Our Story

Jeremie Deveil and Courtney Spring met in 2017 at the Lycee Francais, a French immersion school in New Orleans where they both worked. He was "fresh off the boat" from France. They passed each other in the halls many times over 6 months and had a few chats, but Jeremie thought Courtney had a boyfriend and Courtney thought Jeremie was a very serious person. It wasn't until December when Jeremie found out that she was single and they started chatting a bit more. Courtney then realized that Jeremie was actually a very funny and NICE guy. He had even been raised in a very similar way to how she had been raised! There was a spark.

Over the Christmas holiday, Courtney was with her family in Savannah while Jeremie was with his family in Bordeaux. Yet they both spent countless hours tied to their phones texting each other. The families started asking: Is it because they’re Millennials? Or are they texting someone of interest?

Fast forward two years later. It was both. We decided in February that our next chapter should be in Bordeaux for a whole new adventure together. Though the original court date was May 8 and the plan was to have several family members present, COVID caused some slight changes. The court date was pushed back to May 22 with no family, friends, or witnesses, which is why we will celebrate in a year.

At this point in time, we are in the last stages of paperwork to prepare for France: We have sent our official marriage certificate to Los Angeles and are waiting for them to send us our “Livret de Famille” to prove that Courtney is the spouse of a French citizen, which will give her the right to work. We are literally selling everything in our house and buying many things again in Bordeaux. The honeymoon will come after 1. COVID and 2. we have settled in Bordeaux.

Extra reading about life in Bordeaux

Jobs: Jeremie has a tenured position in education. Courtney will walk into a part-time English teaching job and ideally change career paths later.

Apartments: The French system for renting apartments is different, so we will likely end up with a one-bedroom for the first year. If we can convince a landlord to let us sign for a 2-bedroom, we will.

Transportation: Jeremie will drive a car and Courtney will make a long-awaited return to reliable public transportation.

Food: They’ll both drink lots of wine and Courtney will eat lots of pastries. Hopefully they won’t gain too much weight.

Exercise: They’ll both be walking a LOT more!

Kids: As soon as Courtney feels like her income is stable enough…

The rest: Stay tuned...

Here is a webpage with info about where Bordeaux is in France and what it's known for: https://about-france.com/cities/bordeaux.htm