An Efflorescent, French-Chateau Wedding With a Downton-Abbey Feel

Our original plan was to get married in Brooklyn - but when we really thought about it, we were having French food and French wine - so we decided, why not just get married in France? We wanted a small wedding, so it was the perfect opportunity for a destination wedding. People always ask what the connection is to France - do we have family over there, are we French - and we say no, we just like French food and wine. Having our wedding 2 years after the start of the pandemic, it was really the first time since 2020 that many of our guests had traveled - so everyone was so excited to be able to come and stay in this incredible chateau. We looked at so many venues, but what stood out to us about Château de Varennes was that it was family owned and operated. Sonia, the owner, was the one that took our interview over FaceTime. It was very personal - showing us the family tree and telling us small facts about the house. It was important to us that all of the guests were able to stay at the venue. It goes without saying that the venue is breathtaking. All of the decor is owned by the family, so it feels like a home. You felt like you went back in time. We also were appreciative of the vendor relations they had - it made it so much easier being foreigners planning a wedding overseas. It felt like everyone that helped make our wedding unforgettable truly cared. We wanted a big vacation/sleepover with our closest family and friends, and during one of the nights together, we all get dressed up and have a wedding. We wanted it to feel opulent but not over the top. Not Great Gatsby, but Downton Abbey. Timeless, classic, but with modern twists.

We met online and our first date was on February 27th 2019. We decided to meet at a bar in Brooklyn called Blueprint. We clicked instantly and spent most of the night talking about our favorite movie, Die Hard. We both ended up using references from the movie in our vows. Sara worked with an artist a few years ago to gift Jon a cartoon version of their first date, which now hangs in their house. Jon proposed on October 10th 2020 at Sara's family's house in Maine. We had taken our first official trip as a couple to that house together, it’s where Sara's dad's ashes were scattered, and it’s where we plan to build a summer house. It’s a very special place for Sara, and now, for both of us. Jon made us manhattans to drink on the porch and watch the sunset, and when he went to put the drinks down he got down on one knee and proposed. Sara's dad had recently passed away in June of 2020 after a long illness. Prior to his death, Jon asked for his blessing during his final days, and Sara's dad just made him promise that he would "make her happy". It was difficult for Sara to not have her dad present for her engagement and wedding, but knowing he loved Jon and trusted he would make her happy was very special.

Sara spent 4 long days in New York looking for a wedding dress with her Mother and Grandmother. She wanted a dress that felt like it could be on the red carpet - not a typical wedding dress. The 4 days went by and there was no dress - nothing felt special enough, or timeless enough. Having a dress that felt timeless was key. She made an appointment at Vivienne Westwood and went one day during lunch while at work. By herself. She tried on two dresses, and knew the second one was her wedding dress. Elegant, timeless, and able to be brought as a carry on (for the plane ride to the wedding) - it checked all the boxes. It’s not the typical wedding dress story of all her female family and friends standing around crying saying “it’s the one” but that’s not really Sara’s style. Her mom did join her for the final fitting. For jewelry she kept it simple - her grandmother's pearl earrings and gold ring - outside of her engagement ring.

Sara had no bridesmaids.

Jon had an Alan David custom double breasted tuxedo and opted for Louboutin velvet slippers. He wore a watch and a custom signet ring that Sara had made for him.

Here are some of canapés & appetizers we had during the cocktail hour: scallop pops, squid Chorizo and spiced aioli, ceviche of sea bass, shredded duck confit, roasted aubergine, creamed crottin of goat cheese crostini, mackerel rillettes, poached lobster. Our main course was a darne of wild sea trout and we had a lemon and elderflower tartlet for dessert. We had 4 different wines: - Rully 1er Cru "Les Cloux, Paul et Marie Jacqueson" (red wine) - St. Aubin 1er Cru "Les Murger des dents de chiens" (white wine) - Rimauresq cru classé 2020 (rosé) - The Bollinger Special Cuvée or the Pol Roger (champagne)

We did not have groomsmen or bridesmaids - so the flowers were the color. We wanted it to feel "overgrown" - lots of dark greenery on the tables and in/on the tent. Like a secret garden. For the flowers, blush, beige, ivory, light pink - very neutral and subtle. We were very fortunate with our florist, she was amazing. We had requested flowers that were out of the norm, that would make people ask "what kind of flower is that" - and she delivered! The flowers had so much texture and dimension. A fan favorite were the toffee roses, we had never seen them before! Sara has requested a dozen for each anniversary :) Other than white and black - we requested gold accents, which were present in the place settings and stationary. The stationery fit the color scheme as well - with handmade emerald green and gold wax seals. The inspiration was 'Downton Abbey' - early 1900's in a way that did not feel costume-y, but elegant and classic. Think English secret garden - but in France. The venue did a lot of the work for us in terms of setting the scene - we just added our own touches. It was important to have a vintage feel with modern touches. Our wedding stylist worked so hard on making our vision come true - her and her mother even sewed custom tablecloths themselves when they could not find ones they liked! We had antique furniture on the lawn for cocktail hour which was a beautiful touch.

We opted for no wedding cake, and had a seated dessert instead. We had a lemon and elderflower tart. We also had a macaron tower for people to snack on at the reception. We never eat the cake at other weddings, so we opted for something else!

We chose a string quartet to play during the ceremony & cocktail hour, but requested that they only play covers of pop/rock songs. When all the guests were seated in the chapel - we had them play “Be our guest” from Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” which was a huge hit. Sara walked down the aisle to “Something in the way she moves” by James Taylor and we exited the ceremony to “Don’t stop me now” by Queen - both performed by the quartet. Jon’s best friends from childhood (Blake and Brian - twin brothers) were the officiants. They had us each choose three readings that they recited, and after each one, we explained why we had chosen them. We have listed the readings below. After those, we recited our vows, which we had written ourselves. Sara’s reading choices: - Rupi Kaur poem - excerpt from “A man called ove” - excerpt from TS Eliot Jons reading choices: - Raymond Chandler excerpt “The big sleep” - Earnest Hemingway excerpt from “A farewell to arms” - James Joyce short story excerpt “Araby” Jon went to music school - so he was in charge of the playlist for the reception (we had a DJ). We spent hours putting it together - making sure we had songs from our favorite artists. We had four playlists made: rehearsal dinner, wedding dinner, reception, and after hours. We still put them on all the time around the house or when we’re driving. For our first dance, we wanted a song that fit with the theme - older, classic, but wanted a modern twist. We chose a cover of "Baby I'm yours" by Arctic Monkeys - one of Sara's favorite bands. We even took dance classes before the wedding.

The crest is our new family crest - it combines the crest for Keenan (Jon’s family name), the crest of Château de Varennes, and instead of a fleur de lys, it’s a small bee (Jon’s nickname for Sara is “bee”) - which we refer to as a fleur de bee :)

The fact that we spent 5 days together in this incredible venue with our closest family and friends made our wedding unforgettable. We especially loved seeing everyone meet and build friendships with each other. You would look around at the pool or at dinner and Jon's aunt would be laughing with Sara's college roommate, or Sara's 93 year old grandma would be in the garden telling Jon's childhood friends old family stories. Everyone got along so well and had so many laughs in a truly unreal setting. We would be drinking rose in the pool during the day and inevitably someone would stop and be like "Wait can you guys believe this is our life right now?"

We requested a champagne tower which was so fun! We love that memory. It takes way more champagne to fill those than we had anticipated. We kept pouring, bottle after bottle wondering when all the glasses would be filled. We laugh at that memory all the time.