DAY 01 - CHATEAU RIGAUD RIVERSIDE BISTRO

There was a little bit of deja vu I won’t lie as no prizes for guessing where I had been just 3 evenings prior…but that is no bad thing (quite the opposite) and this ‘off-shoot’ from the main Chateau is a perfect location for a pre-wedding welcome reception. And so it was for Daniela & Cameron.

Including a Michelin trained chef, a chicken rotisserie machine, great service and an open air riverside view, this is how you start a wedding!

GROOM PREP

Sometimes groom prep can be well…a bit flat, but not with Cameron and his boys and certainly not with the surprise that Daniela had for Cam.

First there was some outside time with the younger one’s flying planes and err, shooting guns.

Then prep as in dressing.

Then the surprise. A track recorded to vinyl plus his wedding ring.

This last part was pretty special to say the least and it’s elements like this, when as a photographer, you say to yourself, “yeah, this one isn’t flat”.

BRIDE PREP

As always (mostly anyway), one of my favourite parts of the day.

Why? Usually there is no rush, ie, plenty of time for me to take my time and wait for moments rather than have to capture moments because the clock is ticking. It’s still ticking here, especially the closer we get to the ceremony, but it doesn’t tick as fast as other parts of the day which can be ‘one shot chances’.

On hair & makeup was Laura Cawte and flowers as is always the case here at Chateau Rigaud, are by in house florist Jilli.

One of the highlights was the 300 foot long ribbon with the names of all the departed females from Daniela’s family line. OK, it wasn’t quite 300 foot long, but long enough and another one of those moments that this wedding was just packed with from start to finish.

CEREMONY

And another bit of deja vu for me as I was last at this same church just 3 days prior and having never been there before, a bit of a coincidence to be there again so soon, but that’s just how it is in Wedding Land sometimes.

Different priest, different ceremony as this one was Catholic so about 7x as long. Even without a mass. And the priest had his guitar with him…

Might as well mention the car as it’s right there below this text. Another classic from Bordeaux Classic’s and this time the Peugeot 404 Cabriolet. We’re going to be seeing a whole lot more of this car later in this post…

COCKTAIL ‘HOUR’

It’s never actually ‘an hour’ at Rigaud and nor should it be anywhere. If a wedding doesn’t have at least 2 hours scheduled for this part of the day, it’s a bit thin and well, elements are going to have to be skimmed over. No one ever said, “our drinks reception just dragged on and on and on and…” but plenty have said, “we realise now it was too short”.

As above, not at Rigaud, home of the ‘Double Drinks Reception’, the first being a shorter ‘champagne welcome’ affair complete with man with accordion making French sounds and then a second longer, ‘canapés and Aperol Spritz’ scenario on the rear terrace.

And then we skipped off to the vineyards for a bit with the car…

COUPLE SHOOT

A little bit at the venue but mostly this was about; The Couple, The Car, The Vineyard, because when it’s your wedding weekend in South West France and you’ve hired this thing (the car), why would you not?!

It doesn’t really need words, - just scroll to the pictures below and if you think this stuff takes time, well yes, it does, but nowhere near as much as you might think, ie, 20 minutes out of a 3 day weekend/lifetime.

MEAL & SPEECHES (PART 01)

What’s to say here really other than it looked spectacular and if it was my wedding, I would also choose to do this outdoors as the ambience and opportunities are so much more than indoors, but just my humble opinion…

Hats off to in-house florist, Jilli once more for her stunning efforts.

Hats off also to the in-house catering team lead by head chef John. The food that is created (not simply plated and that is the difference here) is quite astonishing, - 10/10 no question.

COUPLE SHOOT (PART 02)

If the opportunity exists, I’d encourage all couples to do this, ie, at some point, ‘sneak off’ if only for 5 minutes after mains or something, to take advantage of golden hour and some extra-special couple portraits.

And we did.

SPEECHES (PART 02)

Round Two and the timing was perfect as we went from the end of golden hour to full dark with the time it took for just 2 speeches which then really showcased how the lighting transforms the ambience of an outdoor scenario such as this that you simply do not get indoors.