American Wedding in France - Claire & John - Chateau de la Valouze
https://vimeo.com/343450879
Finally. Finally!
Sunshine. If only because May to that point had been somewhat mixed. 4 weddings in a row and of these, 3 planned a mostly outdoor wedding for ceremony, drinks, meal (and it was too cool, grey or wet to do so) and 1 wedding which took place mostly indoors. On the only sunny Saturday in May...
But on the 1st June, at Chateau de la Valouze on the edge of the small town of La Roche Chalais, not so far from Bordeaux, the sun shone. All. Day. Long.
Claire & John are doctors from the US and something like 30+ medically trained specialists were guests at the wedding so had there been a medical emergency, this would have been one of the best weddings to have been at! No such scenario arose.
The event kicked off the day prior with a relaxed 'meet & greet' and burger van with venue decorated with various bits of rowing paraphernalia in a nod to another side to John when not doctoring. These day prior events not only allow me to meet my clients and form a relationship with them plus melt into the background on the wedding day itself.
The whole event was organised and executed by Laura Southgate at The French Wedding Company and was superb. This was the first time I have worked with Laura and her team and I am looking forward to the next two weddings with her/them over the next couple of months.
And so to the wedding day itself... Hair & makeup was by the ever-excellent Carey Hawkins and floristry by Silk Flowers France.
The ceremony itself took place under a large old oak and accompanied by a string trio who also played during the drinks reception to follow.
One of the stars of the show was Lana, a Portuguese Water Dog who belonged to the bride's parents and traveled over from Switzerland for the wedding.
Nothing beats eating & speeches outdoors in France. Nothing. Obviously only if the weather is good, and ideally, around sunset as that is when the light turns golden and then into an inky blue around the time it's time to cut the cake. But you have to get your timings just right at the planning stage to ensure this. Most don't, but at Claire & John's wedding, the timing was near perfect.
Dancing took place inside with music provided by DJ Ian Win plus a fabulous firework display by Ruggieri.
Above is a slideshow production of highlights from the day and below an extensive set of highlight pics and to access the full gallery including international print ordering facility, click here!
https://vimeo.com/345449247
