A guide to our French-ish wedding

We're having a French-style wedding with all that entails. But what does that mean? The exact phases of such wedding were also a mystery to Clarice at first; which is why we thought of making this guide.

Our wedding day will start at the mairie, or city hall, which will be the site of our civil ceremony. The mayor or deputy mayor will receive us in front of a photo of Macron and a statue of Marianne while wearing a sash. Here, he will explain our mariage contract, which we will agree to and sign, witnessed by our witnesses. We will then leave the city hall as bride and bride, oficially married, and go to the pond where the the rest of the events will unfold.

Once everyone arrives at the pond, we will say our vows and exchange our wedding rings. This secular ceremony replaces the religious one for us: we'll stand in front of our loved ones and declare our love for each other and that we are now a family.

The reception at our wedding will be different from what is expected in an Brazilian ot Anglo wedding. You may notice a lot of people at the exchange of vows and during reception, but not everyone will stay for dinner. Many are friends of family who we are glad to see and come to wish us well. The newly married couple will go around greeting guests while you drink, snack and enjoy some surprise activities we've prepared.

At some point, we will call a toast and thank everyone for their well wishes. This is the cue for people who weren't invited to the dinner to leave (but if you're formally invited by us, don't worry, you're supposed to stay!). Dinner will start to be served shortly after. We're planning a Brazilian-French barbecue with only local artisan wares, so it's sure to be tasty!

After dinner, party activities will commence, with surprises abound.

Accomodation

The party will happen in the small village of Saint Jean d'Ormont, in Vosges, and there are no accomodations available in the village itself. However, neighboring villages and the town of Saint-Dié have numerous offerings for accomodations from a hotel room, bed & breakfast or short-term rentals.

We suggest using Booking.com or AirBnb.com to book your accomodations.

Transportation

Train

Nearby town of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges is served by a direct TGV from Paris Gare de l'Est, which takes about 2h45.

Étival-Clairefontaine, the village where our city hall ceremony will take place, is served by frequent service from Nancy and Saint-Dié for joining us directly on the d-day. The station is walking distance from City Hall.

Carpooling

It only takes about 10 minutes to drive from Étival city hall to the pond (étang) in Saint-Jean d'Ormont, but it won't be really possible to get there otherwise. For all of friends without cars, we'll be setting up a carpooling system for this part of the drive once we have the RSVPs.

For our pedestrian friends, we will also try to setup contacts with a motorized friend who is staying in the same accomodation when you're ready to leave the party.

FAQ

Is there a dress code?

There's no specific dress code. We suggest you dress as if you were going to a charming summer picnic. Our wedding colors are, of course, pink and green; but we're loving all summer colors (e.g. lemon and goldenrod yellow; sky and seafoam blue, apricot orange, lavender, strawberry red and pastels). A colorful and comfortable wedding party will make us happy.

What about the bridal party?

The concept of the bridal party doesn't really apply to Brazilian or French weddings, so we basically don't have one. We have the equivalents of person of honor / best person, our witnesses or in French témoin, who will also sign the marriage contract at city hall and actively participate in the organization efforts.

What parts of the wedding am I expected to attend?

It is customary in France to attend the civil ceremony at the city hall, but not mandatory. If you have been invited by one of the brides and asked to RSVP, you're definitely invited to all parts of the wedding.