Monday, March 22, 1993
Le mariage de Maman et Papa
We were married on 13th March 1993 in a civil ceremony at Chatou Town Hall - it wasn't too painful - and then had a superb meal at a lovely restaurant.
We had a really great day, after all the stresses and strains of organising the paperwork, it was lovely to be able to relax and enjoy it. The weather was perfect and I looked rather stunning! I had my hair done in the morning by a hairdresser, who gave me curls and put in artificial flowers. I wore a pale yellow suit with a pleated skirt and carried a bouquet of miniature roses, as I wanted to have some little touches of tradition. On the morning of the wedding Mum gave me some precious family heirlooms - my Granny S.'s diamond engagement ring, a gold sovereign ring (one of four that my Grandpa P. had made years and years ago), a gold and amethyst necklace belonging to my Grandma P., and a cameo necklace from my Great Aunt D. I wore the gold and amethyst necklace and I think Dad was really touched. These are the first jewels I've ever owned, and what with my new wedding ring (which of course I never take off), I've developed quite a liking for precious stones!
The ceremony at the Town Hall was conducted by the Mayor Adjunct of Chatou and was very formal - that was the only time I felt nervous. What's nice is that we had to take vows of fidelity, mutual "assistance", and promise to provide for the future of our children, and support each other for all our lives, so it was almost like a church wedding. There were loads of papers to sign (typical French bureaucracy), and then we exchanged wedding rings, which I had asked my brother to keep in his pocket and present them at the appropriate moment. Mine went on smoothly, but the box containing P.'s ring was really difficult to open. My brother tried, failed and passed it to me, I had no luck either, so, in fits of laughter, passed to over to P. who opened it straight away with no problems! It was over very quickly, so we went out into the sunshine and took loads of photos, then drove to the restaurant for lunch. It was really well done, a very classy place, and we had a small private room all to ourselves. The food was wonderful, there were presents and songs and Dad made a beautiful and touching speech in French, which had us all in tears. At around 6 p.m. we all drove to my new in-laws' house for champagne, cake and the opening of the presents. Our friends made us hide in another room while they brought in the present they had clubbed together to buy: a cage with two budgies! The poor things were really scared and had no idea what was going on, but now they've happily settled in at our place and we've given them a nesting box so they can start making babies any time they like! We got home late, were exhausted, and just wanted to go to bed and drive off into the Alps the next day, but everyone followed us home for the French onion soup tradition which all newly-weds have to go through. (We were lucky that they came at midnight, because most French weddings last until 3 or 4 am, then the friends come round with the onion soup at 6 in the morning!). Don't ask me how this tradition started, or what it all means, I have no idea! My poor parents were rather startled, but it was all good fun.
So we drove off the next day and my family stayed on in our flat for a week and went sightseeing in Paris every day. P. and I had a week's rest and recreation in the Alps. Luckily there was still enough snow for me to try skiing for the first time in my life, and it was quite an experience. Unfortunately I did not prove myself to be particularly skilled, and never mastered the art of turning, slowing down and stopping, so all I was able to do the whole time was to ski slowly down gentle slopes in a straight line, pick up speed and then fall on my bum. Still, it was all jolly amusing. The weather was beautiful the whole time, so we also hired mountain bikes, took long walks, went to Switzerland for an afternoon and ate a lot of chocolate, among other sporting activities.
We had a really great day, after all the stresses and strains of organising the paperwork, it was lovely to be able to relax and enjoy it. The weather was perfect and I looked rather stunning! I had my hair done in the morning by a hairdresser, who gave me curls and put in artificial flowers. I wore a pale yellow suit with a pleated skirt and carried a bouquet of miniature roses, as I wanted to have some little touches of tradition. On the morning of the wedding Mum gave me some precious family heirlooms - my Granny S.'s diamond engagement ring, a gold sovereign ring (one of four that my Grandpa P. had made years and years ago), a gold and amethyst necklace belonging to my Grandma P., and a cameo necklace from my Great Aunt D. I wore the gold and amethyst necklace and I think Dad was really touched. These are the first jewels I've ever owned, and what with my new wedding ring (which of course I never take off), I've developed quite a liking for precious stones!
The ceremony at the Town Hall was conducted by the Mayor Adjunct of Chatou and was very formal - that was the only time I felt nervous. What's nice is that we had to take vows of fidelity, mutual "assistance", and promise to provide for the future of our children, and support each other for all our lives, so it was almost like a church wedding. There were loads of papers to sign (typical French bureaucracy), and then we exchanged wedding rings, which I had asked my brother to keep in his pocket and present them at the appropriate moment. Mine went on smoothly, but the box containing P.'s ring was really difficult to open. My brother tried, failed and passed it to me, I had no luck either, so, in fits of laughter, passed to over to P. who opened it straight away with no problems! It was over very quickly, so we went out into the sunshine and took loads of photos, then drove to the restaurant for lunch. It was really well done, a very classy place, and we had a small private room all to ourselves. The food was wonderful, there were presents and songs and Dad made a beautiful and touching speech in French, which had us all in tears. At around 6 p.m. we all drove to my new in-laws' house for champagne, cake and the opening of the presents. Our friends made us hide in another room while they brought in the present they had clubbed together to buy: a cage with two budgies! The poor things were really scared and had no idea what was going on, but now they've happily settled in at our place and we've given them a nesting box so they can start making babies any time they like! We got home late, were exhausted, and just wanted to go to bed and drive off into the Alps the next day, but everyone followed us home for the French onion soup tradition which all newly-weds have to go through. (We were lucky that they came at midnight, because most French weddings last until 3 or 4 am, then the friends come round with the onion soup at 6 in the morning!). Don't ask me how this tradition started, or what it all means, I have no idea! My poor parents were rather startled, but it was all good fun.
So we drove off the next day and my family stayed on in our flat for a week and went sightseeing in Paris every day. P. and I had a week's rest and recreation in the Alps. Luckily there was still enough snow for me to try skiing for the first time in my life, and it was quite an experience. Unfortunately I did not prove myself to be particularly skilled, and never mastered the art of turning, slowing down and stopping, so all I was able to do the whole time was to ski slowly down gentle slopes in a straight line, pick up speed and then fall on my bum. Still, it was all jolly amusing. The weather was beautiful the whole time, so we also hired mountain bikes, took long walks, went to Switzerland for an afternoon and ate a lot of chocolate, among other sporting activities.
