samedi 19 mai 2007
Thursday, May 17th, was the French holiday of Ascension, which we both had off from work. We had planned to go shopping at IKEA for some furniture for the apartment (mainly a shelf unit to organize some of the stuff still in boxes in the second bedroom) but right before we left I checked on the internet and both of the IKEAs in this area were closed. The trouble with public holidays here is that you can never know what is open and what is closed. Not all grocery stores are open. Not all regular stores are open. It is very random. Kind of like whether or not a store is open between 12-2.
Anyway, we decided to go to lunch instead. We first thought of going to Aix-en-Provence, where we have been several times to eat or visit the town, then Alain suggested Salon de Provence which is the town closest to where his parents live. Then I suggested that we could go to eat at the Chateau de Richebois, where we had our wedding reception. (okay, okay, the month of May makes me nostalgic for our wedding. I've already watched our wedding video).
Anyway, we decided to go to lunch instead. We first thought of going to Aix-en-Provence, where we have been several times to eat or visit the town, then Alain suggested Salon de Provence which is the town closest to where his parents live. Then I suggested that we could go to eat at the Chateau de Richebois, where we had our wedding reception. (okay, okay, the month of May makes me nostalgic for our wedding. I've already watched our wedding video).
When Alain and I were searching for a place to have the wedding reception, we searched all over the area around Lançon-de-Provence. Where to get married wasn't a problem, we both wanted to get married in Lançon, not Marseille. We got a list from the tourist office of places. We tried a local vineyard, but nope, they don't do marriages (too much hassle, imagine that). We looked at a Salle de Reception, but I didn't want something that screamed Children's Birthday Party! We looked at another place, where they presented us with the option of flying in on a helicopter. The place was quite large, and with only 90 or so guests, we felt everyone would feel lost.
Alain suggested a place that he used to go to while in college. A nightclub. Are you kidding me? He insisted we go look at it. I was quite sceptical, but we went. It was immediately perfect. The nightclub is a different area, it doesn't even bother the restaurant. On the second floor is the small restaurant and on the top floor is a large reception room, capable of holding about 200 people.
They explained how it worked- you pay a set price per person for the meal, and there was a range of prices depending on how many courses you wanted. And that's it. Included were the wine, service, use of the space, and chairs/table linens, etc. Alain immediately liked that- he didn't want to spend the next nine months searching for places to rent table linens and picking out which chairs go with which tables.
When my parents first visited for Christmas 2005, the six of us (us, mom and dad, and his parents) went to the Richebois so that everyone could see it.
I definetely recommend the Chateau de Richebois for anyone who wants a no-fuss atmosphere. Now, if you want to micromanage every detail of your wedding from the table linens to what kind of wine is served with the fish, go to the helicopter-place.
The food is very refined, though perhaps some of the Americans didn't like it.
On Thursday, Alain and I invited his parents to come along as well. We were thinking that the meal would be the set price of 15 euros, since it was lunch and during the week. It is, except for holidays. The next cheapest was the Menu Decouvert for 28 euros. whoops. Oh well. We had a nice lunch, and I will include pictures when I can.
The waiter remembered us, and said that they were entering wedding season now. Do I miss wedding planning and the wedding? I guess a little bit.
For the rest of the entries in the Wedding series, click on the Wedding label on the right.
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2 commentaires:
I can't even imagine getting married in France...way too romantic. I know it sounds hokey, but I love the wedding scene in Braveheart. Stealing off into the night, wedding in a pasture under the moonlight. Too sweet...
My sister in law had her wedding reception here, too. It's only a few minutes from my MIL...