Jasemin and John run a busy company in London and were referred to me by one of our agency partners.

It started small, but as numbers increased the rehearsal dinner went from the Chateau dining room to a black and silver themed, black-tie dinner, in the smaller reception room. Stylist Jen and her team transformed the room from simple barn to classy dining room with a vintage gramophone, baby grand piano and champagne bar. The party went on all night.

The idea for the welcome dinner came to John and me over a glass of wine in the local bar, on their site visit. John’s dad worked for a racing newspaper and horse racing was a passion of John’s. He talked about an idea of having a jockey race and so the Chateau de Malliac Steeplechase was born.

Hosted in the large barn, the tables were set around a parade ring complete with artificial grass, winning post and jump. During dinner, the sweepstake was run and the jockeys were presented to the guests.

Classic white and green was the scheme of the day. Guests were greeted on arrival to gin and tonic ice pops served from a vintage bicycle. They then made their way to a corner of the garden that had been transformed into a beautiful ceremony area for their religious wedding blessing.

The afternoon reception took place under the shade of the mature trees and around the rose arbour of the park garden.  Before sitting for their meal, the guests gathered on the circular lawn for the big race… Three laps of the lawn, jumping over cognac barrels, before a dash down the finishing straight. A commentary was given by John’s dad and it was an eventful race! There were falls, run-outs and even a disqualification.

The gastronomic meal was followed by the presentation of a fantastic vegan chocolate cake made especially at Jasemin’s request.

After three days of festivities, it was time to say goodbye with a casual lunchtime buffet and a dip in the pool.

Congratulations Jasemin and John