English-French Wedding Website
English-French weddings run into a legal ordering rule and a guest-list convention that has no English equivalent. Both are easy to explain on a website and expensive to leave unsaid.
The legal order is fixed
In France the ceremony at the mairie is the marriage, and it has to happen before any religious ceremony. That order is not a preference.
English-speaking guests often come from places where one ceremony, held somewhere licensed, is both the legal and the meaningful event. So when they see a church service on the invitation they assume that is the wedding, and when they hear about a town hall appointment they assume it is paperwork.
Say which event is the legal marriage and who is expected at it. Two lines.
The vin d'honneur is not the reception
This is the detail most worth publishing. The vin d'honneur sits between ceremony and dinner and frequently has a broader guest list — people come for the toast and leave before the meal.
An English guest reads "drinks at 18:00" as the beginning of their evening. If they are not staying for dinner they need to know that in advance, and if they are, they need to know the meal starts considerably later than they think.
Publish an honest end time
French weddings go long. The dinner is unhurried, courses arrive over hours, and dancing follows rather than overlaps.
Guests who assumed a midnight finish will book trains they cannot use. Give a real end time, and say whether taxis are realistic from the venue at that hour.
Explain what guests should wear and bring
Where the reception moves outdoors, or the vin d'honneur is on grass, say so. It is a small line that saves guests from arriving in the wrong shoes for a château lawn.
If there is a room block, put the deadline beside it rather than in a separate message.
Keep both versions moving together
Mairie slots move and room blocks expire. Keep schedule, RSVP rules and travel notes in one structured source publishing English and French together, so a change cannot reach one language and leave the other stale.
- Pair landing page: https://lumiwed.com/en/wedding-website-in-english-french/
- Local blog hub: /en/blog/
- Pricing and features: https://lumiwed.com/en/#pricing
FAQ
Does the civil ceremony have to come first in France?
Yes. The mairie ceremony is the legal marriage and it must take place before any religious service — a church ceremony cannot legally marry you first. English-speaking guests may be used to a single ceremony in a registered venue that is itself binding, so the two-event structure needs saying out loud.
What is a vin d'honneur?
A drinks reception between the ceremony and the dinner, often with a deliberately wider guest list. Colleagues, neighbours and extended family may be invited to the vin d'honneur and not to the meal. English guests will read it as the start of the reception and assume dinner follows, so state exactly who continues.
How late does a French wedding actually run?
Later than most English guests plan for. The seated dinner is long, dancing follows, and it is common for the evening to continue well into the early hours. Publish a real end time so guests booking taxis, trains or childcare make the right call.
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