or churches and I can't recall ever seeing it in the wedding photos in local newspapers, and that is in some 40 years of visiting or living there. What you do get there which we never have here is the guests piling into their cars and blaring the horn all the way from one venue to the other. So, if you have a car, feel free!
All very interesting, thank you. I shall take the confetti with us, and hope to be able to throw it over the couple but shall wait and see what other guests do as well.
Netebiza - you mention chapel, they are being married in a Catholic church, so is it likely to be the same?
We don't understand spoken French so it will be very confusing to us, but looking forward to i very much.
Netebiza - you mention chapel, they are being married in a Catholic church, so is it likely to be the same?
We don't understand spoken French so it will be very confusing to us, but looking forward to i very much.
I've been to quite a few French weddings and the chapel ceremony that netibiza describes is new to me. The catholic church ceremony can be anything from a blessing or a full mass. The civil service doesn't always happen on the same day as the religious ceremony especially in bigger towns due to the demand (on Saturdays in summer you can literally watch couples going in and out all day!). I've only been to one ceremony where there was confetti, they now seem to blow bubbles! You'll notice a lot of women wear long dresses though the younger generation go for short dresses nowadays.
Hope you enjoy it. Oh, after the ceremony there will be a vin d'honneur. This is for all guests to attend (champagne and canapés) and the family and close friends will then go on to the reception. When invited to a wedding in France you're not automatically invited to the reception your invite might just be the 'vin d'honneur'. Dictionaries tend to translate it to reception but it isn't. The reception would be 'réception de mariage' or 'repas de mariage'.
Hope you enjoy it. Oh, after the ceremony there will be a vin d'honneur. This is for all guests to attend (champagne and canapés) and the family and close friends will then go on to the reception. When invited to a wedding in France you're not automatically invited to the reception your invite might just be the 'vin d'honneur'. Dictionaries tend to translate it to reception but it isn't. The reception would be 'réception de mariage' or 'repas de mariage'.
Maybe I will take a pot of bubble mix as well! We have been invited to the whole thing, civil service, church service then on to the meal as well - they are old friends, and it is one of the daughters getting married. Really looking forward to it now, only a few weeks away.
Can anyone think of any other British traditional things I could do, or take with me (packable size only please)
Can anyone think of any other British traditional things I could do, or take with me (packable size only please)
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