We woke up to a partly cloudy morning. It's a perfect day for the wedding of Laurène to Benjamin! Danny and I ate breakfast and then he left to take a taxi to the airport to pick up the rental car. Anna didn't sleep well so she and Renee were having a slower morning. I went for a walk to see some churches and another Porte (Portal). I walked for about an hour and a half until Danny told me he was back at the hotel. I went back to the hotel and together we walked more in the city taking in the architecture. We went back to the hotel to get dressed for the wedding and to pick up Anna and Renee. We stopped at Paul on the way to the car and grabbed a picnic lunch which we ate in the car. The wedding was located about a half hour from Bordeaux at a little stone church in La Brede. The name of the church was Eglise St. Jean d'Etampes. We arrived around 3 and waited outside with the other guests and our family members. We were still outside when Benjamin and his brother, Valentin, drove up in a vintage Porsche! When Cathy arrived, we all went into the church to await the bride who was driven to the church by her uncle, Christophe. The mothers were escorted into the church and then Laurène was escorted in by her grandfather, Ton Ton Michel. Laurène was beautiful in a custom made gown with a lace bodice, her hair twisted up with little white flowers. Benjamin also looked very handsome. Their son Lucas was attended by Benjamin's sister and behaved very well during the ceremony. We didn't hear a peep out of him! The ceremony was performed in French of course and although we didn't understand the words, we did understand the elements of the ceremony and the tender and emotional moments between Laurène and Benjamin. They are such a precious couple. They asked Danny to sing during the ceremony and he sang Michael W. Smith's Agnus Dei but he sang it in French! Our family said his accent was perfect and he was told by several people and family members, including Laurène and Benjamin, how much they enjoyed his song. After the ceremony, we waited outside the church and threw rose petals at the couple as they exited. They visited with all of their family and friends before getting in the Porsche to leave for the winery where the reception would be held. There was some trouble getting the car to start, but with a little help they were on their way. When we arrived at the winery, the couple were having pictures taken while we began with a cocktail and aperitifs event. There was water with fruit in it and Champagne. Waiters walked around with trays of small bites as we waited for all of the wedding pictures to be completed. The dinner was next and began at 8:30. We were served our first course sometime after 9 but we weren't super hungry because of all of the little bites we had been given. Throughout the meal we were entertained with slideshows first of Benjamin and then later of Laurène. After dessert, which was served around 1 a.m. I think, we watched a compilation of short videos that we had all contributed to. These were of us toasting the couple with wine that we had also gifted to them in lieu of a guest book. By 1:30, it was time for the reception. We watched Laurène dance with her grandfather and then he danced with Cathy. When everyone started dancing, Danny, Renee and I decided that we would like to head back to the hotel. We left Anna to stay at the reception and she was able to get a very late cab back to the hotel. She arrived back about 5 a.m. but I'm pretty sure we were asleep by 3 a.m. It was such a wonderful and perfect wedding day! We were all so happy that we made the trip to be a part of it!
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