A French Wedding Day – A Genealogical Occasion

What better way to introduce an extension of the Lambert-Bush genealogy than through the occasion of the marriage of our son William III and Céleste Wackenhut, a beautiful young lady with deep French roots. Céleste’s grandparents are life-long Parisians. Her parents live in Atlanta, GA, USA, Her mother Françoise is Parisian and her father Bernie is German. Thus, the genealogical enrichment continues unabated.

  

The ceremony occurred on Sunday, September 20, 2015. The setting was in the splendid 25 hectare (62 acre) garden of the Luxembourg Palace, Paris, France, currently the seat of the national French Senate. (More about the palace in a moment). The garden wedding was attended by close family members. Céleste wore a wedding dress of her own design. The abundant fall flowers and trees in the garden provided an exquisite setting, which fully met expectations of a place originally designed by a French Queen to rival those of the most opulent estates of 17^th century Europe. The non-denominational ceremony was performed by Father Jim, a priest from San Antonio, TX, and a dear personal friend of the newlyweds. Following, the ceremony Céleste’s parents, Françoise and Bernie Wackenhut treated all to a splendid luncheon at the Bouillon Racine, a nearby ranked historical French restaurant. See details at: http://www.bouillon-racine.com/en/  and (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTw0jYr5fQk&app=desktop).

After a honeymoon in France the couple returned home to San Antonio, where William resumes his duties as Director of their architect/design business, and Céleste pursues her duties and interests as Director/Curator of their French & Michigan Art Gallery.

Returning to the Palace de Luxembourg, and 17^th century royalty: (See one discussion at:  http://www.senat.fr/lng/en/the_luxembourg_palace/a_princely_residence.html.)  The Palace de Luxembourg (a.k.a., Palace d’Orleans, a.k.a. Medici Palace), was begun as a place of her own in 1615 by Marie di Medici, the spouse of French King Henry IV. Missing her palace in Florence, Italy, and having grown tired of living at the Louvre Palace (after all, she was a Medici, and Henry kept bringing his mistresses home for dinner, etc.), she procured the land and begun the gardens, which she pursued enthusiastically following Henry’s assassination (1610), and she became Regent of France, pending her son’s maturity and ascent to the throne. Her daughter, Henriette Maria married Charles I, and thus became the Queen Consort of England, Scotland and Ireland.

All of this about the location becomes interesting because the newlyweds have an ancestral connection to the Luxembourg Palace and Gardens. This connection derives through Jennie's Scottish/Stewart lineage, wherein she is connected to Queen Henriette, and thus to the Marie de Medici/King Henry IV pedigree.
    

Visit Jennie’s Flicker account for photos of the wedding, palace and gardens, and luncheon at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jjlambert/sets/72157659784245348 

William & Jennie