Ville Platte couple married at the Smoked Meat Festival

David Hull and Rachel Vidrine were married at their cooking booth.

Michael Bordelon

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Romance was in the air at the 17th Annual Le Festival de la Viande Boucanée, also known as the Smoked Meat Festival, this past weekend as a Ville Platte couple married inside their cooking booth.

Rachel Vidrine and David Hull, both of Ville Platte, had obtained a marriage license and planned to go before the judge to marry during the week after the festival. Then David decided he would plan a romantic ceremony and wed his fiancé during the festival.

Rachel, daughter of Emma Jane and Sherman Fontenot of Ville Platte, had no idea her entire family was not only competing at the festival but present to witness her wedding. Jane said David made all the plans by asking Judge John Larry Vidrine to preside over the ceremony. He purchased matching aprons for the couple and bridal party that labeled them bride, groom, best man and maid of honor. Jane said Rachel had no idea, although she believed her daughter might have had an idea after discovering the aprons.

David asked Rachel to wear a new sun dress he’d purchased for her. Jane said he knew Rachel would want to be in a dress for her wedding. “She didn’t know why he wanted her to wear that sundress,” Jane said. The children wore green matching shirts, and David and his son were dressed identically, right down to their tennis shoes. “It was simple but fun,” Jane said. “That’s the kind of person David is,” when asked about the planning of the event.

After the opening ceremonies, the couple exchanged wedding vows in the family’s cooking booth with their children, other family members and friends witnessing the blessed event. Maids of honor were Rachel’s daughter and her younger sister, Meghan Vidrine and Tammy Fontenot, respectively. Since David’s son, Alec Hull, was a little young to be best man, Bruce Granger of Lake Charles also shared the duties of best man. David’s two daughters, Leslie Hull and Nathalie Hull, were also present, along with Rachel’s 82-year-old maternal grandmother, Ollie Pitre; a cousin, Patsy, from Patterson; and members of David’s family, his mother and stepfather, Dot and Ivy Estillette; his father, Walter Hull; and his sister and nephew, Susan and Ethan Tucker.

Jane purchased a bouquet of pink and white roses for her daughter, which Rachel held during the ceremony. She purchased a cheesecake for the wedding cake, and David presented Rachel with matching engraved silver champagne glasses that featured the couple’s names. A bottle of champagne and champagne bucket were also brought in after permission was received from a member of the festival.

The couple headed to Toledo Bend for a get-a-way with the kids. Jane said next week, they’re off to the Smokey Mountains, a planned vacation with the kids and to celebrate their marriage.

David is the son of Dot Estillette and Walter Hull.