[Jimakocha Summer Festival♪][3 winners will receive a gift for leaving a comment] Are French weddings a 14-hour endurance test?! | The “French baptism” I received at a midsummer wedding

I am participating in this event here↓

A summer festival?! That sounds fun!!

Wait, what? We set up shop in different areas with articles, illustrations, videos, and music,
and we can go visit other participants' booths...?

Isn't the idea for this event just too genius?!

The concept behind the planning is just amazing, really...😳😳

Oh, wait, you want me to write the actual article instead?

I wanted to talk more about how amazing the two organizers are, but if I start with that, people will probably leave...

Since I am writing an article, I will be setting up shop in the [Food Stall Area].

Looking at the other participants' articles, the food stall area seems to have
many reader-participation posts related to [Summer Festival] memories or summer festival themes.
But there don't seem to be any specific rules.

Since I'm at it, I want to participate

with an article that shows my personality.

I decided to choose and write about a summer memory that is uniquely mine. Thanks to my account being reborn, I can safely release this episode (lol)
(Manatchan, thank you again😭😭)

Whether you are interested or not,

I think this article will allow you to enjoy the cultural differences between France and Japan🎌🇨🇵

Speaking of summer memories for me,

it's the wedding I attended in France over a decade ago.

This was also the first event where I received a "French baptism" in many different ways.

It was also the first event where I received a "French baptism" in many different ways.

It was also the first event where I received a "French baptism" in many different ways.

To begin with, my husband and I met on a matching app. (At the time, it was called a "dating site," and the image was quite bad 💦)

→ The story of how we met is long, so I'll save it for another article.

It took only half a year from meeting to deciding to get married.

(By the way, it took my parents 3 months from meeting to marriage)

We wanted to be together forever, but because my visa was about to expire, we had no choice but to...

decide to get married for practical reasons 😅

(Not romantic at all)

Moreover, I had to return to Japan temporarily,

3 days before the wedding,

with just myself,

I flew from Japan to France.

What surprised me was the wedding preparation.

I suppose this depends on the family in France, but

in his family,

the wedding party was at home. Basically, we did all the preparations ourselves.

In France, of course, many people rent a venue for a wedding reception like in Japan, but

regarding the preparations,

we do as much as we can ourselves

There are also many people.

It's not just about saving money.

It's to create a memorable wedding with their own hands.

But at the time, I couldn't see any value in that part at all.

"Huh? Why do the bride and groom have to set up the venue themselves? 😠😠"

I complained incessantly.

And

The day before the ceremony, despite it being July, the weather was terrible with hail falling.

We hadn't bought wedding rings, so we went out together to a nearby town to buy them the day before.

When I told the shop assistant,

"We've come to buy wedding rings,"

"Oh my. Congratulations on that. 😊

So, when is the ceremony?"

"....It's tomorrow."

The shop assistant was stunned. 😅

The venue setup the day before involved decorating the venue, setting the tables, preparing the tableware and glasses, and restocking drinks. Although there were only about 50 guests, which isn't that many, there was an endless amount of work to do.

It was already 1:00 AM.

Everyone was still working.

The ceremony is tomorrow, right? I'm the main character here...
Just let me sleep already...😣😣

'I'm tired, so I'm going home.'

The bride, leaving by herself.

Everyone was genuinely shocked.💦💦
But it was already 1:00 AM... and tomorrow is going to be a long day.
(Apparently, the preparations ended up taking until about 3:00 AM.)

And the next day.

Luckily, it was a beautiful sunny day,
as if the hail from the day before was a lie.

The tricky part was that at the time, our registered address was
3 hours away from my parents' house, so

the wedding at the city office (what we call filing a marriage registration in Japan) had to be done in the municipality where we resided, and because of that,

the main participants had to endure a total of 6 hours of driving back and forth during the day

which was quite a grueling schedule.😱

The wedding at the city office was in a building that looked so European! (the prefectural office).

And surprisingly, on the day of.

Perhaps because the bride was Japanese, the prefectural governor,

who rarely attends weddings for ordinary people,

was present at the office.

If this were in Japan, it would be like

It's like having Governor Yuriko Koike attend your wedding.

It's just like that 💦

Since I'm Japanese, I didn't realize how amazing that was, but all the attendees were completely stunned... 😅

Then the vows and the kiss. Well, we did what you'd do in a Japanese church at the prefectural office, and then everyone had some light refreshments.

Then, back to traveling by car. It was so long...

Oh, that's right. France has an interesting custom.

Couples who have set a wedding date...

have their names, ages, and occupations posted on the town hall bulletin board (and now on the internet as well) for 10 days.

And if someone who opposes the marriage comes forward, it's considered an objection, and the wedding can sometimes be called off.

Of course, in our case, there were no such objections.

The wedding ceremony at the town hall ended, and we returned to my parents' house for the wedding party.

The party venue was our home and the local community center.

We hired a catering service for the food, and we procured the rest (cheese, bread, wine, etc.) ourselves.

A completely handmade

country wedding.

It was.

(Like a Renoir painting)

And in France, the ceremony (reception party) is just so long!

It started around 5 PM with an aperitif, and
the ceremony didn't fully end until

7 AM the next morning

.

What kind of endurance race is this?

Everyone was in a strange, mysterious state of high tension.

...Dessert didn't come out until 3 AM.

Two of the young relatives were completely asleep...

It was a test of physical stamina, but it was an
unforgettable, fun wedding.

By the way, I was the bride, but I was completely left to my own devices...

It was more like

than a wedding,

'a long-awaited family reunion'

And that's how it was.

Since my husband's mother is Italian, Italian relatives were there too, and
cheerful laughter echoed everywhere.

Ah, I feel like I can get along happily and with a smile with this family from now on.

I remember starting out with that feeling.

Little did I know that after this,

a great war lasting several years with my mother-in-law

would unfold.

...This time, I would like to conclude with only good memories (lol).

Jimanyan-san, Kocha-san, is this okay?

I think the content is probably quite different compared to the other participants.

When I think of summer memories, this is the first thing that comes to mind:

a midsummer wedding in France.

I really wanted to share this with everyone, so I wrote this as an entry article for the “Jimakocha Summer Festival”.
I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you to everyone who read this far♪

Please, everyone,

tell me your “wedding memories” (whether they are your own or someone you know)✨️

If you tell me,
3 people who hit the mark for me
(*Limited to Jimakocha Summer Festival participants) will receive
a French phrase and a French-style icon that suits your account.
(This is not based on the order of comments. All comments received by the end of the summer festival period are eligible.)

The winners will be announced in a later article
along with the unveiling of the icons♪

I would love to get to know you all better through this opportunity, so
please feel free to leave plenty of comments.

Of course, if you don't need an icon, pure feedback unrelated to the wedding episode is also very welcome!!

#JimakochaSummerFestival