French language Q&A Forum

In French, what is the distinction between le mariage vs la noce.

I understand that le mariage is the commitment you make to another person.

But, what I find it a little confusing is that I've seen the two words used interchangably to describe the ceremony on the wedding day. Please explain this difference.

I'm a French teacher of 30+ years.  There isn't a  huge difference between j'aime bien and j'aime beaucoup, but the textbooks teach that aimer bien = to really like and aimer beaucoup = to like a lot.  

Is it optional to use the subject pronoun after "mon pére et moi" as in The fireworks example?

Ma sœur et moi nous avons rejoint ... 

compared "mon père et moi avons décidé" in Fishing with Dad?