10/22/21 10/22/21

Helena & Ben - Chateau du Puits Es Pratx

And so endeth the season after 5 weddings...

Up until about 1 month ago, it was only going to be 4 (instead of what should have been 30), but then Helena & Ben came along 'last minute' and it was 5.

So 'The Season' this year lasted an entire 6 weeks. And that was it. But still, 5 weddings was better than 0 weddings!

This was a new venue for me, Chateau du Puits es Pratx over near Narbonne in the Languedoc.

Apparently it's on a UK TV show called 'Chateau DIY'?!

Day 01 was welcome drinks, a Mediterranean style buffet meal and then a quiz.

Day 02 was the wedding itself at the local church in Ginestas and then back at the chateau for the rest of the day.

Day 03 was a BBQ and some farewells for some of the guests.

This is a really well run family venture with Tim & Luke (the future son in law) acting as front of house, Sasha floristry and daughter Lily the chef.

My DJ sidekick for all 3 days, the one, the only, James, British DJ in France.

If you were a guest and have the password, there's a full set of images here with an international print order facility.

Below, Helena & Ben's Wedding Film plus a selection of highlight images.

Enjoy.

https://vimeo.com/637462898

10/12/21 10/12/21

Sam & Ben - Bordeaux Wedding

Last weekend it was back to Chateau Sentout near to Bordeaux for the 4th of 5 weddings in this very abbreviated 'season'.

Back, because 2 of this year's 5 weddings, ie, 40% of all weddings this year, will have been at this venue.

It was a very different scenario this time...

Irish instead of Americans.

Wet/grey instead of sunshine.

Different locations at the venue.

Same planner however! Nicole from Pure Expression Events.

So the weather... Does a wet/grey day change things much?

Well a little because the colour suffers a little because of the lack of light and the overall options become more limited, but none of that stops anyone from having a great time.

And that's what Sam & Ben and all their guests had.

OK, Sam's sister couldn't make the wedding in person, but made not one, but two guest appearances in other formats!

As to the rest of it, I'm going to let the video and pictures tell the story...

If you were a guest at the wedding and have the password, you can click here to access the full gallery.

Enjoy.

https://vimeo.com/628347933

9/16/21 9/16/21

Catherine & Hugh - Chateau Plombis Wedding

CATHERINE & HUGH - CHATEAU PLOMBIS WEDDING

Wedding 3 of 4...possibly 5 of this somewhat curtailed season, was that of Cat & Hugh.

This was my first actual visit to Chateau Plombis, though several visits should have previously happened in both '20 and '21.

Well I'm going to look forward to going back as I loved the place, it's a really great set up.

Worst case scenario (ie, wet weather), it has options, but ultimately it's a great outdoor wedding venue which is the main reason folks choose to have a wedding in France right?

At one stage a week prior, it looked like a Plan B was going to need to be enabled because the forecast looked dreadful.

It then picked up. It then flip flopped for a few days to the point where it really was 50:50 for the day prior, the Friday, but the Sat & Sun were looking good.

And that is exactly what happened... Friday was very much a case of 50:50 weather but the next 2 days were perfect.

This is my thing; multi-day and hybrid coverage, ie, photo AND video.

That's what I did here.

One day, when I retire or there are enough people offering similar, maybe I'll talk more about just how I manage this, but for now, let's just say the proof is in the pudding.

Puddings below, split into 3.

Day 01, Day 02, Day 03.

Let's start with Day 01 as I'm a chronological kind of guy...

Meet & greet welcome drinks party at La Cage Aux Oiseaux at Montjoi, a village on a hill that can be seen the ceremony woodland area at Plombis.

It was a bit wet to start and got dark quite quickly, but at least dried up enough for some boules.

Film below and then some pics.

https://vimeo.com/606491923

Day 02 - The Wedding Day

The planner for this wedding was Jo from The Impeccable Pear.

The caterer was Jo's husband, Jean-Marc, Le Chef Impeccable.

I have done to date 15+ weddings with this team so we know each other quite well.

Floral stuff was by Jo's right hand woman, Victoria.

Make-up was by friend Alana Campbell.

Hair by Nikki Treacy.

Evening DJ & Band, The Fusion Girls.

The bit I loved most about this wedding/day was the outdoor eating under the stars, both real and artificial.

If you were a guest and have been given the password, you can click here and insert it and enter the full gallery.

Another film and some more pics below...

https://vimeo.com/606543966

Day 03 - POOL PARTY!

A pretty relaxed, chilled affair as these things tend to be.

A lunch of pulled pork, grilled chicken, salads etc and whatever gin was left over from the nigh before.

Plus Aperol. You have to have Aperol if it's a wedding in France. It's de rigeur. Which is also French.

I then slipped away quietly, some time around mid afternoon back to the real world of downloading and editing monumental amounts of photography and video.

Such is my life...

Final film and pics to conclude:

https://vimeo.com/606567509

9/6/21 9/6/21

Mia & Teddy - The Historic Chateau Wedding

After so much time off and only one wedding prior to this one this season, I wondered if the old skills might be a bit rusty...

"We just want good photos", is something Teddy said to me before the wedding.

"Are you having a good enough time?" is one of Teddy's phrases...

No, not rusty. At all. Are these photos 'good enough' for you Teddy?

M&T's wedding started as pretty much all my weddings in France do and that is the day prior.

It's worth mentioning that this wedding should have happened July last year, but 'You Know What' got in the way and...well, it happened this August instead.

Anyway, back to the day prior... There is no better way for me to achieve results on the wedding day than be there the day prior.

I may even have helped siting the place of the ceremony...but can't confirm or deny that bit of information.

Day prior, stick with the day prior man!

What happened the day prior?

Just some of the usual stuff starting with catching up again after M&T visited my office back in November 2019 after booking earlier in the year.

Candid drinks & nibbles prior to a sit down but informal meal for around 25 of their nearest & dearest.

We took the opp. to do a practice shoot also which ensures 1 of 3 things; quicker session on the wedding day, or better session on the wedding day, or a quicker AND better session on the wedding day.

There's a PhotoFilm and a set of highlight pics below and then we'll get to the wedding day itself...

https://vimeo.com/601123260

The wedding day. The main event...

Wow. Just wow.

I shot either my 2nd or 3rd ever wedding here at this place back in I think 2010?

My bride for that one, Kat, still follows me on Instagram...

I've said this before and I will without question say it again in the future, but there are days and then there are DAYS.

This one was a DAY.

Faultless?

I'm 'Mr Attention To Detail' and very difficult to please...or rather, I do all in my power to quietly make things happen behind the scenes, swan about the day like, well a swan (furiously pedalling below the surface. Swans 'pedal' right?) and this day planned and organised by Sue at Marry Me In France with assistance from Lea at the chateau, just went like the dream day it was for M&T and for me to capture.

Of course it was more than that as many others were involved, especially on the day and I can't actually name them, but if you like anything you see, then contact Marry Me In France about them planning your future wedding.

Planets aligned, the fat lady sang from dawn to dusk. Well, from around 10am to 11pm which was how long I was there for.

There's no point in me saying anything else, - the 'evidence' is all down below.

If you were a guest at this wedding and have been given the password, you can access the full gallery by clicking here.

9/3/21 9/3/21

Alexis & Michael - Chateau Sentout Wedding

AN ACTUAL WEDDING IN 2021!!!!!

YES, I'M SHOUTING!!!!!

You will probably have no idea what it means to actually be back at work after just 1 wedding attended in nearly 23 months thanks to 'you know what'.

The financial aspect has been tough...really tough, but what has hurt the most has been the lack of creativity.

And having to go through 50+ weddings either postponing or cancelling outright.

But enough of that negative stuff, - this was the first of 4 weddings that remain for what is the 2021 wedding season in France.

And what a wedding...

I am typically booked for two things:

A: multi-day coverage (in this case 3) and

B: hybrid coverage (ie, photo AND video).

Alexis & Michael's wedding planned by Nicole T from Pure Expressions Events covered off all those bases with;

Day 01 = Welcome BBQ at Chateau Sentout, not so far from Bordeaux.

Day 02 = A full day wine tasting at a vineyard close to St Emilion and then lunch/free time in St Emilion itself.

Day 03 = The wedding day itself at Chateau Sentout.

Below, A&M's Wedding Film:

Day 02 was a full day outing to a Grand Cru boutique wine producer just outside Saint Emilion.

I fell asleep on the bus. Both ways. This is normal for me with buses, trains and planes and cars (if a passenger).

After a tour of the facility it was onto what most came for, the actual tasting and it must have been good because a lot of purchases were made.

It was good full stop, but my budget doesn't quite stretch to Grand Cru wines and I'm more of a gin man anyway.

Then it was onto and into Saint Emilion itself, the 'wine capital' of the region and a stunning place to visit.

Here's a short film that covers these two days prior to the main event:

https://vimeo.com/600300442

Day 03, the actual wedding day itself.

Nothing 'overly fancy' but more a simple close family & friends affair.

No bridesmaids, no best man or groomsmen, a ceremony conducted by a friend, good food and just a relaxed, sophisticated yet not complicated day which complemented Alexis & Michael's style.

These are the days and weddings and clients I live for, the days when I don't wish or want to leave.

Thanks to A&M, your family and friends for the warmest of welcomes and letting me into the heart of your wedding in France.

I hope...and think, I did it justice!

If you were a guest and have been given the password to the full gallery, you can access that by clicking here.

Credit where credit is due...

FLORIST: Atelier SeptembreHair & Make-up: MC Hair & Make-upCaterer: Laeco TraiteurDJ: Muchas Matthias

8/9/20 8/9/20

Chateau du Bois-Guy wedding - Charlotte & Thibault

FINALLY, a wedding in 2020!

OK, it took until the 29th July and the way things are in the world, it may still turn out to be my one and only 2020 wedding.

Officially, I still have another 4 remaining to take place in Sep & Oct, but in 'Covid-2020', we won't know until we get right up to those dates.

Fingers and toes crossed...

But the main event, - the Chateau du Bois-Guy wedding of Charlotte & Thibault.

Below is C&T's Wedding Film.

https://vimeo.com/462328395

Next up thanks to a wedding supplier (a florist I think?) who Charlotte's mum met at a wedding fair in the UK in 2019.

She kindly recommended me as someone she had met and worked with back when I was still resident in the UK and mentioned she still followed me on Instagram.

Well, it ended up as a booking and that became an actual 2020 wedding 1 week ago to date as I write.

Charlotte is originally from Yorkshire and Thibault French, from just down the road from me in fact in Tarbes.

Coincidently, Charlotte's best friend & bridesmaid and Thibault's brother got married at my most local of wedding venues, Chateau de Malliac, proving what a small world this is!

The Venue

Chateau du Bois-Guy

Their wedding those was about as far from me as it's possible to get in France, way up in Brittany at Chateau du Bois-Guy.

This was my first visit to the place and as I always say, it makes absolutely zero difference if I have visited a venue previously or not. Absolutely none.

I love new venues as much as previously existing one's and there is only one constant and that is a good wedding is a good wedding.

Charlotte & Thibault's was not a good wedding.

It was a GREAT wedding.

Rusty after 10 months off?

No, it was like riding a bike.

Prep

I often say this, but bride prep is probably my favourite part of the day to cover. There's just something special about the imagery it can produce and the transformation...

That dress by the way is by Rosa Clara.