A French wedding

[mogs]

We've been invited to a neighbours wedding next week, at the Mairie.

What is the general etiquette?

Do we dress smart but casual? OH wants to know if his suit and tie is too formal? What is the usual dress?

Do we throw confetti?

Are presents the norm?

We've been asked to take photos of the occasion, which I think is nice (to be asked).

Any info on what generally happens at a French wedding is much appreciated.

[EmilyA]

I am always shocked by how casual the dress code is at weddings here. Definitely not suit and tie, I would say. We normally give a present, but others give money and quite a few seem to take plants.

Mostly it seems to be rose petals rather than confetti and bubbles are popular.

You could try watching "4 mariages pour 1 lune de miel" at 5pm on TF1. It is a ridiculous programme really but I love it (c'est trop too much, trop bling bling, je n'aime pas le wedding-cake etc).

You will be an expert in a week!

[ericd]

Defo NO CONFETTI !!! Rose petals ok but might be hard to get for next week ..... in my days, we used to throw rice (uncooked).

[mint]

Eric, I had a fit of the giggles when I read your post[:D]  And the fact that you felt it necessary to specify that the rice be uncooked!!!

I just had this mental image of people throwing lumps of well-cooked Basmati at the bride and groom and some of it sticking on to the bride's gown..........oops, sorry, I'm off again, laughing![:)]

[EmilyA]

Do we get a report?

Did you have to sing that "allez allez allez" song?

Was it a pièce montée or a "weddeeng-cake"?

Was her robe bien adaptée a sa morphologie?

Do tell....

[Pierre ZFP]

Can I offer one small tip for weddings regardless of where they are?

Always carry a few safety pins of various sizes (from the little gold coloured ones to something a bit bigger)

I haven't attended that many weddings but there always seems to be a 'wardrobe malfunction' of some sort and I have gained many Brownie points over the years by simply offering a selection of pins [:)]