I almost never post weddings that are not reader weddings these days, but I found this new-to-me wedding while poking around on the new and fancy Martha Stewart Weddings website, and it was so delightful, practical, and simple that I had to share it. It is the marriage of a French woman to an American man in the bride's home town of St-Bertrand-de-Comminges, France. (European readers! Why are you not sending me your delightful weddings? I'm looking at you, 324 readers-per-month from France, in particular!)
The bride picked the flowers for her bouquet the morning of the wedding. (Who is doing this? I wish I were doing this!)
The bride and her father walked up the village street to the church, with the guests following behind (and can we talk about her dress? Girl's got some un-fussy incredible style)
Sitting in the church during the wedding. In California we do not have the option of getting married in buildings that people have been getting married in for hundreds of years. In fact, we don't have buildings that have been standing for hundreds of years.
But the reception, ohhh, the reception. The reception is where things get exceptionally cool. First, I love that the reception was clearly thrown in a church social hall, or some other public meeting room. They decorated with paper garlands from NYC's China town. And (get this!) they asked all of Sophie's Aunts who lived nearby to bring their favorite china and personal linens to dress the tables.
The result is so simple, so practical, and somehow so chic. And look, a guest even brought their stuffed puppy.
See more of this incredible wedding, and the couple's baby girl over at Martha Stewart Weddings. I'm not even doing it justice here.
All photos via Martha Stewart Weddings
09
Sophie & Jason’s Simple French Wedding
Feb
2009
I’m picking flowers the morning of the wedding from my neighbor’s garden!
February 9, 2009 6:45 am
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If only I lived in France…..le sigh.
February 9, 2009 8:07 am
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I love it Jules! Send me pictures when you do, pretty please. If only we had flowers nearby to pick. Sigh.
February 9, 2009 8:21 am
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See, I think I just want to be French, and then the rest of it will follow.
February 9, 2009 8:36 am
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Cute wedding, but she doesn’t look too happy in the church :)
February 9, 2009 8:51 am
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I love it!!!
So simple and beautiful.
~Lilian~
February 9, 2009 8:55 am
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Thank you for the church basement shout out! Also, our Quaker Meeting House was built in 1930, but it *feels* super ancient, which is very nice. I’m still struggling with the linoleum floors in the basement, though *sigh* :)
February 9, 2009 9:41 am
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Oh! I didn’t know you were interested in foreign weddings too! I love your blog, and I’m trying to plan a practical wedding (in France), so I’ll send you my pictures once I’ll be married :-)
February 9, 2009 10:00 am
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Oooo, that dress is wonderful. Very beautiful wedding.
February 9, 2009 10:16 am
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Who is this girl? I love this girl? The bouquet…the dress…the curly mop…I feel so cheered.
Thank you so much for your sweet comment on my blog just now. What a nice girl you are. This is for you: <3
February 9, 2009 10:57 am
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I think the older missions in California are a few hundred years old (not nearly as old as the beautiful churches in Europe), but with many of them that still function as churches you have to be Roman Catholic.
Picking flowers for the wedding sounds amazing, which is why I think everyone with a yard should have a cutting garden!
February 9, 2009 11:07 am
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Oh… I love the picking your own bouquet idea. I’m thinking I should travel to France next.
February 9, 2009 12:20 pm
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Melt my heart! that right there, is a dream come to come.
February 9, 2009 12:29 pm
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I shot this is really CUTE cabin wedding once. And the bride’s best friend picked dahlia flowers from the cabin next door for the bride’s bouquet (with permission of course). It was one of my favorite bouquets ever (because it was so simple and sweet)
February 9, 2009 12:34 pm
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My vision for my (still unplanned) wedding in my uncle’s house in Eze, France looks remarkably like this one, complete with picking flowers the morning of! It’s very exciting to see a real one. Thanks, Meg!
February 9, 2009 1:27 pm
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Isn’t she beautiful, I would give anything to look like that…there’s just something about the French.
February 10, 2009 1:06 am
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If you are interested in British weddings as European I can send you some photos in a few months…
I love the photos here except she looks very unhappy to be in that church!
February 10, 2009 6:03 am
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I think the bride looks solemn and serious more than she looks unhappy!
It’s very pretty and French! I’ve been to a wedding in France once, which was a bit more formal than this one, but I will always remember how fantastic it was. Can you imagine how good the food must have been? The one I’ve been to was in the South West, where duck is the local specialty, and it was all champagne and Bordeaux and foie gras and such.
I went to check the whole thing on the MS site, and the reception was in a ‘salle de fĂŞte’, which is not a church basement, but simply a community ‘party room’, probably owned by the town and lent for free.
The other thing about marrying in many European countries, including France, is that the religious ceremony is not legally binding, so couples usually have TWO weddings! One small (but still cute and fun) to make it official, and one with a real reception (like this one probably is). They often do it months apart, like my friends did!
I’m not sure I’ll be able to pick my own flowers from my garden for my wedding because my selection is limited, but while doing the flowers for my sister’s wedding last year I did pick up beautiful bunches of greenish hydrangeas the morning of. They looked great and were FREE!
February 10, 2009 6:46 am
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this is adorable! and making my urge to go to France even stronger… love this wedding, thanks for sharing it.
and:
“In California we do not have the option of getting married in buildings that people have been getting married in for hundreds of years. In fact, we don’t have buildings that have been standing for hundreds of years.”
ha ha, so true! I was just talking about this with a client yesterday… about how we don’t have brick buildings so much, or buildings built before 1906 so much, so the East Coast is still kinda amazing in its ancientness! ; )
February 10, 2009 10:28 am
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Promise, I’ll send you some pics in 3 months time ;-)… (yeah, I’m one of the 300 and so french readers lol).
We’ll be getting married in the small but old church of my in laws village, the reception will be held in a 16th century house (I’m in love with my venue) and my dress is home made too… hope you’ll like it ! ;-) (I won’t be picking my bouquet though because I want orchids and those won’t grow 1000m high lol, but I’m doing my centerpiece and some other flowers…).
My blog : http://jolismariages.com if you’re curious (not talking about myself only)
February 10, 2009 12:42 pm
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Ohh, Ann C, if only I could read your blog. My freach is so terrible, I make it through Paris with pretty sad eyes, and many a “Pardon, pardon, pardon.”
Sigh.
But I’m very excited about seeing your wedding, and your HOMEMADE DRESS. Hooray!
February 10, 2009 2:16 pm
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And Kids, I am interested in weddings from EVERYWHERE. For serious.
February 10, 2009 2:17 pm
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This is my all time favorite wedding. I posted about it a year or so ago when I scanned it from an old mag. I was happy to see the real pics up on the website. I never get sick of looking at it!! Thanks for sharing it.
February 10, 2009 9:38 pm
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Meg, if you want some sneak shots, just click on “notre mariage” in the “LibellĂŠs” (tags), there’s some pics of part of my dress ! ;-) (and of my invites)
February 11, 2009 1:34 am
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My parents got married in CA in a Spanish mission built in 1772! Missions do require you to be Catholic, but you can also get married in some of the other old Spanish buildings – barracks, etc.
February 11, 2009 7:13 am
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