Need help from fodorites in France for wedding plans
 

My daughter is planning on getting married in a Catholic ceremony in France. I understand about the civil, religious, and symbolic weddings, paperwork, etc. We have plenty of time. Can anyone recommend a wedding planner in France and give me an idea of how the cost structure works? She wanted to get married at Sainte Chapelle, but we are told it is very expensive. The Royal Abbey at Chaalis has been recommended to us. Has anyone seen it? If so, would you recommend it? Can you recommend a location for an intimate dinner for 20 with dancing? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.<BR>KK<BR>

Is your daughter marrying a Frenchman or a foreigner? The reason why I asked is that I had wanted to get married in France. My husband is American and I found out that we had to be there for a certain length of time before we could be married. Anyway to get an &quot;exception to the rule&quot; we had to write a letter in French explaining why rules should be waved. Needless to say I decided it would not be worth my time to get married there due to red tape. If she is marrying a Frenchman does he not have family or friends that you could contact? That might be a good place to start. Sorry I could not be of more help.

If you, your daughter or anyone else in your family speak French, I wouldn't bother with finding a &quot;wedding planner&quot;.<BR>The church (and some patience) is the key. Once you have defined that and made arrangements with the priest, you start your search for accomodation / dinner / music and whatever else. <BR>Personnally I would pick a hotel where you all stay together and have the party as well.<BR>Good luck!

Patricia: as far as I know, the residency requirement (40 days or so) applies to the civil wedding, not to the religious one. In France you have to first get married by the Mayor or his/her representative and then only - if you wish - hold a religious ceremony as well.<BR>Hence foreigners usually get married at home, and do only the religous part here.

I was a bridesmaid at my cousin's wedding when she married a French gentleman. If I recalled correctly the civil marriage precedes the religious ceremony and it is always at the Town Hall. France requires previous residency of a member of the couple in the city where the marriage will take place. For the civil ceremony they both had to provide birth certificates, prenuptial medical certificates (issued less than two months before the wedding date), passport, Affidavit/Certificate of celibacy or divorce/widow. You will need to provide the original document and one which has been officially translated to French, e-mail the French Consulate for specific information concerning formalities. You would be wise to start early. She married at Ch&acirc;teau d'Esclimont, we drove for about an hour from Paris, that's all I remembered from years back.

The town of Fere en Tardenois has an old chateau and a newer one that is used as an hotel and dinner and dancing, including a beautiful terrace. The town is approx. 100 km east of Paris near Chateau Thierry. There are several towns nearby with magnificent cathedrals including Soissons and some small churches. The one in Fere en Tardenois is pretty.

Thanks to all of you! I will follow up on your advice. The bride and groom are both US citizens, they plan to have a civil ceremony in the US, but want a Catholic wedding in France. Unfortunately, none of us speak French.

Has anyone seen the Royal Abbey at Chaalis?