We are off to the South West of France today for a real wedding at the beautiful French Chateau Wedding Venue of FWS Supplier Chateau Lagorce, near Bordeaux. The wedding is a perfect mix of glamour set against the rustic facade of the dreamy Chateau Lagorce ,all captured by Victoria Phipps Photography.
Bride Natalie brings the essence of glamour in her Jenny Packham stunning wedding dress as do her bridesmaids in the fabulous Mathew Williamson patterned bridesmaids dresses, that could have been made for this wedding!
Bride Natalie takes us through their wedding planning: “Our wedding was a relaxed affair in a rural Chateau in southwest France. It was great to have all our friends and family in the enormous chateau for a 3 day party; sunshine, delicious food, wine & company in an amazing setting! When the weekend was over, everyone left as one big family with great memories that will never be forgotten.
Being in France we wanted to use colours which represented the region; lavender, pastel yellow to represent the sunflower fields and mint blue to symbolise the sea. Both bridesmaids wore beautiful, floaty Matthew Williamson dresses which incorporated all the colours we wanted to use in our wedding day. The bouquets were all simple dried lavender and the buttonholes and table centrepieces also included rosemary and an array of french garden flowers.
I walked down the long crumbly steps from the chateau to the outdoor ceremony with my father, as an accordion player re-created one of our favourite songs from ‘Amélie’. The chairs and gazebo were decorated with handmade pom poms and ceramic hearts. During the ceremony my father read words from the John Denver song ‘Perhaps Love’ whilst Darren’s mother read a poem written by a close family friend.
After the ceremony duck and quail egg canapés were served with champagne as everyone mingled on the terrace. A spontaneous table tennis championship seemed to start out of nowhere and everyone was enjoying the sunshine! For dinner we chose a vegetable tartlet to start, followed by fillet of pork with dauphinoise potatoes and locally sourced vegetables. A variety of handmade macarons were also served as part of the desert. Darren’s sister designed some bespoke cocktails for the evening – a rosemary, damson jam and gin concoction followed by a cognac with fresh lime for after dinner!
We didn’t have a videographer, but we chose Victoria to photograph our wedding because we really liked that she shot on film as well as digital. We loved the soft tones of her images as well as the natural and relaxed feel portrayed in each photograph. If I was to offer any tip to future brides it would be to get on Pinterest. It’s great for gathering ideas and brainstorming!”
Wedding Suppliers:
Photography: Victoria Phipps Photography | Bride’s dress: Jenny Packham ‘Ivy’ | Bride’s accessories: Jenny Packham ‘Poppy’ headpiece | Groom’s attire: Bespoke blue suit from Richard Smith | Bridesmaid’s dresses: Matthew Williamson | Venue: Chateau Lagorce | Flowers: Vedure | Cake: DIY cakes of cheese & croquembouche | Paper goods: Nicola Rowlands | Table centrepieces: Collections of vintage glassware left to the bride from her grandmother, all filled with flowers | Favours: Hand-illustrated graphics made into temporary tattoos for the guests to wear for the party
