The Village Wedding - 26 - the pretty guest

A pretty girl is like a melody...tra la la. With thanks to Irving Berlin.

The Village Wedding - 25 - the pose

Not long now and the wedding party will take off for Cap d'Ail where the main reception will take place. This lady leans against the wedding car. I wonder what she's thinking? It's not 'maybe it'll be my turn next' as she is already married.

Theme Day: a 'NO' sign

It had to be dog related, didn't it? The signs says 'Forbidden to dogs, even on lead.' This was taken on a grass verge near to the swimming pool in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin - RCM adjoins Menton.

Monte Carlo Daily Photo has two NO signs today - one taken in Monte Carlo, of course, but one taken in America (where I'm visiting at the moment) - outside Otterbein College, in Westerville, Ohio. It horrified me. Do take a look.

There are 171 cities throughout the world taking part in today's Theme. Do click here to view thumbnails and see how others have interpreted the theme.

I'm flying from Columbus, Ohio to St. George, Utah (three flights) today so am really sorry but commenting will not be possible. I'll catch up over the next day or so and meanwhile thank everyone who has left a comment.

The Village Wedding - 24 - the toddler

The youngest guest? Actually she wasn't - there were tiny babies in prams but she has to be one of the most gorgeous. This beauty is called Laura.

Tomorrow, July 1st, is 'Theme Day' - so The Village Wedding will continue on the 2nd July.

The Village Wedding - 23 - the old man and the shoes

Remember the old man who lives in the apartment above the old elm tree. Click on the link to catch up with his story. Here he sits in his usual position under the 1713 elm. He sits, alongside wedding guests - perhaps taking a glance at those shoes? - certainly aware he's next to a beautiful lady, wouldn't you say?

See adorable little Lisa behind him - featured in numbers 20 and 21. She's happily playing at the foot of the tree.

The Village Wedding - 22 - more shoes

Lest you should think only one lady wore heels on cobbles, take a look at these three ladies - two resting their feet under the old elm.

The Village Wedding - 21 - the fearless child

We met Lisa yesterday - being helped by her mother. Here she is, whilst the ceremony was taking place in the church - running away from her father into what seems like a dark hole of the village (in fact simply a covered part of the beautiful old street) - but of course no fear for her, as she probably lives in the village and knows every inch of it. A fearless beauty.

The Village Wedding - 20 - the helping hand

A little girl being helped by her mother. She was quite the rebel this little beauty - her name is Lisa. Come back tomorrow and see how fearless Lisa was.

The Village Wedding - 19 - the cool guy

Sunglasses on head, phone to ear, cigarette in hand, cool clothes - does this add up to a cool guy? He's taking time out from the reception, sitting under the old elm tree which was planted in 1713.

The Village Wedding - 18 - the conversation

We saw the chubby young boy with the broken foot sitting here. Click on link. Now he's vacated his seat and it's been taken over by an older generation. The lady who is standing - dressed simply, but so elegantly. French women know just what to do with a scarf, don't they?

The Village Wedding - 17 - the mother of the bride's house

Just around the corner from the reception - opposite the post office and the lavoir (wash house) is this decorated house. Just out of frame to the right is a garden full of gnomes and other fantasy creatures. It was from this house that the bride left for the church.

The Village Wedding - 16 - the mother of the bride

Could she be anyone but the mother of the bride? Here admiring a baby at the reception and doubtless listening to words like, 'you'll be a grandmother soon.' This is one of those scenes that could be seen in any town or village in the world, don't you think? Place, language - it doesn't matter.

The Village Wedding - 15 - the secret

Whilst the ceremony was taking place, I looked over the wall and there below were these two children - sharing a secret. Looking at their clothes, I got the feeling the one in orange will be a guest - the other, perhaps not?

The Village Wedding - 14 - the onlooker

She stood just ouside the main square, looking, staring, totally absorbed by the wedding reception. Note the effort she's made tho - a pretty scarf tucked into her cardigan. But oh, those poor arthritic hands.

To answer questions: No, I wasn't the official photographer and no, I wasn't an invited guest either. Like this lady, I was simply looking on - but in my case, snapping away as I walked around or stood and also stared. Sometimes it was hard to tell who was a guest and who was a villager. Everyone enjoyed it though, especially me!

I respected the centre of the square - and the reception itself - and walked around the outside - the 18-zoom lens on my camera doing all the work. Of course, many people were taking photographs so it was fairly easy to get lost in the crowd.

(I'm in the USA at the moment - Westerville, near Columbus, Ohio - later I'll be in Utah - so big apologies for lack of comments over the last week and thanks so much to everyone who is commenting on my blogs. I really appreciate them. I hope, from today, to slowly start commenting again provided Internet access allows it).

The Village Wedding -13 - the girls

Girls, girls, girls. There were lots of pretty girls at this wedding.

The Village Wedding - 12 - the beautiful child

This little beauty had just picked two geranium flowers (pelagonium) and put them behind her ears. I asked her father if I could photograph her and he proudly agreed. She smiled as you see, for the smaller photograph.

I prefer though the main photograph which I took a minute or so later - a rather wistful look.

The Village Wedding - 11 - the dress

The couple had just arrived from the church, under that arch - and into the square for the reception - the little boy is just fooling around. Nice dress, eh?

The Village Wedding - 10 - the mouthful

Mid-mouthful really. Chewing - about to swallow.

The Village Wedding - 9 - the waitress

I love her hand and expression, don't you? The food and drinks were organised and served by the restaurant across the square - the Beau Sejour. Just drinks and nibbles as I said before - later the guests will go to a big reception in Cap d'Ail.

Note: The Frugal Traveler from the New York Times featured Monte Carlo and Menton recently. Click on the link read about Monaco and then see a video of Menton. Thanks so much to Alden for this information.

The Village Wedding - 8 - the guitarists

You saw one of the guitarists yesterday. Here are the rest of them, warming up for the wedding - and presumably getting ready to ogle more pretty girls - of which there were many.