France
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Weddings in France
Traditions
Many times in smaller French towns, the groom will meet his fiancée at her home on the day of the wedding and escort her to the chapel where the ceremony is being held. As the couple proceeds to the chapel, children will stretch long white ribbons across the road which the bride will cut as she passes.
At the chapel, the bride and groom are seated on two red velvet chairs underneath a silk canopy they called a carre. Laurel leaves may be scattered across their paths when they exit the chapel. Sometimes small coins are also tossed for the children to gather.
At the reception, the couple customarily uses a toasting cup, called a Coupe de Marriage. The origin of giving toast actually began in France, when they literally dropped a small piece of toast into the couple's wine (to ensure a healthy life). They lifted their glass to "a toast", as is common in Western culture today.
Some couples choose to serve a croquembouche instead of a wedding cake. The dessert is a pyramid of crème-filled pastry puffs, drizzled with a caramel glaze.
At a more boisterous wedding, tradition involves continuing the celebration until very late at night. After the wedding reception|reception, those invited to the wedding will gather outside the newlyweds' window and bang pots and pans. They are then invited into the house for some more drinks in the couple's honor, after which the couple is finally allowed to be alone for their first night together as husband and wife.
Another practice that is becoming more common at wedding celebrations is "beheading" a bottle of Champagne (beverage)|champagne with a sabre made for the occasion. It was started as a way for the Hussards (under Napoleon's command) to celebrate victories and exhibit their horseback skills: they would "behead" the top off a bottle of champagne while on horseback. Legend has it that the skilled horsemen would ride at a full gallop while brave women held up bottles of champagne. The sabre must strike the neck of the bottle at exactly the right angle (champagne bottles have over 100 pounds of pressure per square inch).
This practice spread throughout France as a way to celebrate special occasions. Now decorative replicas of these special sabres can be purchased from artisans in Thiers, France (the French capital of cutlery).
Source - *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_traditions_and_customs#French_customs
Why France?
Marriage License Requirements
Marriage in France is quite a bit different than in most countries and has different rules than most. For one thing you cannot have a church ceremony until you have a civil one which is the only recognized union in France. Also, there are basically two types of marriages, one is an actual full-blown marriage with each partner having all the legal rights that marriage can afford, but they also have a lesser union which while legally recognized as a legal union does not afford the same protections that the full-blown version would. The lesser union is available to both heterosexual and same sex couples, while the full-blown version is only available to heterosexual couples.
There is a residency requirement that must be fulfilled by at least one of you before you can legally participate in a civil union in France. You will have to prove that you have been living at a particular address for one month before you can legally marry in France.
In France civil marriages are performed by the Mayor, Deputy Mayor or City Counselor at the City Hall of the town within which you are living depending on whom the Mayor appoints if he or she cannot or does not want to do it.
You will go to the Town Hall and at least three weeks prior to the marriage provide the following documents.
A certified birth certificate that is less than three months old. If it is older than that it is invalid. Either a French resident permit or a valid passport. A celibacy certificate which is less than three months old. This can be done before an American Consular Officer in France. An Affidavit of Law from an attorney that is licensed to practice law in both the United States and France stating that there is no impediment to either of you getting married. In other words, no divorce pending etc. A blood test that is certified on a prenuptial certificate by a French doctor or an accredited doctor by a French consulate. If the test comes out in a negative fashion it will not prevent you from getting married, it is only for your information. Proof that you have lived in the town for the required 30 day period. This can be a utility bill for example. If you plan on having a prenuptial contract then you need to provide that as well. All foreign documents must be translated into French by an official translator before you bring them to the Town Hall to apply to be married. At least two witnesses are required at a French wedding for it to be legal. Although they do not have to be present when you apply to get married as in some countries.
Once you have applied to get married, provided all the documents necessary and proven that you've lived in the town for at least 30 days then it is time to post the banns. In France you must post banns at the Town Hall at least ten days prior to your marriage ceremony. You cannot post your marriage banns until you have already fulfilled the 30 day residence requirement.
While you can get an actual marriage certificate by writing to the Town Hall in the town in which you were married and requesting one, all married couples are given a booklet to record not just their marriage but any births, deaths, divorces and name changes in their family as well.
If you are worried about what might not be a very solemn way to get married don't. The French take marriage very seriously and some Town Halls even provide a room that couples can personally decorate. You may also have guests as well so if you were concerned about having more than the two obligatory witnesses this is not a problem.
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