Saturday Morning Movie: Romantic + Sweet French Chateau Wedding
Two dapper gentlemen, a romantic chateau in the South of France. A royal blue carpet aisle from the front door to the gardens and a dance floor that was never empty. It's a perfect recipe for a wedding to remember thanks to Et Voila Weddings and luckily AIRSNAP filmed it all for us to enjoy - and not forget!
From Et Voila Weddings... James and Andrew got married on the 25th of July 2015 in the South of France. Andrew proposed to James in Paris in July two years ago and that is why they chose France and a July date for their wedding.
Their brief to us was that they wanted an elegant affair with a very relaxed feel, great food and wines, and a crazy party!
The venue: Chateau de Robernier was the perfect venue for them: it has the wow factor but provides an intimate environment with contained outdoor spaces and fairly small rooms inside. Also the couple wanted to indulge their guests with a bit of luxury and the Chateau was providing just that.
Colour scheme: James is an interior designer (James Gostelow Interiors) so he had a very clear view of the look and feel he was after for his wedding. The couple chose their favourite colour, blue, as the main colour of the day. We incorporated this in the flowers, the table linen and a 200m long royal blue carpet aisle running from the Chateau door to the bottom of the gardens. We incorporated also white and silver to make it elegant yet simple.
Flowers were kept simple for ceremony as the Chateau and its views spoke for themselves. For ceremony: big arrangements of gypsophila inside the Chateau’s medicis vases. For cocktails reception: hydrangea, lisianthus and eucalyptus in stone vases to suit the surroundings. For dinner: hydrangea, delphinium, roses and gypsophila.
Feel and special touches: James and Andrew wanted their wedding to feel intimate and to make every guest feel special. At ceremony all the guests who had a reserved seat had an envelope attached to their chair with a personal note inside. On the ceremony piano were frames (lots of them!) with photos of the grooms and their family and friends. After the ceremony the grooms had a congratulation line allowing them to see and greet each guest. On the escort cards the grooms included a little “nickname” for each guest, be it a shared memory or a private joke. As a guest was celebrating her birthday that day we organized a birthday cake brought with candles and to a music that brought back a special memory shared with the grooms.
Cake: The wedding cake was a traditional French cake with choux a la crème. It had it own entrance with sparklers and music!
Favours were olive oil bottles purchased from the mill down the road. A sign next to it said “Love is gold, please take one”.
The order of the day: The grooms invited their guests one hour before the ceremony so they could be greeted with champagne and ice cream. We had organized some garden games to entertain them and set the tone of the day. Ceremony started at 6pm on the terrace of the Chateau. As soon as everyone was seated the grooms and their party emerged from the bottom of the gardens, walking on the blue aisle, to the Glasgow Theme from Love Actually. During the certificate signing the singer and pianist performed “A Thousand Years” from Christina Perri. After ceremony the guests were served drinks and canapés in the gardens. They were then invited on the Chateau terrace for a group photo and a very special royal kiss.
The grooms had a sparkler entrance in the dinner courtyard and got everyone to dance straight away!
Details: The grooms had a balcony kiss on of of the Chateau’s balconies, followed by a bouquet toss! As the grooms wanted a fun evening they had dancing between dishes. The escort cards were tied to mirror balls to give the guests a hint of what was coming next. The top table was linked to the band’s stage so the singer and musicians could walk, get on it and perform on the table, which made the guests go crazy! A bracelet that says “Will you?” and a Paris date is a bracelet Andrew gave James as a reminder of his proposal.
Outfits: Gucci and Richard James was worn by James, purchased from Paris and London. Andrew was wearing Ralph Lauren from London. The bridesmaids wore navy blue, silk Armani knee length dresses. Shoes by Paul Smith.
Favourite moments: The ceremony, the dinner sparkler entrance on “Diamond” by Rihanna, and dancing during dinner. It really surprised the guests who at some point did not want to go back to their tables and stayed on the dance floor!
Advice from James and Andrew to couples still planning their big day? Go with your heart, and don’t take it too seriously!
Their brief to us was that they wanted an elegant affair with a very relaxed feel, great food and wines, and a crazy party!
The venue: Chateau de Robernier was the perfect venue for them: it has the wow factor but provides an intimate environment with contained outdoor spaces and fairly small rooms inside. Also the couple wanted to indulge their guests with a bit of luxury and the Chateau was providing just that.
Colour scheme: James is an interior designer (James Gostelow Interiors) so he had a very clear view of the look and feel he was after for his wedding. The couple chose their favourite colour, blue, as the main colour of the day. We incorporated this in the flowers, the table linen and a 200m long royal blue carpet aisle running from the Chateau door to the bottom of the gardens. We incorporated also white and silver to make it elegant yet simple.
Flowers were kept simple for ceremony as the Chateau and its views spoke for themselves. For ceremony: big arrangements of gypsophila inside the Chateau’s medicis vases. For cocktails reception: hydrangea, lisianthus and eucalyptus in stone vases to suit the surroundings. For dinner: hydrangea, delphinium, roses and gypsophila.
Feel and special touches: James and Andrew wanted their wedding to feel intimate and to make every guest feel special. At ceremony all the guests who had a reserved seat had an envelope attached to their chair with a personal note inside. On the ceremony piano were frames (lots of them!) with photos of the grooms and their family and friends. After the ceremony the grooms had a congratulation line allowing them to see and greet each guest. On the escort cards the grooms included a little “nickname” for each guest, be it a shared memory or a private joke. As a guest was celebrating her birthday that day we organized a birthday cake brought with candles and to a music that brought back a special memory shared with the grooms.
Cake: The wedding cake was a traditional French cake with choux a la crème. It had it own entrance with sparklers and music!
Favours were olive oil bottles purchased from the mill down the road. A sign next to it said “Love is gold, please take one”.
The order of the day: The grooms invited their guests one hour before the ceremony so they could be greeted with champagne and ice cream. We had organized some garden games to entertain them and set the tone of the day. Ceremony started at 6pm on the terrace of the Chateau. As soon as everyone was seated the grooms and their party emerged from the bottom of the gardens, walking on the blue aisle, to the Glasgow Theme from Love Actually. During the certificate signing the singer and pianist performed “A Thousand Years” from Christina Perri. After ceremony the guests were served drinks and canapés in the gardens. They were then invited on the Chateau terrace for a group photo and a very special royal kiss.
The grooms had a sparkler entrance in the dinner courtyard and got everyone to dance straight away!
Details: The grooms had a balcony kiss on of of the Chateau’s balconies, followed by a bouquet toss! As the grooms wanted a fun evening they had dancing between dishes. The escort cards were tied to mirror balls to give the guests a hint of what was coming next. The top table was linked to the band’s stage so the singer and musicians could walk, get on it and perform on the table, which made the guests go crazy! A bracelet that says “Will you?” and a Paris date is a bracelet Andrew gave James as a reminder of his proposal.
Outfits: Gucci and Richard James was worn by James, purchased from Paris and London. Andrew was wearing Ralph Lauren from London. The bridesmaids wore navy blue, silk Armani knee length dresses. Shoes by Paul Smith.
Favourite moments: The ceremony, the dinner sparkler entrance on “Diamond” by Rihanna, and dancing during dinner. It really surprised the guests who at some point did not want to go back to their tables and stayed on the dance floor!
Advice from James and Andrew to couples still planning their big day? Go with your heart, and don’t take it too seriously!