When Nico and I got engaged, we decided that the best way to be able to celebrate with both of our families was to have two weddings: a legal ceremony in France with Nico’s family and a religious ceremony in Washington state with my family. We also decided that we wanted to keep things simple: only family (and witnesses for the French wedding), no stressing out about details, etc.
Two weddings on two continents one week apart and low-stress? It’s something of a contradiction, non? Luckily, both weddings were small… but there were two of them, which meant two florists, two caterers, two photographers, two of, well, everything! I will admit that there was a point in wedding planning when we wondered why we hadn’t just eloped to Scotland or something. And yet in retrospect, it was all totally worth it.
It was important to us that the two events feel like two parts of a whole so we opted for the same color scheme and decorative style for both events. Even my dress was the same (although, since we didn’t have enough time for dry-cleaning between weddings, I bought the same dress twice!)
Both events were magical, full of laughter, and just perfect. Here are a few highlights with some pictures (many thanks to Robin Lopez Design for the Pullman pictures and to Quentin Morgant for the French ones!)
Part I: July 22, 2017
Location: Beaumont (the village where we live); the reception was in the courtyard between the house we live in and the house Nico’s middle brother and his family live in.
Highlights:
- The legal ceremony took place at town hall where the mayor read several clauses of French law (no, I’m not kidding, this was a legal marriage after all!) and presented us with our “Family Book” which will act as our marriage certificate. If we have kids, they’ll be added to the “Family Book” as well and we were happy to learn that there is space for 10 children. Not to worry, in the case of an 11th child, we can get additional pages from town hall at no cost. (Notice the photo of President Macron in the background!)
- After the legal ceremony, we headed to our courtyard for a cocktail time. (I would say cocktail hour except that it lasted for several hours.) Even the mayor and his assistant showed up!
- In the proud tradition of French gastronomy, the meal lasted for hours. (The menu was the following: foie gras with fig chutney / white fish with a saffron sauce and diced tomatoes / pear sorbet with a pear liqueur to cleanse the palette / veal with a mushroom sauce served with potatoes and vegetables / cheese and green salad / and finally the wedding cake.) Each course was accompanied by a different wine pairing. Luckily, the meal was punctuated by games, dancing, and a surprise (innocent) strip tease by one of our guests (not pictured)!
Part II: July 29, 2017
Location: Merry Cellars Winery in Pullman, Washington; the ceremony was in the barrel room while dinner and the reception were on the patio.
Highlights:
- We may have already been legally married, but I had some butterflies going into the religious ceremony. That is, until Nico and I walked into the barrel room and saw my extended family’s smiling faces and then the butterflies just sort of disappeared. A major perk of being a pastor’s kid is that your dad can do the religious service and we were able to craft a ceremony that really reflects us. I really liked our vows in particular: I give myself to you. I love you, trust you, and delight in you. I will share your burdens and your joys. I will go with you wherever God calls us. This ring is the symbol of my solemn promise.
- During the cocktail hour and dinner, Nico and I added a few French touches. For example, the cocktail hour featured some local spirits that we had brought with us from France, the meal included a cheese course, and Nico gave everyone an impromptu French lesson in the form of a bawdy call and response song that he often sings at the yearly wine harvests. The meal may not have lasted for hours, but the multi-course plated meal catered by Banyans in Pullman was fantastic.
- The light was gorgeous after dinner and my Dad and I managed to open the dancing part of the reception without crying during our father-daughter dance (Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman – what a tear-jerker!) Nico and I proceeded to totally change up the ambiance with a salsa number and then everyone hit the dance floor, even the three babies!
It would be impossible to do justice to either wedding in a short reflection. Suffice it to say that we feel very fortunate to be surrounded by such loving (and fun!) families and friends.
So now what? So much time, effort, and mental space go into planning a wedding that I think we sometimes lose sight of what weddings are all about: being married. We don’t really know what that means yet, but here’s to all of the adventures yet to come here in France, in the States, and wherever else life leads us… Cheers!
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