Helen & Barthelemy's Lectoure Wedding (Part 01)
[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/175385089[/vimeo]
HELEN & BARTHELEMY'S LECTOURE WEDDING
Helen & Barthelemy's Lectoure wedding began and finished at the fantastic Chateau de Malliac.
I'd been looking forward to this one before they even booked. How so?
We have had a family owned home in Gers (the village of La Romieu to be precise) for over 15 years.
Then we (that is Julie & I), decided to buy our own house in the region and at the time of writing, complete on that within the next 2 days.
It is approx 10km from Chateau de Malliac which will be my closest grand venue. So obviously keen to work there!
And what an introduction to the venue. Most of my clients book the 1/2 day prior coverage option. It adds so much more to the overall coverage.
In the case of Helen & Bart, due to another commitment, this was not going to be possible. So introductions happened on the day of the wedding.
This is rare and when it does happen, I'm always slightly...not nervous, that would be the wrong word, but simply wondering what 'they' will be like?
I needn't have had any concerns, Helen is Irish. So are her family. I was given the warmest welcome and made to feel part of it immediately.
And that's a big thing. I am primarily a 'documentary' photographer, - that is other than a handful of portraits and a couple of family groups, I'm mostly hands off.
An observer, the proverbial fly on the wall and a storyteller. But to get the best story, you need to be closest to the action and it's hard to do that if you are not on the inside.
After the bridal preps and some background pics of the venue, the morning's somewhat murky weather lifted.
The SW France sunshine began to blaze on the golden fields (sunflowers) this region is noted for as I headed to St. Gervais in Lectoure.
Lectoure is possibly the most gorgeous small town in the region. An ancient fortified spa town perched on top of a hill, it can be seen for miles around.
And there I met Bart the groom. Another warm welcome from him and his family. This Irish/French union was going to be a good one.
Then the ceremony. The cathedral is pretty massive and the ceremony although solemn, equally uplifting with a group of Helen's friends singing various pieces.
Helen is a former opera singer, - she picked the pieces. One of them I have used in the slideshow production below.
And then it was over and the 150+ wedding party spilled out into the square before a friend's grey Citroen 2CV whisked them on to the wedding venue for Part 2.
