#smallweddingvenuefrance – The French Wedding Company

A Look Back at 2017 Wedding Venues

17th January 201818th January 2018 Laura Southgate news, venues #bellevieduchateauengascony, #bespokewedding, #bespokeweddingfrance, #chateaudelabourlie, #chateaulagauterie, #chateausaintpaul, #chateauwedding, #churchweddingfrance, #elegantwedding, #luxuryweddingfrance, #rusticbarnwedding, #rusticweddingfrance, #smallweddingvenuefrance, #stunningaristocraticchateau, #venuefindingfrance, #vineyardwedding, #vintagewedding, #weddingplannerfrance, #weddingvenuefrance

2017 was yet another year of variety for wedding venues including:

rustic country chateaux and elegant luxury chateaux
chateaux sleeping 40 guests and chateaux just for 10
wedding barns and courtyards

We revisited our exclusive partners at the Stunning Aristocratic Chateau and long-time friends at Chateau Malliac…

Large Armagnac Chateau in Gers with ivy covered walls towers huge stone and oak beam receptions rooms, courtyard and park garden

Were delighted to return to Chateau de Saint Paul and Chateau de La Bourlie…

Chateau de Saint Paul former Priory in stone with courtyard and Romanesque chapel Wedding in France at Chateau de la Bourlie medieval chateau with large courtyard

And established new partners at Chateau La Gauterie.

Wedding Venue France Chateau La Gauterie Manor House with large park

We travelled to new regions with Esther and Kevin who got married in the Vendée, and once again, helped couples plan weddings at their own, or at their parents’ homes in France.

Our new Venue Finding Service went from strength to strength with couples from across the globe engaging our services. We helped them find their wedding venue in Paris, Provence, Bordeaux, the West Coast, the South and South West of France, as well as a beach wedding, and 3 of these wedding venues were booked from afar, without any visits. From the wedding venues search service:

Total wedding venues found on initial searches 426
Total wedding venues presented to couples 112

We are looking forward to carrying out more personalised venues searches in 2018 and sharing some of the amazing and hidden wedding venues that France has to offer.

For expert help on finding your wedding venue and making head or tail of costs, venue options and suitability, contact us here.

SPECIAL OFFER

10% DISCOUNT ON WEDDING VENUE SEARCHES

BOOKED BEFORE 31ST JANUARY 2018

Aristocratic Chateau on Rocky Outcrop near Large Town

17th September 201718th January 2018 Laura Southgate venues #bespokeweddingfrance, #chateauweddingvenue, #luxuryweddingvenuefrance, #smallweddingvenuefrance, #SWfranceweddingvenue, #weddingvenue, #weddingvenuefrance

This beautiful Aristocratic Chateau sits atop a rocky outcrop overlooking the surrounding countryside, just 15 minutes from a large town.

Its large courtyard, raised pool and small vaulted basement make it a perfect venue for small and intimate weddings for up to 100 guests.

What we love…

We have worked in exclusive partnership with the Aristocratic Chateau for several years and couples and their guests never cease to be wowed by their first sighting of the chateau sitting high above them on the approach road. We really love the elegance of both the interior and exterior and the pool that sits way above the chateau.

If you are looking for original period charm and elegant architecture as the backdrop to your wedding, then look no further.

Wedding and Events

Large courtyard ideal for ceremony, receptions (meals also possible for small numbers)
Large gravelled area for dining and dancing under marquee or tent
Pool higher up the hill with terrace suitable for drinks receptions, post wedding barbecues
Series of vaulted, interconnecting, basement rooms making great dancing room or atmospheric dining room for small numbers
Varied grounds including possibility of woodland wedding ceremony
Large meadow – a great space for pre-and post wedding day get-together and activities

House and Services

10 bedrooms
Sleeps up to 20
Heated pool
Daily maid service
Meals can be provided for onsite guests (optional)

The Area

Nearest church – walking distance
Nearest village with amenities – 10 mins
Nearest large town – 15 mins
Nearest international airport – 10 mins
Nearest overflow accommodation – walking distance / 5 mins

Rental

Available all year
Flexible arrival date and length of stay (excluding mid June – Mid September – Saturdays only)
Flexible length of stay (excluding mid June- mid September – min 7 nights)

Candice and Carl, Part 1 – Venue Search

13th March 201730th November 2017 Laura Southgate venues, Wedding Journeys, weddings #chateausaintpaul, #chateauwedding, #peterantoinephotography, #rusticbarnwedding, #rusticweddingfrance, #smallweddingvenuefrance, #venuefindingfrance, #vineyardwedding, #weddingfrance, #weddingplannerfrance, #weddingvenuefrance

Read about Candice and Carl’s wedding planning journey in the first of this 3 part series – written in their own words.

“We knew we wanted something different for our wedding, we had always loved France; the food, the wine, its beauty, warmth and memories of holidays on the South coast. The idea of making our special day somewhere we would always remember, a unique day just for us, to share with our family and friends, a perfect day….

Our first thought was that we could get married in a French church and find a venue for the reception, but unfortunately you have to have lived in France for over a month to do that and as much as we would have loved to stay in the beautiful sunny countryside of France, it wasn’t possible. We decided to have a blessing and our reception in France instead. We searched online for venues and found a number of agencies that could help us to find our dream location. Our initial thought was to use a venue finding service to get the ball rolling and then we would organise the rest ourselves. How hard could it be?

We chose to use the French Wedding Company for this as they had a range of venues to suit our budget and hand-picked 12 options for us to narrow our search. We chose to view six and spent an amazing weekend touring the Dordogne countryside and looking at venues. We were met at each one by Laura and her team to walk the venues and give us suggestions about what we could do at each one, which helped us to visualise what our day would look like and the general flow of the day.

Our chosen venue was the first place we visited, although it was a hard choice between the options available. The sun shone on the hilltop Chapel of St Paul’s next to the tastefully renovated stonework gites. The idea that we could have our ceremony in a chapel and have our reception within the gardens overlooking the fields and lake, with accommodation for our closest friends and family was more than we hoped for. St Paul’s was beautiful and we had found our venue.”

Photos by Peter Antoine Photography

It takes us just 7-10 days to turn around a wedding venue search. For Candice and Carl we sourced approx 30 possible venues, contacted 20 who met their exact requirements, proposed 12 that were the nearest match, available and within budget. Contact us to get your venue search under way.

Read Part Two – Wedding Planning (to follow shortly)

Read Part Three – Our Wedding Day (to follow shortly)

See their wedding storybook, showing how we brought their wedding day to fruition (to follow shortly).