Our real wedding today takes us back to the beautiful Chateau Rigaud in South-west France. Hannah and Barney were married in July this year, and chose the venue between Bordeaux and Bergerac for their big day based on Hannah’s dream of getting married in an romantic French chateau.
The Dress
Hannah’s dress choice was Maggie Sottero Melanie, an exquisite corded lace on tulle gown with a deep illusion lace back and delicate flared skirt.
Hannah tells us about finding her dress;
“It is not actually anything like the original dresses I had been looking at. I had first wanted a only a little bit of lace (I didn’t like the full lace dresses!) and a plain skirt, not at all fitted at the hips. This style of dress looked nice but it just wasn’t wow, and neither my sister or mum were giving off the right signals.
Then the second time I went into Miss Bush I was a little early and the bride before was trying on one more dress (Melanie.) I saw her in it and and thought it looked beautiful. So of course I had to try it on, even though it was not one that I had requested to try on originally and so far from something that I thought I would like. The other thing about it was the colour, I fell in love with the pale gold and from then the dress was not going to be any other color. It was the dress that I kept coming back to and comparing others against so in the end I made my decision and it was the perfect dress for me.”
“I bought my mum and sister to the appointment with me, they are both incredibly important to me and I really value their opinions. There was no contest for either of them on the dress – they both loved Melanie, so when I was still undecided between Melanie and Bronwyn I took their advice and I am so glad that I did.”
“The dress shopping experience was so personal. I was the only one in the shop and I felt that even though I kept trying on the same dresses again and not being very decisive, that no one minded. It was also great to have Emma just tell me “No, that one does not suit you”. My mum and sister were very important, but having someone in the shop who was willing to tell you something did not look great was reassuring, because you knew that they weren’t going to lie to you about how you looked.”
Hannah kept her look simple and elegant, accessorising with a pearl bracelet and earrings.
“The bracelet was a birthday present from my best friends and the earrings were from my parents as an early wedding present. I decided against a necklace and I had a few flowers in my hair. I then had a veil bough from Miss Bush to finish it off. I actually was undecided on a veil, up until the point when I tried one on, it was lovely trying on the dresses but it almost didn’t feel real, and then once the veil went on, it was like, oh my god , I am actually going to get married!”
About the Day
Hannah and Barney wanted a relaxed, informal event with all of their friends and family joining them for a whole weekend of wedding celebrations in their own private space, which they found the perfect location for at the Chateau Rigaud.
Hannah tells us more;
“I loved the idea of our friends and family being around for more than just the wedding day. Everyone has always said that the day goes by so quickly and you never get to talk to everyone, so this way we could enjoy it and spread it out. We had no connection to France, however, we love being outside, good food, good wine and good company which is what Chateau Rigaud provided. We really wanted to keep the day as relaxed and informal as possible and the whole atmosphere was that, from the moment we arrived to when we left.”
“We arrived at the Chateau on the Wednesday and guests started to arrive from then which was brilliant. There were things going on every day and the wedding felt like it really was a five day party surrounded by everyone that I loved and cared about. Not at one point did I feel stressed throughout the whole time I was there, which was mainly down to the staff at the chateau who were great and you felt like they always had things under control.
The actual day started off raining which I tried to tell myself was not the end of the world (even though the ceremony was outside) but then by lunchtime it had brightened up luckily.”
“I loved everything about the day, from getting ready with my mum and bridesmaids then walking arm in arm with my dad. I loved walking down the aisle which I genuinely thought I would hate as I don’t like all the attention on me, but I was beaming and couldn’t help but just say hello to everyone as I went. I am not much of a crier, but my husband was in bits!”
“We had an amazing band who really set the tone for the day during canapés, playing acoustic music while wondering around all the guests. One of the most memorable parts was just before dessert, the band decided that they want to come back in and play some more songs, the guests were up on their feet dancing and clapping along while one of the band members jumped on the chair to play his guitar. They got the party started before the meal had even finished. One of the other things that stuck in my mind was that the dance floor was never empty, it was 2 in the morning before most guests were leaving.
What was brilliant was that everyone came back over on the Sunday so the wedding wasn’t over on that evening, we could re-live it all again the next day.”
Final Words
Some words of wedding planning advice from our bride Hannah;
“You may think you know what you want from a dress, but make sure to try some on that you never thought you would like, you never know, one of them could be “the one”.
Just be organised, make sure to book things in advance and there does not need to be any stress, that way you can enjoy the day. Don’t expect everything to be perfect on the day, just go with the flow and enjoy it.
Most importantly, try to take it all in, even though ours was over a few days, it still went so quickly, make sure to remember everything you can and enjoy every last bit.”
Suppliers
Photographers: M&J Photos
Celebrant: Chris Sait, Celebrants in France
Venue: Chateau Rigaud
Hair and Make Up: Laura Cawte
The Band: The Elements
Flowers: Heidi Lee at Flowers in Vines
Thank you so much to Hannah and Barney for sharing their gorgeous chateau wedding with us – the photos are stunning and Hannah looked amazing in her Maggie Sottero gown!
Leah x
