We packed up Marc and Joëlle’s car, bade farewell to the proprietors of the AirBnB, then left for Chantilly Castle, which Marc’s brother had visited before the wedding. He said the flower displays in the garden were fantastic.

This was a bit funny: even French people can get confused about when things are open or closed. Of course Marc and Joëlle knew that museums were closed on Tuesdays, but they thought we were going to a castle, which are almost always open. But this castle had been converted to a museum and was closed.

Undaunted, we wandered around the outer grounds until Jöelle asked someone for ideas of what to do and learned that the Prince’s garden was not too far away. We walked through the town to get there.

The desserts featured above probably contain Chantilly Cream, a sweet whipped cream that was famously featured at the chateau in the late 17th century.

The Prince’s garden is a young child’s paradise with fun cartoons and signs that even I could understand.

Finally, they left us at a hotel near the Paris airport, for our flight the next morning. Saying goodbye to such true friends after an adventuresome few weeks is difficult, but we will see them again in the Autumn. Thank you guys. You’re the best.

We spent the morning working on the blog, while most everyone else were packing up to get home. We joined the wedding party again for lunch in the castle, saying goodbye to many friends.

Later Marc and Jöelle took us to Senlis, a small village nearby.

France and much of Europe are great at utilizing buildings no longer used for their original purposes. What a beautiful space to display one’s art!

We then wandered to another old stone building, this one still in use as constructed. It’s a beautiful cathedral of course.

We walked around the town for a while, but the temperature was high.

After the visit, we went back to the AirBnB for the last night. We stopped by the castle to see Aurélie and Simon and pick up leftover salads and Joëlle’s bowls. That evening, we shared dinner with the proprietors of the Airbnb, all the leftover salads. They offered strong Belgian beer as a treat.

Marc and Joëlle were busy in the morning, so we tried to catch up with blogging.

Lunch buffet at the castle consisted of all the salads made here yesterday morning with other salads and desserts from friends and family. Such variety cannot be found in the US, at least not in my experience.

That afternoon, the ceremony was outside, under huge, leafy trees with a spectacular view of the castle. Audrey, Aurélie’s older sister and maid of honor, was dressed in a beautiful Medieval green outfit, while Nono, Simon’s friend and best man was dressed as a knight. These two administered the ceremony, while the four other witnesses sat towards the side. Both bride and groom looked fantastic.

Our friends provided us with an English translation of most of the ceremony, helping us know the details. The ceremony started with:“Hear ye, hear ye!” and continued with Medieval themes. The couple must pass one final test before being married. This was based on the board game all the younger people played last night. The idea is to solve a puzzle and build a map on your values, like humor, complicity, family, trust, support and tenderness. A unique and wonderful idea, which made both Aurélie and Simon happy, laughing a lot. Some of the speeches, by friends and family, were tied to this puzzle.

Professional photographs followed, with a cocktail hour in a different garden after that. One point of interest was that even though both bride and groom were in the military, and many of their friends were also, no one wore a uniform. This was the bride and groom’s choice — family and friends being more important than jobs.

Dinner was delicious, of course. And the games after dinner were new to us. A funny one involved young friends who had to race through the crowd to find particular objects, like salt shaker, belt, toilet paper. The last one back to the front was out, and had to promise to do something particular for Aurélie and Simon, like take them out to dinner, watch their cat when they were away, that sort of thing.

Another funny one was a list of questions that the audience knew but the bride and groom did not. People stood up if the answer was yes for them, and the couple tried to guess what the question was.

Table numbers were important because people were asked to write messages to the bride and groom which would be opened on their anniversary of that number. We had to think about what would they like or need to hear 17 years from now.

After the games came dancing, using a song list generated by suggestions from friends. Brian and Clare slipped away around midnight, but the party lasted until 04:00!

This day, between the civil and family ceremonies, is for preparations and play. In the morning, many family members and friends came to the AirBnB where we stayed to make food for tomorrow as well as organize other things. Clare offered to help and was given simple jobs, like washing dishes, which everyone understands. Being involved, helping in a tiny way, was great!

Later, we walked to the castle where the marriage will take place tomorrow. Clare helped decorate the napkins with four other women while Brian helped Marc set up an area with photos of the bride and groom as children through today. One photo pictured our daughter, Laura, when Marc and Joëlle’s family visited Colorado.

When the tables were ready for the big dinner the next day, we all went to the grassy courtyard for games. Unfortunately, the sun was bright and hot and not many people participated in the games. We re-met people we met at Audrey’s wedding a few years ago, so the time outside was filled with communication. Fortunately, a lot of people here know English. I hope we did not embarrass ourselves too much.

Dinner was from a food truck, delicious hamburgers and fries, served from 9-10 o’clock.

So many more people had arrived that the bridal party and close family stayed in the castle annex, including, of course, many people from our AirBnB. The young people played a favorite board game at the castle that night, foretelling part of tomorrow’s ceremony. The next morning at breakfast, we met some new people staying here for the wedding.