‘You are going to be my future wife!’
Stacey and Chris wanted a relaxed, country wedding in the beautiful south-west of France, and Domaine Le Castelet was just what they were looking for. The result was a joyful, emotional four-day celebration, in which family and friends came together to share this special event at a stunning venue in an idyllic rural setting. All in all, it was an amazing, unforgettable wedding.
How did you meet?
We met at a works Charity ball. We both worked for Tesco but had never crossed paths till this point. One of Chris’ first comments to me was – ‘You are going to be my future wife!’
What do you have in common?
Everything! It is weird! I would say though eating: we both really enjoy nice food and cooking.
What made you choose Le Castelet?
Its stunning grounds and such beautiful buildings, the main house and the stables, was what sold it to us at first. It was also in the perfect location for us, close to airports for guests travelling in from the UK, Dubai & New Zealand. And of course the owners Suzy & Eric made us feel at home and where so helpful and we knew we had to get married there!
What sort of decoration did you choose and why?
We had simple flowers in jars and foliage as decoration along the tables. I wanted it to be naturally rustic-looking. We also had old vinyl music discs for our table names as Chris is really into mixing music.Also we had some barrels and fair lights hired from Suzy & Eric.
How did you go about planning your special day?
We visited Domaine Le Castelet on several occasions to support with the planning. Suzy also helped out massively with liaising with suppliers and translating – to be honest it wouldn’t have happened or gone so perfect without her! Google translators also become my best friend when translating quotes and proposals from suppliers.
What did you choose for the lunch the day after the wedding?
We had a traditional hog roast where they cook the pig in the ground. It was slow cooked pork, potatoes (sweet potatoes and normal), Baguettes and BBQ sauce. Not only was the food amazing but the caterers explained to all the guests how they cooked it and some of the history behind the cooking technique. It was like a show, all the guests loved it.
What was your favourite part?
This is so hard to say. I loved it all but I guess my favourite parts were having my family all under one roof together, sitting outside in the gorgeous French sun and having live music: it was awesome!
How did you go about planning the ceremony?
We used a company called Weddings Words and Wishes @weddindswordsandwishes They are English but live out in France. They organised the ceremony and allowed us to amend the ceremony words to suit us. We also got married outside down by the trees to the left of Domaine Le Castelet. Getting married outside in the trees was very special.
Any advice for couples planning to get married?
Do it how you want it. Do not feel you have to have a certain wedding to fit around certain family or friends' requirements. It is your day. Do not feel guilty for that and have it the way you both truly want.
How and why did you choose the following vendors?
- Caterer Desserts Volants @artisantraiteur – Able to change the menu slightly to our taste. The food was lovely. The canapes where especially amazing.
- Florist Capucine Fleurs @capucinemazamet – Stunning flowers, interpretted exactly what I wanted. To be honest they where better than I could of dreamt of.
- Photographer Michele Marine Photography @marinem.photographe – Great package costs and really friendly.
- DJ Juke Box @juke.castres – Orlando and his team are just out of this world amazing and so much fun ! He really tailored the package and the type of music to our taste.
- Morning suit - we used suitsdirect.com @suitsdirect They had some really good deals on!
- Rings - We got our rings from Ernest Jones @ernestjonesjewellers in the UK purely for the design.
- Wedding dresses - I actually had 2 wedding dressed as I couldn’t make up my mind. Ione dress was from wed2be @wed2be and was plain simple and a real good price. My second dress was sparkly and glitzy and the bridal shop was closing down so I actually only paid a fraction of the cost for it. Both my dresses come under budget (which I was surprised at!).
- Shoes - I bought some lovely sparkly high heels. However after an hour I ended up in sparkly flat flip flops I got from primark for £5!
- Make-up - Luckily one of my best friends is very good at makeup and kindly offered to do my makeup for me.
- Hair - Lukcily again I have another best friend who is a very tallented hair dresser who done my hair and my bridesmaids hair.
- Shuttle Tarn Transport Service @TTSalbi - Suzy & Eric recomended the shuttle and they where very good and a good price.
Any suggestions you could make to Domaine Le Castelet?
- No everything was perfect and we cannot wait to visit again for a holiday