NIAMH & MATT - CHATEAU DU RAYSSE
Kicking off 2025, is the wedding of Niamh & Matt that took place at Chateau du Raysse on the Dordogne/Lot border in South-West France.
Continuing where the 2024 season left off, the weather forecast was trash; Friday OK, Saturday rain from mid-afternoon leading to thunderstorms and Sunday relentlessly wet.
It did not turn out quite like that and it wasn’t until Day 03 that the heavens opened…
But that is getting ahead of ourselves and it all began with Day 01.
DAY 01 “Come on Barbie, let’s go Party!”
Having a ‘Dream Team’ of suppliers is something that should never be underestimated and this wedding had a dream team for sure. Because when you get onto Day 02, the evidence is right there in print!
The Day 01 suppliers were:
Cocktails = the guys from Mr Sully
Food = Beki & Andy from Crazy Diamond food truck
Live Music = Jodie & Charlie from Feels Like July
General Entertainment = Frank & Pepper (emotional support Dachsunds and professional barkers)
The sun went down, the strings of lights came on, cocktails (named in honour of the grandparents) were drunk, burgers & frites were eaten and a good time was had by all.
DAY 02 - WEDDING DAY
The morning began with the mobile crepe van courtesy of Sylvie, originally from Bretagne (Brittany to us Brits) and then once fed, it was prep time.
In a slight break from tradition, there were no bridesmaids or groomsmen other than flower girls Aoife & Zara whose only job was to look cute and Frank & Pepper could not quite be trusted to do anything much other than charm the ladies. Plus Niamh & Matt got ready in the same room. Makeup for the ladies by friend & guest, Lauren of Laurie Linton Makeup.
The bride walked into the ceremony conducted by the ever effervescent Cherry Newman, escorted by her Uncle Michael with live music again from Jodie & Charlie who also performed an afternoon set during the drinks reception that followed and the first dance.
Flowers were by Jenny Fairbanks (as was all furniture and other hire for the day) with on the day coordination by Blandine & Michael (a different Michael to Uncle Michael).
Catering and exceptional food today (as always) came from Rosie Greenhalgh and her team at Party in France. She’s a Kiwi not an Aussie alright?!
Finally, to conclude the evening, DJ James (not Jimmy) Carr British DJ in France.
Still no sigh of any rain…
DAY 03 - POOL & PIG DAY
Vegetarians and vegans should look away now as there are gratuitous pictures of a cooked pig.
Before or after Mr Cochon, there were crisps (chips to American readers) and a selection of Scottish sweet snacks and I believe it was compulsory to have tried at least one of each type. I am sure I read that somewhere…
And then the heavens did open! After an immediate ‘all hands on decks’ (literally), we shifted DJ James stuff under cover as it was torrential for a while with guests huddled under two parasols.
But then a few, including the B&G went into the pool anyway, because, well why not?
Thanks to Niamh & Matt for being so welcoming and laid back. It’s not often I get a couple that are not, but Niamh & Matt were SUPER laid back and as a result, their wedding weekend went like a dream. Well apart from the downpour late afternoon on the Sunday, but we never expected to get even what limited time we had prior to that.
