Georgia & Nick in Living France Magazine

Georgia & Nick‘s stunning wedding in Provence I had the pleasure of working on in May last year is featured in this month’s Living France magazine! Almost a year later, the images bring back very fond memories of working with such a delightful couple and a truly brilliant photographer (Chloé Browne from Caught the Light), in a superb venue. As spring kicks in and I see poppies flowering everywhere in the South of France, it reminds me of the beautiful poppy field Georgia & Nick were lucky enough to have their couples portrait photos taken in – it really doesn’t get much better than that for a backdrop. As well as being proud to see Georgia & Nick’s wedding in print, I have to say that Living France is a very good read for those Franco-fanatics out there like me and probably you if you are reading this post!

 

2CV Heaven

Strolling along the Croisette in Cannes on a surprisingly sunny and warm January day, good old David (pronounced Davide in French); my future mother-in-law’s BF, spotted a rainbow extravaganza of amazingness in the form of an array of super cool vintage Citroen 2CVs all parked up in a row by a posh hotel in central Cannes. He called me instantly of course and now having found out they can be rented locally, I actually want the entire fleet for my wedding! The want is so great that it’s even making me want to have my civil service on the morning of the Big Day just so all of the wedding party can drive a 2CV in convoy from the town hall to the wedding venue. Which one would I choose? Green, pink, red, yellow….. You’ll have to wait and see!

Decisions, decisions, decisions

After posting the following Tweet exactly 4 days ago: “Finally decided on a design direction for MY wedding, so much harder making decisions for myself than my clients! Blog post coming soon…” it would appear that I have had yet another new idea for the styling of my wedding which has put me back to square one. I always give advice to clients to consider the options but to quickly pick a direction and run with it. The problem is as usual, I am not taking my own advice. What feels like several hundred mood boards later, I have considered a lot of options… from a ‘burlesque circus’ theme (this was several months ago when I decided I wanted to get married in a random burlesque circus tent I found near Aix en Provence), passing by a French bistro themed wedding complete with red and white Vichy print table cloths, carafes of red wine and beret favors (I’m not sure where the inspiration for this one came from – perhaps wanting to recreate the many fun meals I have enjoyed with my mum in our favorite brasseries in Cannes during her visits), flitting between an ‘Art Nouveau’ inspired wedding and a roaring 20s theme (these came from a flier for the Train Blue restaurant in Paris I had found in a draw, a Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque Rosé Champagne bottle I came across in a local wine store and a 20s style Jenny Packham dress I fell in love with before I found out the price), and moving onto a wedding décor inspired by the Nice flower market and the Antibes Marché Provencal (when I had decided to go down the authentic rustic French route). Ideas I am a plenty but decisions I am most certainly not; at this rate my wedding could possibly be an eccentric mishmash of all of the above. So what’s the solution? How am I ever going to make a decision? Well, I have had to realize that it’s not just MY wedding, in fact there is someone very important in all of this who actually might have more of an opinion than I think, it’s that person without whom my wedding wouldn’t even be happening, no not my credit card company, but Gregory, my fiancé. He has a few days off work coming up soon and what he doesn’t know yet is that I am going to pin him down and expose him to all of my brainwaves to help me to make sense of it all and find something that is really ‘us’ not just me, after all, that’s what getting married is all about.

Real Wedding: Stacey & Julien

Belle blue-eyed Californian Stacey and beau Frenchie Julien were married on a beautifully sunny riviera day in July 2011, not once, but twice. The civil ceremony took place at the super cute Mairie (Town Hall) in Julien’s parents hometown of Falicon, a small commune in the hills above Nice. The bridal party then headed to a wonderful cliff-top venue in Villefranche sur Mer where the symbolic ceremony was conducted by wedding celebrant Rev. Pastor Peter Madan on a beautiful terrace with stunning views over Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. Guests enjoyed alfresco dining on the main terrace in front of the charming chateau, all marveling at the superb sunset and the twinkling night lights along the French Riviera coast. Thanks to Alban Pichon for these lovely photos of Stacey and Julien’s special day. Also a mention to Julien’s cousin Vanessa who created the table plan, confetti cones and favors. Vanessa has since gone on to start up her own decor company d’Amour et de Déco.

Real Wedding: Sarah & Ashley

My first meeting with Sarah took place over a Champagne ‘Piscine’ in Monaco where she was living at the time with fiancé Ashley. Not an actual swimming pool filled with Champagne (although in Monaco this would not be something totally unheard of), Sarah’s favorite drink; a nice large glass with lots of ice cubes and a good Champagne, the perfect glamorous afternoon summer drink. Sarah explained that she wanted to find a venue which felt very authentic, without feeling purpose built or staged in any way whatsoever. The beautiful Bastide St Mathieu in Grasse instantly came to mind. She wanted to mix chic with rustic and flashes of colour. Sarah already had her eye on a beautiful Jesus Peiro dress which she ended up snapping up. The dress looked fabulous on her as did the vintage engagement ring she and Ashley had found in a local jewelers in Saint Paul de Vence. I wish this adorable couple all the happiness in the new life they have started back in the UK and will drink to Sarah every time I have a ‘Piscine’!

Real Wedding: Larissa & Ivan

This beautiful young bride and her handsome young groom were another of my 2010 couples and were married at the impressive Chateau Saint Jeannet in the hills inland from Nice in September 2010. Family members flew out from Kazakhstan, the Ukraine and Russia for Larissa and Ivan’s wedding celebrations which took place over three days with a rehearsal dinner BBQ for family staying in the Chateau, the wedding day and post wedding brunch. The company I enlisted for the marquee and furniture hire did a fabulous job on the transparent marquee, painstakingly stringing up the fairy lights lining the roof one by one. The fabulous Phly Boyz entertained guests during the cocktail aperitif and Ukrainian pop star Tina Karol, the bride’s favourite artist at the time, performed live with her band during dinner. Thanks to Bruce Thomas for these lovely photos.