A French & Brazilian Wedding

Friday the 15th of August was a holiday in France, so we had a nice long weekend. It was a busy one, though, and started with a wedding on Friday.

I met the groom, Stéphane, when he worked in the Detroit office a few years ago. When he moved back to France we ended up living in neighboring towns, and shared rides into work a few times.

During his stay in the US, Stéphane visited New York City and met Vivian, a Brazilian, in a hostel. They began a long distance relationship, she moved to France, and voilà, now they're married.

The wedding was held in a pretty little farm in Poissy, which was about 30 minutes from our place. The ceremony was in French, with the vows translated into Portuguese. It was a lovely outdoor wedding.

After the ceremony we migrated into the stone building that housed the reception, with its beautiful high ceilings and timbers. We were treated to an exceptional meal, and each couple was given a small bottle of cachaca, a Brazilian rum.

Already the evening was a hit, but there was a surprise in store. Halfway through the appetizer course, the DJ turned down the lights and cranked up the music. Then out from the kitchen wriggled two Brazilian dancers, dressed in sequins in feathers.

Dave and I exchanged a look: "Best. Wedding. Ever."


Fortunately, I had a great vantage point. Unfortunately, I was also one of the first to get grabbed when the dancers needed participants. And I wasn't about to get humiliated without David in tow, so he had to come too. But they were nice, and grabbed about 20 people each time, and it was really quite fun.

The dancers made two other appearances, and I didn't get any video of their backsides but I'll leave that bit up to your imagination.

Later in the night, Stéphane walked around handing out Brazilian flipflops to all of the ladies in heels. They were just too cute to open, so I brought them home still wrapped. Maybe someday I'll go to a beach and my Stéphane and Vivian flipflops will bring back fond memories of this wild wedding.