After proposing to Nathalie when we visited Wineglass Bay in Tasmania, we were married yesterday half a world away in Luc sur Mer, France. So it's now official that I am the luckiest man in the world to be married to such a beautiful, charming and loving woman. We have shared so many adventures together already that would fill a normal lifetime. I have a feeling that there will be many more to come.
Luc sur Mer, France
November, 2018
Our wedding here was always going to be very low key, mainly because of the paperwork hoops we had to jump through to get all my documents in order and that we had been traveling constantly since leaving Normandy last March. Wanting to return to Australia in early December left us a window of about 3 weeks to tie the knot so 24th November became the big day!
In France all marriages have to be conducted at the local town hall by the mayor. (You can then have a church ceremony if you wish as well.) We were lucky enough that in Luc sur Mer, the town hall is in a charming park and made for a quite beautiful setting. We even had the resident peacocks come and check out proceedings.
We had out friends Annie and Jean-Paul act as the official witnesses, there was Nathalie's parents, Eliane and Paul, son Kanji and friends Fabrice and Isabelle who'd traveled all the way from Britanny to be with us for the day. Wonderful! The mayor of Luc sur Mer married us in a civil ceremony and we became husband and wife. It was lovely and informal and just perfect for what we wanted here. Even better, the morning forecast was for clouds and some rain but amazingly, the sun broke through and we had blue skies for just an hour while we were married. Our friend Isabelle from Luc sur Mer took the images and helped make the day very special. Thanks Isabelle!!
After the morning ceremony, our little wedding party headed to our favourite local restaurant Le Petite Flaubert for a celebration lunch. It was a nice surprise for Thiery the owner and his wife to find out we'd been married just that morning. The look on his face when he found out was priceless. After lunch it was back home, a little rest and then get ready for another little celebration where we had about 25 people over for dinner and drinks. I still can't get over being able to leave the champagne outside on the patio to keep well chilled. So instead of going to the fridge for more wine, you just open the patio door and grab a bottle from there! Not everyone knew we'd been married that day so there were again some pretty surprised reactions when Nathalie showed them her wedding ring. There's one thing you have to say about the French, they celebrate food and wine like no others. We had delicacies from all over France with home cooked treats, pastries from Brittany and foie gras which leaves the French absolutely in raptures. An acquired taste for sure. Plenty of good wine, food and music. We had such a great night and enjoyed it so much we will just have to get married again in Australia!
Annie is upstairs and ready to get things underway
Nathalie's reaction when Isabelle and Fabrice arrive
Let's go and get married!
The peacocks added some colour
It's official! The newly married couple
The sun broke through for an hour while we were married
After the ceremony, me taking some happy snaps
Annie acting as our witness
The grounds of the local town hall in Luc sur Mer
Kanji, Nathalie and I outside the town hall
Nathalie's parent, Paul and Eliane
Nathalie, looking gorgeous
Getting married, French style
Our friends from Brittany arrive
Kanji and Nathalie outside the Marie (town hall) where we were married
Peacocks on the rooftop. And yes, that is a real whale skeleton!
The Alternative Voyage
my road less traveled
