Le jour du mariage - Wedding Day!

Thursday was wedding day for Chris and Julie.

Most everyone woke up late, and had a relaxing day.  Well, I know that I did at least.  Julie spent nine hours doing her hair, makeup and dress, which seems like a long time.  Then again, I'm not an expert or aware of any benchmarks in this arena.  Maybe it's just an average amount of time for a bride to get ready.

I spent the morning, and a good portion of the afternoon lounging poolside.  There were actually some swim races and underwater breath holding contests as well, but for the most part it was a pretty chilled out session, as the wedding organizers got things in place for the main event that would begin in the garden right around 6:00 pm.

Whereas Julie gave herself nine hours to get ready, I budgeted about fifteen minutes, which, as it turned out, wasn't quite enough for a shower and putting on my tuxedo.  I didn't sacrifice the shower, which probably made everyone happy...even though we were in France, and I probably could have coasted.  Oh snap!

I digress.  As I made my way down the staircase, I ran smack into the bride and groom (not literally, of course), and snapped this candid photo of Julie handing some flowers to Chris.  I'm not sure of the significance of this exchange. There may have been none.  Just thought it was a nice photo to share.

The garden ceremony was just how I like my weddings "short and sweet."  Chris and Julie's good friend Anjali officiated, the couple exchanged vows, a few poems were read (not mine), and voila, we were all done!  Now it was time for a few celebratory drinks.  The rosé and champagne made for a really nice photo opp, but I'm not sure Philippe, displaying his best "Are you for real?" face, concurred.  

Maybe he was still stewing over de-plate-gate from last night's dinner.  As a side note, his name is not Philippe.  I mean, I'm not really sure.  I just named him that. But he easily could be a Philippe.

We stayed around the garden and pool area for a bit and socialized before dinner began.  Here is a rather awkward looking photo of a bunch of us, including the bride and groom.

Two long tables were set up in the courtyard, and we then made our way over to start dinner and the rest of the evening's festivities.

Once again, the table was set beautifully, and I had a prime seat right across from Chris and Julie.  I should mention that I was also next to a couple with a nine-month old baby boy, Gus.  Gus and I had hung out earlier by the pool, so there was some rapport that had already been established.  In fact, so much so that his parents felt comfortable plopping him on my lap while they ate their first course.  It was all going really well.  Then he started crying, and I handed him back.  Great experience though.

The first course was gazpacho with a crab beignet; an innovative and interesting combination.  The gentleman below standing next to Chris was in charge of the wine, and apparently quite an expert, formerly the sommelier for Alain Ducasse in Paris.  He aptly explained each of the wines we would be enjoying during the evening, giving us a bit of background on the history of the Rhone region and some of the grapes.

There was a fish course (seabass), a vegetable course, and some farro risotto, but in my opinion, the best dish of all was the lavender marinated duck breast; even better than it sounds.

For dessert, there was a refreshing bowl of cherries in lemon verbena gelee with citrus creme fraiche.  Another unique dish, that was actually quite good and tasted like...spring in Provence.  

And of course there was a wedding cake, a beautiful vanilla cake with raspberries and plenty of buttercream I have no doubt.  I'm not really much of a cake-guy, but even I had to get in on a slice.

After dinner, there were a few more speeches, then drinking and dancing late into the night and the wee hours of the morning.  I on the other hand, had a driver coming to pick me up at 6:30 am for the airport, and Irish-goodbyed at around 1:00 am to try and catch a few zzzs...which proved elusive and before I knew it, my alarm was buzzing.

A quick splash of water on the face, some serious stinging as I placed my contacts into my reddened eyes, and I was off.  But there was one small challenge.  The house was gated, and I didn't know the code.  Evidently, one was required not only to enter, but also to exit the estate.  And so, my morning workout consisted of hurling my bags over a twelve foot wall, then scaling and de-scaling (?), myself.

And just like that, we were off in the direction of Marseille, arriving at the airport in plenty of time to board my flight to Barcelona via Munich.