A Parisian Wedding

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Today was a lovely, lovely day – probably one of the best days I’ve had in a very long time.

I had really forgotten how much I love Paris – but it all came back to me as we walked along the road from our hotel in Neuilly towards the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees. It didn’t hurt that it was a beautiful day – a bit cold for the girl who forgot her coat at home, but manageable in the sun.

We walked a long way towards the Champs Elysees, and I was struck by just how beautiful Paris is. Sure, there is some modern architecture that mars the otherwise perfectly romantic landscape, but all in all, it is one of the, if not the most, beautiful cities I have ever been to.

It was a great day for a walk and snapping photos, and we window-shopped our way down the Champs Elysees, stopping briefly in H&M, where I thought about getting a coat but decided against it, and again in the Disney store, and again in the Gap, where I did make some purchases – the store might be the same, but the clothes *are* a bit different! I know, I know, I should have chosen something more French, but let’s be honest – along the Champs Elysees, anything truly French would be too expensive pour moi!

Then, we headed back up the street towards the Arc de Triomphe and stopped for lunch at Fouquet, which I learned is quite a famous restaurant. The waiters were typically French (ie almost entirely unwilling to speak English, though they did give us English menus, albeit one for breakfast). I ordered a chicken club sandwich, which was delicious, but noticeably lacking in bacon (who doesn’t include bacon whenever possible??). It also came with some great fries.

After lunch, we walked back to the hotel, and I did a little packing before I headed out to the park down the street for my run. I’ve never run in a foreign city before, so it was a new experience for me. But the day was so beautiful that I very much enjoyed it.

Then, it was time to get ready for the reason we are in Paris – the wedding of two of our lawyers!

We were picked up by two taxi vans outside of the hotel, since 14 of the 50 guests were staying there. We headed first to the town hall – now, I know what you’re thinking, town halls are dull, governmental buildings that don’t lend themselves well to weddings.

Well, it should be no surprise that Paris does things a little bit differently – the building was beautiful, both inside and out, with dramatic architecture, a grand staircase, and paintings everywhere. It really was incredible.

We were ushered into a room with maroon velvet-covered benches for the guests, large throne-type seats for the wedding party and witnesses, and a large desk on a raised platform in the front. Shortly after we were all seated, the bride came in wearing white pants and a flowing cream-colored top, along with a scarf in her hair. She carried a beautiful bouquet of white flowers and simply glowed.

We were then treated to quite a surprise – even the bride and groom didn’t know that the mayor of Paris would be presiding over the civil ceremony! She came in and did the entire ceremony in French – if it’s possible. even weddings sound more beautiful in French. It was so lovely. Unfortunately, I didn’t understand much because she was speaking so quickly, but I understood the sentiment behind it, and it sounded beautiful nonetheless.

Once we had taken some photos, we headed over to the Pavilion Royal in a park in Neuilly (the suburb of France that our hotel is in). We were again ushered into a room, this time with white wooden folding chairs. Two musicians played the flute and guitar to welcome in the groom escorted by his new wife’s daughter, followed by her son & daughter’s girlfriend and boyfriend, the witnesses of the marriage, and finally the bride herself with her son.

As the sun set on the lake in the background, Carla Bruni’s stepmother – a close family friend – performed the marriage ceremony. It was in French, but since she is Brazilian, she spoke more slowly and I could understand more of what was said.
She talked a lot about keeping the flame of love alive in a marriage, through understanding, equality, and taking care of the little things. Midway through the ceremony, she held up a dream catcher – it had a triangle in the middle that she said symbolized the body, the mind, and the spirit. She said it was to catch all of the good dreams that they had for their life together (I know dream catchers are not actually used for this, but just go with it). She then asked the assembled guests to raise our hands and focus our attention on the dream catcher, offering it our intentions for the marriage of the couple.

Afterward, she invited them each to share their vows. The bride told her new husband that her love for him was the most important thing in her life, and that this day was the most important of her life. He was too choked up to offer more than a few words (which I didn’t hear because the musicians had started up again), but we were all touched.

The woman presiding over the service then offered a blessing over their rings by circling the pillow they were on over the flame of a candle to symbolize the flame of their love. As they put them on each other’s fingers, she rang a small silver bell over their hands.

Oh dear, but it made me want to have my wedding in Paris! Somehow, I think my English father might not think that’s the best idea I’ve ever had!

After a few more words, the ceremony was concluded and we all stood to clap – the wedding party left the room and it was time for the reception!

It began in another room of the building, overlooking la Tour Eiffel in the distance – tonight it was shimmering with sparkles as if just for the newlyweds. We chatted and enjoyed the littlest wedding guest’s dance moves – she was about four or five, so she was having a delightful time wandering among the guests, giggling and dancing and wearing her mother’s pashmina on her head.

Soon, it was time to head into the dining room for dinner – each table seemed to have a language theme, and fortunately, ours was English, though we did have a Brazilian and a French couple at our table! Another table spoke in Italian, another in French, another in Portuguese, and we guessed that the last table spoke in Spanish.

Our table had a lovely time, laughing and getting to know one another. We enjoyed the first course, which was a type of mushroom dish (I figured that out thanks to the mushroom shaped cracker on top of it), with a goat cheese on top (as you may have guessed, I only ate the goat cheese…and the cracker, though I did try a bit of the mushrooms, reminding myself why I hate them).

The second course was so delicious, there was almost not a word spoken at the table – it was a lamb confit with mixed vegetables and it was excellent – I suspect it would be difficult to get a bad meal here!

In between the courses, the photographer dropped by each of the tables to take pictures – at one point, he brought out several pairs of funny sunglasses, which he forced each couple at the table to wear so he could take their picture. It was a great ice breaker and really got everyone at the table laughing and getting into character.

The spotted glasses had to be worn by someone willing to act wild – mostly the women at the table ended up with these – and the white gem-stone Elton John glasses were for “stars.” The photos were hilarious, and I hope we’re able to see the finished product! The best was when the bride and groom’s table all put on the glasses, except for them, and crowded around them to make funny faces.

After dinner was, of course, the cheese course! I skipped this one, and instead had the dessert, which was indescribable – literally. I don’t know how to describe it, other than to say it was several layers of something – some seemed like gelatin, some seemed like thin cake, but they all tasted like mango. Refreshing, and surprisingly good.
But…we were not done!

It was finally time for the tossing of the bouquet. Since there were so few single women there (like three, plus the littlest wedding guest), and I think we single ladies felt a bit uncomfortable, all of the ladies got up to try to catch the bouquet. A married friend of the bride and groom caught it, and we all laughed….except for the littlest guest who immediately burst into tears.

She had hoped to catch the bouquet!

But we quickly remedied that, and the bride tossed it again, this time, right to her. She had a big grin after that. She soon returned the bouquet to the bride though, who passed it along to her son’s girlfriend – she’s hoping they’ll be the next to be married.

Then, we had a very French tradition – the croque en bouche. It is a French wedding cake (thanks to the Food Network, I knew that already!). It looks like a conical tower of plain donut holes, covered in spun sugar – this one also had what looked like firecrackers sticking out of it. We all clapped, and I definitely wanted to have a piece.

The sugar was a thick coating on the outside, but inside each little pastry ball was a delicious cream, similar to a profiterole. Wow, was it good! We were fully stuffed by then, so after a little more chatter, we slowly started to leave. The littlest guest made sure to come to each table to say “au revoir!” I picture my niece doing the very same thing (though more “goodbye” than “au revoir”) when I get married someday!

Oh yes, and the couple who was married? They’re in their sixties and seventies. Love has no age limit. What a lovely thing to have been a part of.

It truly was a beautiful, beautiful ceremony and I felt so honored to be a part of it. Paris has a certain magic anyway, but tonight, it felt as if love really came alive, and you could see it between these two. It makes me glad I’ve never settled, and look forward to the day when I marry my prince charming.

So tomorrow morning it is off to Charles de Gaulle and on to Vietnam (with a small stop in Hong Kong for a transfer)! I look forward to a more comfortable bed (picture sleeping on a wooden board – part of the reason I was awake until 4am last night) and the delights that Vietnam will bring!

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Comments

[Nancy Myrland]

[e-mail]
Lindsay, what fun to read all of your words, and to see these pictures as you made it all come to life. What a beautiful couple! I wish I had been there with you!