ONE couple who planned a Grease-themed wedding at their French hamlet faced one disaster after another on their big day.
In the Channel 4 series, Help! We Bought A Village, Mick and Julie decided to tie the knot after more than two decades together.
On Help! We Bought A Village, Julie and Mick from Manchester bought a hamlet in France
In the recently launched series, intrepid Brits restore empty and unloved settlements heading steadily for collapse.
The series follows them as they breathe new life into remote villages, hamlets, borgos and cortijos abroad.
One such couple were Mancunians Mick and Julie who’d bought a Hamlet in France more than 20 years ago.
They bought the stunning hamlet in Les Brouillons in the west of France, which was once home to 48 people and now only houses the happy couple.
Mick and Julie first bought a holiday home in the village in 2004 and since then bought another 10 properties, recently making the move to France a full-time decision.
They rent out two rooms in their homes, run a small restaurant and plan to renovate two more buildings to turn into guesthouses.
“We’ve just not stopped, we couldn’t imagine for a minute we were going to do all of this,” Mick said on Wednesday’s show.
Since Covid restrictions lifted, the couple got busy expanding their carpark, but because after 22 years together, they planned to marry in the village.
“People love what we’re doing, we’re bringing life back to the village,” Mick said.
But things of course, did not go well starting with the ‘white house’ which they planned to house their guests in but it did not get renovated in time.
They also wanted a commercial kitchen installed so they could prepare food for the reception.
“We were hoping to get it all finished for this weekend, but we were ultimately let down by suppliers,” Mick said.
Mick and Julie hosted a pre-wedding BBQ at their home the night before the wedding, which was the “first time in 50 to 60 years Les Brouillons has celebrated like this.”
The groom to be also had to rush how to figure out how to use the rotisserie machine to make a hog roast for the reception.
On the day of the wedding, the heavens opened and the rain started pouring down.
Julie said as she prepared salads for the wedding: “now it’s storming and raining, hey ho.”
But things started to fall into place and the couple had a lovely ceremony at the local town hall, followed by the reception at home with a live band, fairground games and even a bucking bull.
They rode home from the reception on Mick’s motorcycle.
Their guests also looked fantastic as Julie revealed they were having a Grease-theme wedding based on the hit musical film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
“Everybody’s got to come in 50s dress wear, it’s going to be different, I think people will remember this wedding for a long time,” Julie said.
But only a few hours into the wedding party the heavens opened again and everyone had to help secure the marquees.
It did not dampen the newlyweds’ spirit.
“I’ve just been told that if it rains in France on your wedding day, it’s lucky, go figure,” Mick said.
“I am a lucky man, but we don’t need the rain to tell me how lucky I am.”
The pair’s journey features in new Channel 4 show Help, We Bought A Village! which airs at 4pm.
They had a Grease-themed wedding 22 years after they started dating
They made the permanent move to France a few years ago and have grand plans
Their wedding day got rained out, but in France that’s a sign of good luck
They got on with their happy day though
