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vrai mariage du mercredi - real french wedding wednesday

Weddings in France have had a complete design revolution since I first started planning weddings here in Paris “way back when”. At the time, French weddings were pretty traditional, and DIY weddings- at least in the “Martha Stewart Omnimedia” sense- had yet to catch on. But catch on they have. For more than a year or two, French brides have been bringing their own Frenchie flavor to the DIY wedding table. It’s whimsical, romantic, unique and above all else- stylish.

I’ve decided to highlight some of these weddings in a new feature- Vrai Mariage du Mercredi - Real (French) Wedding Wednesday. Sometimes these will be my own clients’ Paris-based weddings, but more often it will be weddings from other parts of France. I thought it would be a great way for parisian party readers to find inspiration for adding that petite touche française to their home-grown celebrations.

The first Vrai Mariage du Mercredi is Benjamin and Mariette’s, which took place in a little village in the South-West of France in the Poitou-Charentes region. Their country wedding, shot by American destination wedding photographer David Blair, is so sweet and charming- I actually felt jealous that I hadn’t been invited (never mind that I don’t even know Benjamin and Mariette - #thatsbesidesthepoint). Take a look at all of these great ideas for a French country wedding:

Even if French Country isn’t your thing- you know you love this French Country, right? For more images from this beautiful villa wedding, be sure to take a look at the davidblairphotography blog.

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french party tradition: galette des rois king cake

photo © myfrenchcountryhome.com

While in the U.S. the holiday season has been over and forgotten about for nearly a week now, things are still going strong here in France. This week, on January 6th, France will celebrate the Epiphany, the day the 3 Kings arrived to see the baby Jesus. Here in France, the Epiphany is celebrated with a Galette des Rois- a special “kings cake” made of layers of puff pastry and filled with chocolate and pear, apple, or the more traditional frangipane (an almond-flavored paste). Although pretty yummy by itself, the highlight of the Galette des Rois is finding the fève. The fève is a small, ceramic figurine which is baked inside the cake. Typically, the cake is sliced, and the youngest child in the household gets to determine who gets which slice. Whoever finds the fève in their slice of cake gets to wear a paper crown and be King (or Queen) for the day. I can imagine that in the U.S. a hard, pointy figurine baked into a cake would be considered a safety risk, but that’s not at all the case in France, where you’ll see lines of galette-hungry customers snaking out of bakeries across the country.

If you want to take part in the festivities, why not try this simple Galette des Rois recipe at home? A quick search on ebay pulls up a small (and pricey) selection of French fèves, but you can also do like they do in New Orleans and bake a small plastic baby in your “King Cake” instead. You can find the mini babies at any store that sells baby shower decorations. Vive le roi et vive la reine!

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how to create a royal wedding on a modest budget

Viewers who tuned in to see celebrity couple Tori and Dean design an over-the-top Marie Antoinette-inspired, French theme wedding on the Oxygen network’s “STORIbook Weddings” this week were definitely not disappointed. Every detail of that Hollywood celebration was jaw-droppingly gorgeous- and, some might say, extraordinarily extravagant. Brides should know, though, that a wedding fit for a queen doesn’t have to cost a kings ransom. Here are a few affordable ways that you can bring l’esprit of Marie into your own, home grown wedding.

a delicate, home-made rose cake, dramatic in its simplicity, sets an understated, yet regal tone: iambaker, work individual feathers into your bridal bouquet for an affordable french touch: weddingbee, add a touch of authenticity with marie antoinette monogram coffee cup wedding favors: boutique des musées, marie antoinette portrait: madame guillotine, vera wang dress: style me pretty james christianson photography, an easy diy project: rented white chiavari chairs, tied with pink grosgrain ribbon place cards: martha stewart weddings, let all of your guests “eat cake” with chateau-inspired pastel and gilded gold cupcakes: cotton and crumbs, soft pastel tapers in mix and match clear glass vases and bottles create a modern candelabra effect: tiny white daisies

And if fluffy, pink froo froo isn’t exactly your style, that doesn’t mean your wedding celebration can’t still get the royal treatment. Remember, Marie Antoinette was also considered to be a bit of a rebel in her day. Tap into your inner enfant terrible and create a Marie Antoinette wedding with black “rock and royal” inspirations!

stylishly modern centerpieces created with mercury glass vases and pink pomanders,surrounded with dollar store black lace tea lights: weddingbee, set a regal tone with a black baroque-inspired invitation suite: kaboodle, less is more with this pale pink and black tablescape with a black cameo motif: martha stewart weddings, style icon kirsten dunst in sofia coppola’s marie-antoinette, a delicate white cake with black lace details on a textured black cake stand makes a dramatically regal statement: real simple, brightly colored macarons in matte black boxes are a fun, french-inspired wedding favor: ladurée, a few gorgeous peonies tied with a simple black and white striped ribbon make a classic “parisian” statement: style me pretty, a black and pink candy bar with a black cameo motif is another inexpensive way to bring the whimsical side of marie-antoinette to your wedding: the hostess blog