Finally, you say! About time Team Beck got to the wedding, which was the main reason for our epic trip to France, with a bit of Belgium and the Netherlands thrown in for good measure. If you've been reading about Team Beck's exploits leading up to this day (see list of articles at the bottom of this post), you'll know it wasn't the quietest of rides, but somehow everything had worked out so far. No, today that isn't foreshadowing, I'm happy to say.

Reunited with my friend from a long time ago and a galaxy far, far away (Canada)!

I hadn't seen my friend in over five years, although we chat pretty regularly on Skype, and her daughter, who I've affectionately dubbed ma nièce because in African traditions the daughter of your friend can be your niece, had lived with @tim-beck and me for a while in Johannesburg.

Reunited! We were so happy to see each other.

The ceremony at the Mairie in Condette

We made it to the ceremony at the Mairie (Town Hall) in Condette without a hitch, as it were - the main hitch was about to happen (and if have background with ropes you know that two hitches don't necessarily tie a knot). In fact, Team Beck was uncharacteristically early; the second group to arrive after the bride's grandparents. On a roll!

The Mayor conducts a civil ceremony

The Mayor of Condette, looking resplendent and giving a short speech to the marrying couple (seated in front of him). He explained the civil nature of the French marriage ceremony and spoke of sharing values and convictions with the groom's parents. I suspect those were liberté, égalité et fraternité but did not get a chance to find out for sure.

Why at the Mairie (Town Hall)?

There are rules to getting married in France, as ma nièce found out to test her patience. But in the end, les fiancés got through the bureaucracy. This link explains it succinctly.

Newlyweds

The bride and flowergirl

The groom with his mother and the mother of the bride

The bride, flowergirl and maid of honour

Happy, proud mother of the bride

@tim-beck shares a moment of joy with the bride's mother, with Emma looking on

The bride's grandparents - but as you can imagine, she wasn't the only one wiping away a tear of joy...we were all sniffling a little

Outside the Mairie after the ceremony

Everyone milled around, mingled and mixed outside the Mairie after the ceremony

Look closely - you can see bubbles! That's what we threw instead of confetti or rice. How environmentally friendly 😊😊! That got a SuperKiligirl 👍 for showing love to this little part of our planet.

@tim-beck and @kiligirl getting inspired by the occasion

Afternoon reception at the Domaine

Bride alighting from her coach

I've said in previous posts that this was quite an international affair. If the images to now haven't conveyed that, this will! I think at least ten countries were represented, but chances are that many of the guests had, like me, lived in many countries - so you could say the event was global.

Food and music

The food was abundant and exquisite, and the champagne flowed.

The griot, a renowned singer from Guinea (apparently) in West Africa got everyone in the mood for a party. He sang the names of family members, getting them to come up and dance. Fun!

The griot called the mothers up to dance....

The griot even called the Mayor to join in.

How cool are these band members? A marimba player and a...I'm not sure what that fellow is playing, but it sounded great.

Mother and daughter

Mother and daughter

Enjoying the celebrations

Me on the left with the bride and my beautiful stepdaughter Emma

The Polish gang of three in their sartorial splendour, taking a (short) break from handing out exotic craft vodkas and liqueurs to anyone brave enough to drink them.

The bride's mother getting ribbed by family.

Catching the bouquet. Uh-oh - that's my friend's son's girlfriend...fix!

What a serene venue.

Evening reception at the Domaine

The two hundred or so guests enjoyed a stunning dinner which lasted well after midnight, including the speeches. The bride and groom visited every table between courses.

The bride, ma nièce.

I hope you all caught the two beautiful dresses the mother of the bride was wearing!

All good things do come to an end if you don't want to fall asleep at the wheel

Most of Team Beck, minus a third, left the festivities around 1:15 in the morning, and the dancing hadn't even started yet! By now we were ace confident of our way on those winding French country roads, so the 45 minute drive back to our hotel felt much shorter.

PS

Note: I've been arguing with myself about how to put this post together, because Steemit isn't typical social media where I post this and people will know those in the photos. In the end, I've decided to group a selection of photos chronologically, and not say much about them other than to give you the broadest outline of who is who and where is where so the event makes sense to you. I've also decided to use only photos taken by Team Beck as there will be other forums for the "official" wedding photos, and not to use any names other than those of the members of Team Beck.

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Images by @kiligirl, @tim-beck and Emma Beck except where otherwise credited.

Other posts to date on our trip:

https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-6-part-3-of-the-beck-trek-to-france-bruges-and-amsterdam-superkiligirl-saves-the-mother-of-the-bride
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-6-part-2-team-beck-takes-a-reflective-turn-in-delville-wood-somme-region-of-france
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-6-the-beck-trek-hits-the-north-of-france-amiens
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-5-team-beck-moves-from-paris-to-pas-de-calais-in-the-north-of-france-and-nobody-dies
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-4-in-paris-for-team-beck-notre-dame-the-musee-d-orsay-and-le-marais
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-3-in-paris-for-team-beck-hop-on-hop-off-bus-tour
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-2-in-paris-for-team-beck-boat-cruise-down-the-seine
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-2-in-paris-for-team-beck-a-visit-to-the-louvre
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/two-weeks-ago-yesterday-we-were-wandering-around-the-centre-pompidou-in-paris
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/paris-day-1-part-2-of-several-posts-on-our-trip-to-paris-pas-de-calais-bruges-and-amsterdam
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/whirlwind-tour-of-paris-pas-de-calais-bruges-and-amsterdam

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