A Bastille Day Wedding
April 19th, 2007 @ 6:38 pm by Mrs. Raspberry
Since Mr. Raspberry and I are getting married on Bastille Day, I thought it would be fun to include a touch of French influence to the ceremony and reception…
When searching online for ideas, I came across this list of French Wedding Traditions:
- The bridal hope chest originated in France, coming from the word “trousseau”, or bundle. The bundle refers to the small bundle of clothes that the bride would take with her to her new home with the groom. Now, the hope chest is used to collect things in it throughout the bride’s life to take with her to her new home, including Sunday clothes, undergarments, and everyday clothes.
- In many French towns, the groom will meet the bride at her home on the day of the wedding and walk with her to the ceremony. Children will run along with them, throwing white ribbons that the bride cuts as she walks along.
- Wearing orange blossoms is a symbol of virginity in France. A French ambassador who wanted a clipping from an orange tree in Spain began the tradition. He sent a gardener’s daughter to get it, with a promise that she would get a large dowry in return, so that she would be able to marry. She got the clipping and wore orange blossoms in her hair on her wedding day to honor the orange tree that helped her marry.
- Very fragrant flowers are used for the bouquets and decorations, following the belief that the smell will ward off evil spirits.
- During the ceremony, the couple stands beneath a “carree”, which is a silk canopy. It is supposed to protect the couple from bad luck. The same “carree” is used for the baptism of their children
- Laurel leaves are scattered outside of the exit of the church, as the couple exits.
- In Southern France, the guests will throw coins at the children as the couple exits the church.
- At the reception, the couple uses a toasting cup, called the Coupe De Marriage. It is a two handed cup that is passed down through each generation.
- The wedding cake is known as a “croquembouche”, which is made of small creme filled pastry puffs in the shape of a pyramid and covered in glaze.
- As a very old tradition, guests used to bring small cakes to the reception and pile them in the middle of a table, one on top of the other. The bride and groom would have to kiss over the top of them, to symbolize a long life together.
- On the couples wedding night, friends gather outside of their window and bang pots and pans. The friends are usually invited inside to enjoy a couple of more drinks.
I think our best options are making a croquembouche or getting a toasting cup or Coupe De Marriage. AND I really wanted to incorporate the very famous French song used for celebrations as our recessional, but for the life of me, I cannot remember what it is called, so if you know, please share!!!
Are you getting married on a holiday and if so, are you incorporating any fun traditions?
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11 Responses to “A Bastille Day Wedding”
I immediately think of the yummy French croquembouche!
My parents attended a wedding in France, and the entire group (babies and elderly included) partied til dawn. A funny tradition was that they drank out of the double-handled cup but it was a (new) chamberpot filled with champagne and globs of Nutella (uh, looks gross for a reason, but mom said it tasted great!) to provide a laugh but really to remind couples that they will also share in the nitty gritty of everyday life.
We’re getting married the same day. We were actually at Verizon today getting on a plan, the lady asked when we were getting married and when we told her she said Batille Day! I wouldn’t have any clue of what she was refering to if it weren’t for my maid of honor who went to school in France.
I really think its great you’re thinking of incorporating it into your day.
We’re getting married on 7/14 too. The only tradition we’d like to have is to make it to Paris on our anniversary!!!
We’re getting married on the weekend before Fourth of July, and our colors are really dark navy, deep red, and ivory. Hopefully it will be subtle and not over-the-top. We are also considering having sparklers as our guest favors.
we had a croquembouche at our company christmas party and it looked really cool…could have been a bit sweeter for my taste but all the food was lacking so i wasn’t expecting much.
I’m getting married on the 5th of July, next year, and, like Abbie, I want to incorporate sparklers, too. Any other suggestions? I want to include the 4th of July in some aspects, but I don’t want it to be the theme of our wedding at all.
Miss Raspberry, might you be thinking of the French national anthem (La Marseillaise)?
How very cool to have a Bastille Day wedding! So glamorous and romantic. If you can afford them, or have friends that would be willing to put on a show, fireworks also remind me of Bastille Day. Sparklers are a great idea too!
I love the orange blossoms. How sweet! And a croquembouche is so fun!
But could you imagine having people banging pots and pans on your wedding night? haha
we had a croquembouche at our wedding. we loved it and our guests had never seen it before. definitely go with the croquembouche - it’s so unique. we just had it for the heck of it. we incorporated other traditions from our chinese and new mexican backgrounds. have fun!
Mrs. Raspberry, DC/New York
Age and Occupation in 07: 24, Owner/Chief Creative Director
Fiance's Age in 07: 24, Special Investigator for the government
Engagement Date: August 5, 2006
Wedding Date: July 2007
Venue: The Roycroft Inn, East Aurora NY
About Me: I love wedding and event planning. I am having a great time with all of my DIY projects and can't wait to share them with all of the WeddingBee Readers (some have to wait until after our wedding)! Other favorites include: cooking, running, tennis, knitting and making crafts. Mr. Raspberry and I also have two dogs - Gewurz, a 2 year old
yellow lab and Stella, a 1 year old old cock-a poo.
Cinco de Mayo. We’re using some traditional New Mexican wedding music, including the wedding march. Someone suggested to me having a mariachi band but that is so not my style.