Delphine and David's WedBlog

Unofficial photos

Here are some unofficial photos from our wedding. If you have any digital photos, we'd love to see them (email them to us and we can put them in the gallery).

Just Married

Here are some of the first contacts from our official wedding pictures:

So what is there to do in Annecy?

Well, you can rent a pedalo and go on the lake

Or you could walk around the old town

Or maybe visit the castle

If you're hungry you could eat a fondue (try the Freti)

And if you're hot (not likely this weekend!) try an ice cream from Glacier des Alpes (great website)

If it rains, there's always the Bell Museum (where the biggest bell in France was made)

For a walk in the mountains, you can go to the top of the Semnoz

Further afield, there's always the highest mountain in Europe

Or Tignes, where you can ski all year round

More to come (if we have time between last minute preparations).

Oh and don't forget to bring a swimming costume and an umbrella!!

Guestbook

We've made a guestbook so that people who can't make it to the wedding can wish us well STOP Maybe some messages will be read out like a modern day version of the telegram STOP If you're coming you can sign it too STOP

Our not so big, not so fat French wedding

So, as we hope you've understood, we're getting married in September this year, in Sevrier, France. Practicalities dictate, of course, that some french rules, laws and traditions be respected, so here are some of the most common french traditions explained. We're not going to follow all of them, but it's interesting nonetheless.

In the olden days, when everyone lived in little villages and married the boy/girl from down the road, the groom would meet his fiancée at her home on the day of the wedding and escort her to the chapel where the ceremony was to be held. As the couple proceeded to the chapel, children would stretch long white ribbons across the road which the bride cut as they passed.

At the chapel, the bride and groom were seated on two red velvet chairs underneath a silk canopy they called a carre. Laurel leaves were scattered across their paths when they exited the chapel. Sometimes small coins were also tossed for the children to gather. Nowadays it's usually confetti, or rice (but not Ambrosia!)

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.

It used to be traditional for each guest at a french wedding to bring along a small cake or bun as a blessing for the newly-weds. These cakes would be piled up on a table and the couple would kiss over the pile, bringing them good luck and prosperity and stuff. Nowadays the cakes are made by a chef patissier, but they still have the same shape.

Another practice that is becoming more common at wedding celebrations is "beheading" a bottle of 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).

What was YOUR wedding like?

As we're far from finished with the preparations for our wedding, we were wondering, have you got any tips for us from your own wedding (or maybe another wedding you've been to)? We'd love to hear anecdotes (anonymous ones, if you want), see pictures, and generally gather ideas for novel details for the big day.

Eurostar

If you live near London or Ashford, the Eurostar might be a possibility for you. It goes to Paris and then you will need to go to the Gare de Lyon to take the TGV to Annecy. The whole journey will take between 7 and 9 hours, partly because you always have to wait around in Paris. Price-wise, it's around 80 pounds each way, although you might find a cheaper special offer or something (the website only lets you book 3 months in advance).