James and Laura's wedding
This page is for all of our awesome guests and contains all the details about the wedding and some information to help with your stay in France. We may add additional details to this page as the wedding gets closer.
Also the only gift we want is all of our friends and family at our wedding. We already have a toaster.
We look forward to seeing you all there!
The actual wedding ceremony will be in a small church in Laura's home town of Replonges. The reception will be held at a nearby château in the town of Hurigny. We have arranged a small shuttle bus to take guests from the church to the reception for those who are not driving.
Date: 25th of August 2018
Church ceremony:
3:00pm
Elise Saint Martin,
Rue de la Tour
01750 Replonges, France
http://www.bourgogneromane.com/edifices/replonges.htm#visite
Reception:
4:30pm-late
1024 route de Salornay,
71870 Hurigny, France
https://www.chateau-de-salornay.fr/site.php
Accommodation in Mâcon
Mâcon is small town near both the church and the castle, and is probably the best place to find accommodation. Below are some suggestions of places to stay, although you may also find some good deals on AirBnB or other sites if you prefer.
Hotel de Bourgogne
6 rue Victor Hugo, Place de la Barre, 71000 Mâcon
Best Western Plus Hotel D’Europe et D’Angleterre
92 Quai Jean Jaurès, 71000 Mâcon
Hotel Ibis Styles Mâcon Centre
91 rue Victor Hugo, 71000 Mâcon
How to get there
From Paris
Catch the bullet train (TGV) to Mâcon.
Option 1: Catch TGV directly from the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris to Lyon. At Lyon change trains and catch a TER (normal speed train) to Mâcon Ville Station. This route involves a bit of backtracking but some times of day it may be faster, and also it means you can avoid finding your way around Paris.
*You can catch a slower TER train service from Paris to Mâcon but it will be a much longer trip.
*For TGV fast train tickets it is highly advised to book in advance as services only run a few times a day and you must purchase an allocated seat.
https://www.sncf.com/sncv1/en/trains/tgv
From Lyon
If you choose to fly into Lyon you can take an airport shuttle, taxi or other transport to the city centre and catch any TER train to Mâcon-Ville station. Trains depart from the two major train stations in Lyon - Lyon Part Dieu and Lyon Perrache (it is usually possible to get an airport shuttle from the airport to Lyon Part Dieu Station).
https://www.sncf.com/sncv1/en/trains/ter
Going by car
If you wish to rent a car you can either pick it up from the airport you land at or catch the train to Mâcon and arrange to pick up a car there.
Option 2: From Charles de Gaulle Airport catch local Paris transport (bus, train, subway, or taxi) into the centre of the city of Paris to the station Gare de Lyon (a confusing name for the station as this station is actually in Paris). From there you can catch a TGV directly to Mâcon-Loché station. A great option if you want to stay in Paris for a day or two before the wedding.
After the wedding program
Once we wedding is finished we know many of you may want to explore Europe yourself, however for those that would like to stay around longer we have put together a plan for a few activities to get a taste of the local area. If anyone would like to join us you are more than welcome (the more the merrier). However if you have your own travel plans that's fine too.
Saturday 25th of August 2018
Wedding day!
Sunday 26th of August 2018
In the morning we will be having a brunch at castle with whoever would like to attend. Just a nice relaxed morning with family and friends. In the afternoon we were thinking of making a trip to the nearby Rock of Solutré. We were thinking of taking a walk up the rock as it gives a panoramic view of the local countryside.
Monday 27th of August 2018
In the afternoon, we would like to organise a group visit to another castle of the region called Château de Chasselas. It is located in the middle of the vineyards. They organise wine and cheese tasting as well as a visit of the castle (visits are conducted in French and English). It is 10 euros per person (around AU$15). It would be lovely to spend the afternoon there together if anyone is interested. Please let us know if that might interest you (We will have to make a deposit and give them a rough number of people who wish to attend.)
http://www.chateauchasselas.fr/
Tuesday 28th of August 2018
There is a water-ski club on the river in Mâcon so we thought it could be a fun activity to do with whoever is keen. We could do that in the morning and walk explore Mâcon in the afternoon.
Wednesday 29th - Thursday 30th of August 2018
We were planning to take a short trip to Lyon and staying overnight on these days, so if anyone would like to come and explore the city with us you are welcome to come!
We can take a train from Mâcon to Lyon and easily get around Lyon by metro (subway) or walk. Let us know who would like to join and we can try to book a night in the same hotel on Wednesday 29th.
Lyon is about an hour from Mâcon by train (If you visit it is probably best to stay the night in the city rather than catch the train back to Mâcon). It is the second biggest city in France and so there are lots of places to stay and lots of things to see.
Friday 31st of August 2018 - onward
We have no firm plans although we will probably have a honeymoon trip of some sort during this time.
If you are staying longer we encourage you to explore and make the most of your European trip. If you aren't sure what to do we would advise researching things to see and do on Tripadvisor and use booking.com to book accommodation.
Remember that August is summertime in Europe so there are a lot of French and international tourists travelling around. You should book things early to make sure you don't miss out on good deals.
Travel advice
Here we have included a few travel tips for those who have not visited Europe before.
If you wish to drive
Don't forget they drive on the opposite side of the road! You will need to get an international license (officially called an International Driving Permit). This is easy to do but you will need to do this before you leave Australia. From memory they cost around $40 and you can get one from the motor registry. If you are driving overseas you will generally need to carry both the permit as well as your Australian license.
Check your passport expiry date
It makes no sense but you cannot travel of a passport that has less than 6 months remaining on it. If it expires in less than 6 months you will not be allowed to get on the plane.
Power plug adapters
The power plugs on your electronic devices will not fit European power sockets and you will need an adapter if you wish to use them overseas. You can find Australian-European adapters overseas however it is much much easier to find them in Australia. So if you want to charge your phone you may need to get an adapter.
Using your mobile phone
Your phone may not automatically work overseas, you may have to enable a feature called "global roaming". Check with whoever your phone contract is with to find out how to do this, it is usually fairly easy (although it is pretty hard to do it from overseas so do it before you leave). Be aware though that you will be charged much higher rates for using your phone. Sending texts will cost, receiving will not. Both making and receiving phone calls will be very expensive. Definitely turn off your mobile data or you will have a huge bill when you get home. If you need the internet try to find somewhere with free wifi.
Watch out for pick pockets
Big European cities (Paris for example) do have a lot of pickpockets. Be sensible and don't walk around with your phone and wallet in easy to grab places or an expensive camera on display. If people try to stop you in the street they are not just being nice, they are probably trying to pick your pocket. You definitely do not want to buy a mini Eiffel Tower, selfie stick or a "traditional bracelet".
The Metro
Most large European cities have extensive underground metro systems (subways). You can easily get around the city this way. In Paris this is much easier than trying to drive.
Money
France uses the Euro so you will need to think about the exchange rate. $1.60 equals about €1. Also be aware that you will often get changed an international transfer fee on top of the money you are spending, so investigate what this is with your bank. Sometimes it is better to withdraw a large chunk at a time and only pay the fee once.
Using your Bank Card/Credit Card
Your cards wont necessarily work everywhere. In some shops or businesses you may find your eftpos card will not work. You will probably have more luck getting cash out from an ATM. Some French banks have deals with Australia banks and the fee's work out better. For example BNP has a deal with Westpac (so because i bank with BankSA my card always works at BNP Atm's.)
Croissants
No French people toast their croissants and no one would ever think of putting ham and cheese on it. They may get out the guillotine if they see this.
Language
Your English might get you by in Paris and somewhat in Lyon (but don't assume) however in the countryside you will find a lot of places where no one speaks English. A little phrase book can be a life saver (you don't have to pronounce it properly, you just need them to understand you want to know where the bathroom is). You will get by without speaking the language but learning hello, goodbye, please and thank you will get you a long way (you might find if you use these the waiter actually does speak English after all).
Oh la la
Doesn't mean something is sexy, it means 'wow'.
For example; "oh la la fromage et jambon sur un croissant semble dégoûtant" (wow, ham and cheese on a croissant sounds disgusting)
Sacrebleu
No French person has said this in a hundred years. Some people may have no idea what you are even trying to say.
We looks forward to seeing you all in France!