Our French Countryside Wedding Experience

Following our quaint breakfast, Charles and I headed back to our room to get ready for Clem & Jason’s wedding at the church right up the street from the bed and breakfast we were staying at in Brinon Sur Sauldre, France. And per Disa’s request, here are the few pics I remembered to take of our room when we first checked into the B&B :)

Once we were dressed in our formal digs, we headed out to enjoy a glass of wine with friends at a bar across the street before walking to the church in anticipation of the bridal party’s arrival. We lucked out with the weather as it was bright and sunny with just the right amount of breeze; everything about the day was just perfect.

Let the wedding begin!

Felicitations Pour Votre Mariage!

While we waited for everyone to congratulate Clem and Jason on their nuptials and get family photos taken, I snuck away to snap a few pics of Angeline’s, the maid of honor, car that she decorated in honor of the wedding. All the momentos on the car symbolized the union of Jason’s American culture and Clem’s French culture. I loved everything about it!

After the wedding ceremony, everyone followed the bride and groom to the reception location which marked the beginning of what would be the most unique wedding reception Charles and I had ever experienced. Imagine a 9 course meal pair with a different bottle of wine for each course… And in between each course, we played GAMES! Such fun games! Never in my life had I been to a wedding before that had a scavenger hunt, wedding trivia, and super fun ice breakers included in the itinerary. It was an awesome way to get to know everyone present at the wedding regardless of the language barriers. And get this, the 9 course dinner was spread out between 8:00pm till almost 1:00am!

^^ Since we had arrived in France just one day before, Charles and I were a bit jetlagged. Thankfully, Angeline was prepared for everything (hashtag best maid of honor ever) and gave us an energy tablet to help get us through the evening. We were instructed to mix it with water and let the powers of the tablet do their dirty. And it must have worked because after dinner, we ended dancing and partying all night until 6:00 in morning.

Weddings… Can you believe that Charles and I have been to 13 weddings in the past 2 years?! Whether for our family or friends and heck, even ourselves, love has most definitely been in the air and we feel so blessed to have been able to witness Clem and Jason say “I Do” in France.

If not for this wedding, I’m not sure when Charles and I would’ve ever made a trip to Europe… This wedding was just the motivation we needed to save up money for our flights to France and then plan our secondary trips to Amsterdam and Barcelona. Following this wedding, Clem’s parents were so generous as to open their home to Charles and I, which is where we stayed while in Paris and we are soooo thankful for their hospitality and as well as the hospitality we received from everyone else we met during our trip… Because while the main focus of travel is about seeing new places, I think another important aspect of travel revolves around the people you meet on your journey. The strangers who become friends and the differences that evolve into commonalities once you get to know each other after the initial culture shock… Places are nice to take pictures of but it’s the people who make or break your experience when traveling. Luckily everyone we met while we were in Europe made our experience and for that, I am grateful.