May 15, 2018

What Would Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Wedding Have Looked Like if it Had Taken Place in France?

  • The British wedding that captured the world’s attention revisited from a French perspective
  • Are we so different from our friends across the Channel when it comes to marriage?

May 15, 2018 – On the occasion of the royal wedding of the year, Weddings.net, a wedding portal in France and around the world, decided to look at things from a French perspective and wondered what this union would look like if it had taken place on the other side of the Channel. Based on comments collected from Kensington Palace and the results of the portal’s survey of 30,000 married couples, Weddings.net highlights the differences between English and French marriages.

The proposal? The future husband no longer has to kneel
Though Prince Harry may have asked for the hand of his beloved while kneeling on a romantic evening in his English cottage, the survey conducted by mariages.net reveals that 60% of French marriage proposals are made without the future husband kneeling.

Choosing the date? We prefer July over May
The most anticipated royal wedding of the year will take place on May 19th. Although wedding season officially begins in the spring, July remains the most popular month for French weddings, with 21% of unions taking place then compared to 12% in the month of May.

The time for preparation? Much longer in France
Between the time of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s engagement and their eventual marriage, only seven months will have passed. In France, the bride and groom insist on taking time to organize their wedding properly. Preparations for a French marriage last on average between a year (18%) and a year and a half (11.20%).

Organizing the wedding? Pass on the planner
It’s obvious that Harry and Meghan Markle won’t be planning their wedding on their own, unlike more than 93.1% of married couples, 65% of whom report that this is an additional expense that can be done away with.

Wedding rings? White gold instead of yellow
Meghan’s engagement ring is a yellow gold ring set with three white diamonds. Prince Harry once declared it his favorite material, and all evidence suggests that the wedding ring of the future Duchess of Sussex will also be in yellow gold. Different tastes exist in France, however, as 70% of French brides wear white gold wedding rings.

Wedding gifts? Cash and envelopes
Harry and Meghan have asked for their wedding gifts to be in the form of donations to seven charities. According to the survey, 83.1% of brides and grooms receive cash in envelopes on the big day.

Honeymoon? Departure delayed by several months
Like the 68% of respondents who chose to spend their honeymoon on different continent, Meghan and Harry will spend theirs in Namibia, Africa. They will depart for their honeymoon about two weeks after the wedding due to professional obligations. In France, 46.3% of newlyweds go on a honeymoon long after their wedding, compared to 29.7% who leave in the days following their union.

About Mariages.net
Mariages.net, the leading wedding portal in France and worldwide, was created to help newlyweds organize their ideal wedding in a fun and practical way. Thanks to its international presence, the webpage, which is part of the WeddingWire group, now has a directory of over 400,000 professionals in the sector. It has a community of more than 2,000,000 couples. Mariages.net offers a directory of qualified professionals and offers the couple thousands of ideas and advice as well as a range of tools to organize their wedding: retro planning, guest lists, budget management, wedding websites, wedding lists, wedding catalogs… In 2016, mariages.net was voted the best site of the year and the most popular site in the Community category. The WeddingWire group operates in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia with a presence in 15 countries (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Brazil…) through the websites WeddingWire.com, Bodas.net, Matrimonio.com, Mariages.net, Casamentos.pt, Bodas.com.mx, Casamentos.com.br, Matrimonio.com.co, Matrimonios.cl, Casamientos.com.ar, Matrimonio.com.pe, Weddingspot.co.uk, Casamiento.com.uy, Weddingwire.ca, and Weddings.co.in.