French Wedding Traditions French wedding traditions influenced modern European ceremonies and kept their form until nowadays. The French-style wedding is usually modest enough. As a rule, it consists of two parts: the civil and the religious one. The civil ceremony takes place in the city hall, and is attended only by the closest people to the couple. As for the religious ceremony, it is public and anyone can attend it. In some parts of France, the guests throw coins to children waiting near the chapel. On their way from the church, the couple walks through the arch of flowers. The religious ceremony is followed by reception. Reception party is called “Vin d’honneur”, and it is public as well. It is only a stand-up party which can be attended by all guests from the church. There are no speeches at the reception but there is entertainment. The dinner following the reception is private and only closest relatives and friends are invited. The entertainment at the dinner which usually takes place between the courses can extend the dinner party till morning. Garter tradition appeared far earlier than the tradition of the white wedding gown. The best man had to steal the laced garter from the bride, which she wore on her thigh, or the bride would throw it to the guests. The thrown garter (or the bouquet in some traditions) is expected to bring luck to the person who catches it. Another wedding tradition is that the groom picks up the bride on wedding day’s morning.
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