thinking of the French Riviera as a possible destination for our wedding. Both of us grew up near water (Southern California %26amp; Hawaii). We want a small wedding with a a few friends and family.
We are hoping that people could give us advice on destinations in France. Paris is great, but we were hoping for something along the Riviera.
With the dollar so low right now, we are thinking that destinations like Monaco might be too expensive.
Any ideas and advice are appreciated.
|||
congratulations on the upcoming marriage.
the French Riviera is sublime, but more expensive than Ever now, with our weak dollar. plus the best places get booked far in advance. not only will this be expensive for you -but for the family and friends that you invite. I think you%26#39;re walking into a logisitical black hole - to try to work this all out for everyone%26#39;s timing, tastes and budgets.
you might re-think getting married at home in S. California, and going to France on your honeymoon.
if you%26#39;re still convinced that you want to proceed, it can be done.
please talk with your wedding party and give us some budget parameters..
|||
Here are several resources which may help you. There are some special rules on getting married in France with which you may want to familiarize yourself; it%26#39;s usually a better honey moon location.
ambafrance-us.org/visitingfrance/marriage.asp
http://parisianevents.com/parisianparty/
http://www.piecemontee.com/
http://www.parisianevents.com/
http://www.weddingsinfrance.com/
|||
We saw a lovely wedding in Port Grimaud (nr St. Tropez) in September. Port Grimaud is also known as %26#39;Little Venice%26#39;. The church in the Port holds both catholic %26amp; protestant services. The reception was then held in one of the beach restaurants overlooking the bay to St. Tropez. The marquee was beautifully set out. We mostly stay on the campsite Prairies-de-la-mer, in a large static caravan, but have also stayed at some apartments in the Port. There are also some lovely hotels along the road between Port Grimaud and Ste. Maxime.
|||
Personally, I would go with Paris. Several reasons...
First, I%26#39;m a wedding photographer who has been to France 6 or 7 times (I%26#39;ll be shooting a wedding in Nice in June, as a matter of fact). I%26#39;ve been to about thirty countries. Paris is the one that I dream of shooting weddings at. There are SO MANY amazing landmarks and, although a bit cliche for some (my suspicion the first time I went to Paris), it truly is insanely romantic and, more importantly for your wedding day, immensely photogenic. The possibilities are endless. Photographs with the Eiffel tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, the many parks, Sacre Cour, the little streets of Montmarte...it%26#39;s endless.
Another great reason is affordability. If you go at the right time, say October or March, you can fly much cheaper and stay much cheaper. I%26#39;ve flown to Paris for $350 round trip - after taxes - from LAX. At those times, if such deals aren%26#39;t available, you can definitely expect to find roundtrip airfare in the 500-800 dollar range. Much better than flying to the South of France. Now, you can also stay in incredibly beautiful places, if you wish, but Paris has far more budget options for your guests that might need it.
Another drop dead beautiful place to get married is in the Normand region. This is my favorite part of France. Imagine getting photos of you and your spouse in front of this!
http://www.bobbyearle.com/michel.jpg
This castle is right on the water (the western coast of France). You could, as far as I know, get married in these fields with Mont St. Michel (the castle in the photo) and the ocean in the background, or get married on a Normand beach or the cliffs overlooking the beaches of Normandy. Plus the D-day beaches (think opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan, if you saw it) are here. This is a very historic area for your guests who may be interested in WWII.
Normandy is only a couple hours from Paris, as well. So you and your guests could potentially enjoy both areas.
Don%26#39;t get me wrong, if you end up choosing the south of France, you%26#39;ll still have a blast! Just my personal preference.
p.s. if you need a photographer, I%26#39;m always available and usually don%26#39;t have to charge much for travel fees...if any ;)
|||
It%26#39;s very difficult to marry in France, unless one of you is a French citizen. (we tried)
Both of you must have a complete physical that meets the requirements of the French government -- and the findings must be professionally translated into French.
You must have birth certificates and all documentation relating to prior marriages/divorces (including documentation of the death of a former spouse, if that applies) professionally translated into French.
One of you must reside in France for at least 60 days before the posting of the banns. (We couldn%26#39;t agree on who would get THAT job!) :D
And you then run the risk of French law having authority over property and inheritance rules...which I%26#39;m pretty sure you don%26#39;t want to do.
Get married in California, then honeymoon in France.
|||
-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-
This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.
To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html
We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.
Removed on: 7:16 pm, September 16, 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment