WEDDING IN FRANCE, GETTING MARRIED IN FRANCE
Wedding in France * getting married in France * marriage plans * arranging a wedding in France * marrying a Frenchman * budget accommodation * cheap ferry travel * Chateaux * car hireWeddings in France, especially in the countryside where we live tend to be large affairs. When my daughter's fiancé's brother got married, there were 200 guests from his side of the family alone. His wife's family only accounted for 130 guests. Then there were the friends of the happy couple and a range of local village residents that had to be invited to the wedding that brought the numbers up past the 400 mark.
Start of article about getting married in France.
Unlike the UK, families in the French countryside tend to live close together, often have several offspring and family reunions are frequent and well attended. Whilst my family will not account for as many guests, and I expect the hassle of having to travel to France to cut the numbers down somewhat, I would still expect to account for 60 wedding guests and because of our position in the community, local friends and villagers, who would be most upset if they did not get an invitation to her wedding will most likely exceed a further 100 mouths to feed. So likewise, we are most likely looking at close to 400 guests.
Although the wedding is not planned until June 2009, my daughter's wedding has already cost me several thousand pounds. Knowing my daughter like I do, she and her fiancé had obviously looked at the cost of engagement rings and decided she wasn't prepared to let him spend the kind of money required to buy the type of ring she wanted. Sensible girl; if the money isn't going spare, why spend it on something mediocre when her mother has a fistful of rings she could choose from.
So at the weekend, she quietly took her mother to one side and asked if she could have one of her rings. After consultation with me as the person who had bought them and as my daughter could have anything we own, it was decided to let her choose a ring and I would replace it for my wife. After all, they will all go to her or our granddaughters one day anyway.
So a selection, minus the more important or those with more sentimental value, were produced and after some discussion, she chose a 2.6 carat diamond cluster that suited her hand beautifully. A good choice, one of the more expensive of the selection and I knew I was in for a £5,000 bill to buy a ring to replace it.
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Let me see. I am a £5,000 ring down, I have promised to replace it and I have to buy another two of equal value for the future engagements of my boys. In the meantime, my wife will be able to enjoy the rings and I am hoping she won't expect me to replace them when she has to give them up. By my calculations, I am at least £20,000 down, providing I don't have to replace the other rings and I haven't spent a penny yet on the actual wedding.
Now, if I am renowned for two things, it is my generosity to friends and family and my careful management of my money. My family can have anything I own, my friends anything within my power but I will walk through the house turning lights off or do anything to save myself a few pounds rather than just throw money down the drain on something that has no value.
The rings are an investment, I have friends in the jewellery trade and I will expect to strike a good deal. Buying my wife or children jewellery is not a problem. Spending money on a wedding which is just one day, as important as it might be; I believe that every day that follows the wedding day is more important than the last.
So I have some delicate political manoeuvring to do when it comes to organising and paying for my daughter's wedding plans in France.
