Prelude: arriving in Arles
When your best mate tells you she’s marrying her Prince Charming in the south of France, the lure of crusty croissants and fairytale imagery gets you booking that flight quicker than you can say ‘oui, oui’ (‘wee-wee’ for those playing at home, French for a big, fat YES).
This week of festivities turned out to be one of the most heart-warming holidays with new friendships forged, raucous laughter roared and good times that will stay in the memory bank for life – especially the impromptu eruptions of Bohemian Rhapsody that allowed the Scots to give the Australians a run for their money on the rowdy-meter!
The best weddings usually happen after guests have had the opportunity to bond with each other before the big day. Some people do this by celebrating wild bucks and hens events, but my friends Ines and Chris stepped up the sophistication and hired out a swanky wine bar in the heart of Arles the night before the wedding for everyone to get together and overcome those first impression nerves with a few bubbly beverages.
Family and friends had travelled from across the globe including Australia, Scotland, Austria, America and Ireland. And everyone was PUMPED for this wedding of two cheerful souls.
I hope you enjoy my galleries of happy snaps from the festivities testing out my new Sony a7iii camera with a f2 28mm lens.
Centre stage: it’s a nice day for a white wedding
As our bus chugged along the dusty, gravel road to the farm venue, it reminded me of the Australian outback from home, as we headed away from civilisation. But the beauty was quick to be seen. The farmhouses were built to last from stone, the trees were well established and wild white horses curiously peered in from the neighbouring paddock. The quaint property looked like a painting from a children’s storybook. It was perfect.
I was free from official video and photo duties for this wedding, however I was given another (much more daunting) task: I was the Master of Ceremonies! I breathed in and out and drew on years of memories to ad lib some stories of the beautiful bride and her family.
The highlight for me was the moment Ines wrapped her arm around me and with pure joy oozing from every inch of her 6-foot frame exclaimed “this is the best day ever!”. My easygoing friend was soaking up the simplicity of being surrounded by friends and family, celebrating love. Despite organising the event themselves, Ines efficiently dropped any planning stresses in time for her special day. Plans changed, surprises popped up but even a collapsed croquembouche couldn’t crash her cool, calm and collected party.
Her father Munib gave the sweetest speech about his ‘princess’ and it warmed my heart to watch Ines so glowingly staring up at her proud father as he delivered his words that he’d refused to prepare on paper. “I don’t need to write it down, it’s in here”, Munib motioned to his heart as he explained his methodology to me earlier in the evening.
I met Ines and her family years after they arrived in Australia as refugees from the throes of the Bosnian War. The resilience of their family story has always inspired me to my core. So I was honoured to be part of this chapter of the family’s journey here in France as she married a Scotsman at a worldly wedding that proves love knows no boundaries.
Encore: a street party festival
The following morning, we wandered this beautiful, quaint town of Arles. After a paella and pizza in an alfresco cafe (feeling very European right about now), we wandered down another small laneway, vaguely looking for gelato in preparation for a food coma, when we could hear loud music drifting from the direction we were headed.
We joked that it must be the Scots. And then as we got closer, we saw IT WAS THE SCOTS – and the rest of the mob – amongst a giant street party of flowing drinks and free dance moves in the middle of the alfresco quadrangle. Of course we were quick to join. And that creeping fatigue that threatened us just moments earlier disappeared the moment our faces were consumed by laughter, song and the crew from the night before.
We were WhatsApping others in the group to let them know of this random street festival and after many hours sharing rounds of 2-euro mini Heineken beers, rip-roaring laughter and a choir rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, the greatest impromptu wedding afterparty of all time was ready to close.
Huge congratulations to Ines and Chris on your marriage and thank you so much for inviting me to be part of it. It really was magnificooooo!
All photos (apart from the one below) were taken with my new Sony a7iii with a f2 28mm lens. It was really fun to challenge myself with only one prime lens for a whole trip but I loved the creativity of it!
