My Favorite French Things

Being of French heritage, I have had the luck of visiting France on several occasions.   With extensive family in the North of France, I have been exposed to some of the best that this beautiful country has to offer.  The French are experts on luxury and living well, so this week I would like to share some of my favorite French things.

Les Chapeaux!  How can you not love the incredible hats the French and Brits wear to their weddings!?  In France, a wedding hat is something to behold indeed.  They are often custom made to order and match the attire chosen for the wedding.  I wear hats even to American weddings.  The younger generation of ladies in this country seem to be embracing this lost tradition.  Fascinators and headbands adorned with feathers and sinamay swirls are popping up in L.A., New York, and equine sporting events in the South.  Southern girls are rocking the updated sundress, coordinating designer shoes, and hats! 

Why, just this month here in Charlottesville, the Foxfield steeplechase races abounded with hats on the young college girls and ladies who attended. 

Fascinators and small hats are perfectly acceptable for bridesmaids and brides for that matter.  Take a look at the bridal adornment pour la tete available, and you will see how many pretty alternatives to veils there are.

Etsy:    kettleconfections

Sweets are something the French also do extremely well.  My mother and I LOVE nougat.  It is chewy.  It has nuts.  It is delicious!  If considering a candy favor for your wedding guests, nougat is pretty, interesting, and packages very beautifully in clear cellophane or boxes.  It will not melt like chocolate and comes in customizable flavors.

Macarons are one of my favorite things on earth!  Now, I said macarons, pronounced mac-a-roh, not macaroons.  Macaroons are those toasted coconut cookies that are sometimes dipped in chocolate.  Those are lovely as well, but not as lovely as the French macarons!!  If you enjoy meringue’s crunchy exterior, with chewy center, and love fruit or caramel or any divine sweet flavors, there is a macaron for you.  They are beautiful adornment for a wedding cake, make a wonderful reception favor, and are becoming more popular as we in America find out about them.  Laduree in Paris is most famous for macarons, but many local pastry shops and online confectioners now make them.  And, they can make them to your color and flavor specifications.

You may have had profiteroles in a restaurant for dessert, but we call them cream puffs in the United States.  Often the American versions are filled with ice cream or some whipped cream and coated with glossy chocolate glaze.  But, in France, profiteroles are most traditionally used to create a conical shaped cake for special occasions and weddings called a croquenbouche.  They are composed of pate-a-choux pastry, a quality pastry cream filling, and caramel for the glue that keeps them together.  A mass of wispy caramel strands is then wrapped around the cake like a sash.  Sugar flowers and blown sugar are also sometimes used to adorn these very old and traditional cakes.   They are very French and very elegant.  The fact that they are also incredibly delicious is another reason to choose profiteroles as a dessert or for a wedding cake.    

Perfume is synonymous with Paris.  While I lived in Paris, I came across a lovely store for a perfumiere named Annick Goutal.  Her lovely simple clear bottles with gold tops and ivory and gold labels drew me in, and scents that are light and pure have kept me a faithful customer ever since.  It is only sold in Saks Fifth Avenue and some high-end shops, but it is gaining a small following in the states.  Annick Goutal perfumes and eau de toilettes are a lovely and very French gift to give your bridesmaids and family.  Plus, the bottles or so pretty, any woman would be happy to receive an Annick Goutal perfume as a gift.  My personal favorite is Eau d’Hadrien.

For the men, a classic French scent is Orange Verte by Hermes.  It is citrusy, masculine, and oh so sexy!

Another favorite thing that embodies typically French style is Agatha jewelry.   Their signature Scottie dog is very cute and their charms are unique and oh so French.  This young and very demure line of jewelry would be sure to please as a gift.

Yves Rocher’s Manoii oil was introduced to me by my mother.  We were walking briskly through the streets of the arrondisements of Paris when she stopped short and told me I had to smell the oil in this shop.  Manoii oil becomes solid when it is cool and turns to liquid gold when warmed by applying it to your warm skin or left in the sun.  It is one of the most divine smelling products I’ve ever had the pleasure of smelling.  It can be used as a body moisturizer, to treat dry hair when at the beach, or simply as something you rub in to your hands and on the arms with your moisturizer to smell delicious. 

Gifts and food for weddings draw from many cultures around the world.  The French just do everything so well, I hope these favorite French things give you some inspiration for your wedding gifts and favors!