Retro Chic Swing + Jazz-Themed Wedding in the French Countryside
This wedding is full of all of my favorite things: a beautiful lace wedding gown, adorable little French children, beautiful blossoms, scrumptious sweets and a gorgeous couple madly in love. Complete with a jazz theme (the couple took swing lessons to prepare for their big day!) and a summery palette, this day came together in the loveliest way. See it all from Anne-Claire Brun in The Vault!
From Anne-Claire Brun...I loved this wedding! I had never seen this theme before and everything was so beautifully crafted! Maxime and Chloé are two amazing people and so in love that the whole day felt unreal :)
From The Bride...Maxime and I met in High School. My best friend was dating one of Maxime's friends and decided to play matchmaker! We kept our relationship going, even when Maxime was abroad and all throughout our studies. Years later, we were traveling in Stockholm, in October. For my birthday, Maxime took me to the botanical garden, a magical place! We had afternoon tea on an outside table with dozens of small birds surrounding us. We then wandered around the garden in the late sunny afternoon. I was standing on a tree trunk with Maxime's arms around me when he told me he was ready to commit and proposed to me. I remember the sunset on the water so vividly, it was perfect!
For a year and a half, we were both really invested in the wedding. We took lessons of Lindy Hop every week to learn the basics of the dance and then private ones to learn a choreography on the song "Sing Sing Sing" from Benny Goodman. We spent so many week ends working on the wedding! It was intense but those moments brought us closer together.
The style of the wedding was retro-chic 20s swing and jazz. We went to flea markets to find items for table decorations and the candy bar. The tables names were jazz singers' names, the invitations art deco and I was wearing an old style comb through my hair. The color theme was grey blue, nude and gold. We decorated Napoleon chairs with grey blue, white and nude ribbons. Maxime's groomsmen wore a blue grey bow tie and my bridesmaids wore nude and gold. I found a gorgeous 20s style dress whose bottom was entirely embroidered with pearls for my sister. Also, I designed the tote bag for all the women at the wedding. The bag read "Swing your day" and we chose the colors to make them look vintage.
We also wanted a touch of nature so we had the bag made in canvas, kraft paper and wild flowers. Many elements were homemade like the photo booth accessories entirely made by my sister, the signs crafted by Maxime's dad, the frames and the table plans found and painted by my mom... We also found the fabric for the table runners and the bridesmaids dresses that we then had put together by a dressmaker.
We wanted a cozy place with a lot of character and this old farmhouse with its beautiful barn and backyard was perfect!
During the wedding day, I really enjoyed getting ready with my mom and my sister. It was a moment of feminine complicity and it felt magic! Maxime and I loved the moment when it was just the two of us, right after the ceremony, in the vintage car. Also, our friends and cousins prepared a surprise for us: they did an amusing take on a fashion show and they paraded in front of everyone wearing funny clothes.
For the music, we had: the entrance into the church: "A Chloris" from Reynaldo Hahn sang by a mezzo soprano friend (she suggested the song and we found it beautiful.), the exit from the church: " La Valse d'Amelie" from Yann Tiersen used in the french movie "Amelie" and that is so meaningful to us the first dance: our choreography on "Lindy Hop Sing Sing Sing" by Benny Goodman (we didn't want a traditional waltz and we loved the enthusiasm and joy that the song inspired! It went perfectly with the theme of the wedding!).
If I had any advice for the couples preparing their wedding now, it would be to not be too stressed on the wedding day (I know it easier said than done!) but it's important in order to fully live the emotions of the day.
From The Bride...Maxime and I met in High School. My best friend was dating one of Maxime's friends and decided to play matchmaker! We kept our relationship going, even when Maxime was abroad and all throughout our studies. Years later, we were traveling in Stockholm, in October. For my birthday, Maxime took me to the botanical garden, a magical place! We had afternoon tea on an outside table with dozens of small birds surrounding us. We then wandered around the garden in the late sunny afternoon. I was standing on a tree trunk with Maxime's arms around me when he told me he was ready to commit and proposed to me. I remember the sunset on the water so vividly, it was perfect!
For a year and a half, we were both really invested in the wedding. We took lessons of Lindy Hop every week to learn the basics of the dance and then private ones to learn a choreography on the song "Sing Sing Sing" from Benny Goodman. We spent so many week ends working on the wedding! It was intense but those moments brought us closer together.
The style of the wedding was retro-chic 20s swing and jazz. We went to flea markets to find items for table decorations and the candy bar. The tables names were jazz singers' names, the invitations art deco and I was wearing an old style comb through my hair. The color theme was grey blue, nude and gold. We decorated Napoleon chairs with grey blue, white and nude ribbons. Maxime's groomsmen wore a blue grey bow tie and my bridesmaids wore nude and gold. I found a gorgeous 20s style dress whose bottom was entirely embroidered with pearls for my sister. Also, I designed the tote bag for all the women at the wedding. The bag read "Swing your day" and we chose the colors to make them look vintage.
We also wanted a touch of nature so we had the bag made in canvas, kraft paper and wild flowers. Many elements were homemade like the photo booth accessories entirely made by my sister, the signs crafted by Maxime's dad, the frames and the table plans found and painted by my mom... We also found the fabric for the table runners and the bridesmaids dresses that we then had put together by a dressmaker.
We wanted a cozy place with a lot of character and this old farmhouse with its beautiful barn and backyard was perfect!
During the wedding day, I really enjoyed getting ready with my mom and my sister. It was a moment of feminine complicity and it felt magic! Maxime and I loved the moment when it was just the two of us, right after the ceremony, in the vintage car. Also, our friends and cousins prepared a surprise for us: they did an amusing take on a fashion show and they paraded in front of everyone wearing funny clothes.
For the music, we had: the entrance into the church: "A Chloris" from Reynaldo Hahn sang by a mezzo soprano friend (she suggested the song and we found it beautiful.), the exit from the church: " La Valse d'Amelie" from Yann Tiersen used in the french movie "Amelie" and that is so meaningful to us the first dance: our choreography on "Lindy Hop Sing Sing Sing" by Benny Goodman (we didn't want a traditional waltz and we loved the enthusiasm and joy that the song inspired! It went perfectly with the theme of the wedding!).
If I had any advice for the couples preparing their wedding now, it would be to not be too stressed on the wedding day (I know it easier said than done!) but it's important in order to fully live the emotions of the day.
