French themes
MizAbyss
OK, I lost the original post, but someone here was looking for ideas for a
"French Theme". I came across this in a wedding-related site, and copied it
here. Hope this helps!
Gwen
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FOOD
-- To truly emulate the French, you must think about food and wine before all
else! Start your onslaught of all things francais during the cocktail hour. Why
not make it a wine tasting? Have five or six different French wines available,
with a wine expert (or wine-buff friend) on hand to pour and explain the
different vintages.
-- If you're marrying in November, make it a Beaujolais Nouveau night -- the
light French red wine introduced each November with great fanfare. Get yourself
some of the festive posters that are printed for the occasion to hang on the
walls. And best of all, Beaujolais Nouveau is relatively inexpensive! Ask your
local wine store for details and instructions on making a special order.
-- It's an old French custom for the couple to drink their reception toasts
from an engraved, two-handled cup called the "coupe de mariage." They then save
the cup to pass on to their children. Follow this tradition with your own
two-handled toast. You can buy two-handled cups from a fine furnishings store,
or see if a local glass-maker sells or can create one for you.
-- For hors d'oeuvres, pass canapes, miniature croissants and quiches,
escargot, and various spreads on French bread.
-- Fill a table with a variety of pates and tureens, cornishon pickles, Brie,
apples, grapes and, of course, baguettes.
-- For dinner, serve French dishes such as onion soup, beef burgundy, and coq
au vin. For dessert, serve mousse au chocolat, creme brulee and a Poire Belle
Helene -- poached pear served with vanilla ice cream and drenched with melted
chocolate.
-- Serve hot chocolate and, of course, cafe au lait.
-- For a very formal affair, consider a truly French meal served "mise en
place" (everything in its place). Each course is served, in proper order:
appetizer, soup, main course, pallet-cleansing sorbet, salad, cheese, dessert
and coffee, and a cordial. This will require true culinary skill and may work
best if you're holding the affair at a French restaurant, or you're using a
caterer whose specialty is French food.
-- At the post-wedding brunch -- or for an afternoon wedding -- serve Mimosas
-- a blend of champagne and orange juice. And how about a make-your-own crepe
bar? For a summer picnic, you could install several crepe stations on the lawn,
drape large pink (or blue-and-white check) picnic blankets all around, and let
guests order their own fillings and then carry the steaming crepes with them to
their blanket.
LOCATION, DECORATION, AND ENTERTAINMENT
-- Since the Champs Elysees is out (too far, too expensive, too much traffic),
you'll have to bring Paris home. Have the party at a French restaurant,
French-inspired reception hall, a borrowed chateau, or even a pretty French
bakery, with the scent of baking bread infusing the party.
-- No chateau in the neighborhood? No problem. Go with an ordinary home or hall
and create a cafe environment. Use small, ice-cream-parlor-style tables topped
with bottles of wine, Dijon mustard, and Perrier. Hang Toulouse-Lautrec, Monet,
Cezanne, and Manet posters on the walls. Place huge baskets of baguettes on the
sideboards.
-- Recreate the Seine by hiring portrait artists to set up easels and paint
portraits for your guests during the reception.
-- Have a few strolling musicians playing romantic tunes.
-- Erect a postcard stand filled with pictures of Paris for people to take
home.
-- Set up a continuous slide show of images of Paris.
-- Place French Elle, Vogue and Marie-Claire magazines in the bathrooms, and
see if you can have a French-language lesson tape (or some French music!)
running over the bathroom's speaker system.
-- Have your waiters wear berets (or at least red vests!) to make the scene
complete.
-- If there's a French Cultural Institute or Alliance Francaise in your area,
call to see about borrowing props, posters, pictures, and ideas.
-- For your first dance, why not chose Edith Piaf's classic, "La Vie en Rose?"
Or how about Gershwin's "An American in Paris." If you're having a DJ, have him
play Piaf, Jacques Brel and all the great American jazz greats who made their
name in France.
FRENCH FAVORS/ATTENDANT GIFTS
-- During the reign of Louis XVI, brides handed over their old fans to
bridesmaids as favors. The fans were decorated with mythological paintings. You
probably don't have a stock of fans in your closet, but you can adapt this
tradition by giving new fans as gifts, or some more modern, mythologically
decorated vanity items, like hand-held mirrors or ornate miniature boxes. Check
out your local crystal shop or another new-age venue for myth-inspired options.
-- If the fan idea doesn't fit you, there are a number of French fashion houses
that should make the gift-giving easy. Give Izod shirts, Hermes scarves, or
Chanel makeup compacts. Head to your local department store for ideas, or call
the French consulate or Alliance Francaise in your area for a list of "Comite
Colbert" members -- France's top luxury-goods manufacturers.
-- Give copies of the children's book "Madeleine" or French cookbooks.
-- How about Eiffel Tower pendants or earrings?
-- Framed posters of works by your favorite French artist or photographer.
-- Give half bottles of French wine.
-- Put miniature bottles of French perfume on each guests' plate.
-- Give anything that says "France" to you and "fun" to them.
YOUR LOOK
-- For the dress, why not go Marie Antoinette -- huge skirt, tight top (or
bustier), lots of lace. You might want to check out costume shops for something
authentic-looking!
-- If you want to go couture, check out the Paris-based wedding-dress designer
Kastine (011/331-4548-6147).
-- For a more modern affair, consider the sleek, French-inspired "Breakfast at
Tiffany's" look.
-- For a fun French dress, call Peach Berserk (416/504-1711), a dress shop in
Toronto that specializes in funky, hand silk-screened Parisian-style prints. If
your taste runs a bit on the wild side, you can special order a wedding dress
with Eiffel Towers silk-screened all over the skirt. Or get your bridesmaids'
dresses made there, and go more conservative yourself.
-- Set your hair to match. "Describe the time period of your dress, or bring
along a picture and let your hairdresser create something that will complement
it," recommends Damian Miano of Miano Viel Salon in New York City. "As long as
it matches your dress -- you wouldn't want a Louis XIV hairstyle with a
'20s-style dress." But hey, a chignon would fit right in to a French-themed
wedding!
-- Grooms -- either go the Louis costume route to your bride's Marie
Antoinette, or pick a gorgeous suit by a French designers Pierre Cardin or Yves
St. Laurent!
THE HONEYMOON
Ou est-ce que vous allez aller? (Where will you go?) Paris, of course! [Or
maybe you're thinking about the French countryside?
LtSignal
MizAbyss wrote in message <19980305194...@ladder03.news.aol.com>...
>
>OK, I lost the original post, but someone here was looking for ideas for a
>"French Theme". I came across this in a wedding-related site, and copied
it
>here. Hope this helps!
>Gwen
>----------
Fries, - McDonads definately has the best.
Toast, - It's better to make this homeade. But don't put too much syrup on
them or they'll taste like egg.
Dip Sandwiches - Don't go to Dennys for these or you'll get sick. Also,
use Angus beef, its always the best.