Being from Europe, we do things very differently than in North America. For starters, we don’t get married in the afternoon, weddings take place in the morning.
A typical wedding day starts at 6:00 a.m. with a trip to the hair stylist, followed by an appointment with the makeup artist at 7:00. By 8:00 we’re home again for breakfast and to get dressed.
At 9:00 the master of ceremony arrives, who welcomes the witnesses (that would be the maid of honor and the best man), the photographer, the groom, and the groom’s parents. Yes, in Europe the groom comes to the house of the bride.
Everybody has a glass (or two) of champagne, to steady possible nerves, pictures are taken around the house, and then everybody piles into rented limousines and heads for the town hall where the mayor legalizes the marriage, and then to church where a priest does a mass and legalizes the union again. All the while the photographer flits around taken pictures of anything worth capturing.
By the end of the mass it’s usually noon. From the church, family and friends make their way to the banquet hall, while the couple go to the park, or some other location to have pictures taken.
When the couple arrives at the banquet hall around 1:00, they are awaited by close family and friends and there is a reception with champagne and canapés.
Lunch is an elaborate affair, usually a five course meal: soup, salad, a fish dish, a meat dish with veggies and fries, cake and coffee, followed by ice cream.
This would look something like this:
They sit down to dinner, consisting of: soup, salad, the meat dish, and cake.
After that … it’s party time. The D.J. or orchestra take their place, the tables are cleared, and while beer, wine and champagne flows freely, the guests dance the night away.
The party seldom ends before 3:00 a.m. Some go as long as 6:00 a.m.
The newlyweds and their respective parents are the last to leave.