A backyard wedding in Normandy

Our clients have a lovely little stone cottage in the picturesque area of lower Normandy called Le Perche.  Their daughter and future son-in-law decided they’d like to use the house to host a wedding for 115 guests, both family and friends coming from all over the world (literally).  The mother-of-the-bride, despite having planning experience, knew she’d need help turning the backyard into a wedding venue – that’s when she turned to Fête in France.

While the family took care of whipping the yard into shape, we sprang into action sorting out the tents, tables and chairs, decoration, transportation, catering, hair & makeup, photography…

Guests were welcomed with a Pimm’s punch before moving to the ceremony area for a joyful ceremony under a tent performed by one of their close friends.  Then it was on to the cocktail hour where the champagne flowed freely and dinner at long family style tables under the beautifully decorated tent.  As the sun went down and the laterns scattered all over the backyard started to glow, the couple (both excellent dancers, by the way) opened the dance floor with the song Bruises by Chairlift.  The band, accompanied by a friend of the bride and groom’s on vocals, had learned the song especially for them.  Afterwards, the party continued with a dessert buffet, more drinks and lots of dancing!

Photos courtesy of David Commenchal

A Summer Fresh White Wedding

Our franco-british clients had a lot going on in their lives between their busy work schedules and an international move which meant not a lot of time to dedicate to their wedding.  We at Fête in France helped them pull together their day which took place at a fabulous château just an hour from Paris.  The couple had a romantic outdoor ceremony under an archway of trees.  Guests were then invited for a cocktail on the terrace of the château with gypsy jazz music provided by a group of musicians whose percussionist provided the beat by tap dancing.  Dinner and dancing late into the night was held under a tent – decorated all in white.

Photos courtesy of Olivier Lalin

Anchors away!

We don’t often get to see our clients before they arrive in France for their wedding.  So it was a treat to be able to work with newly expatriated couple Elizabeth and Nathan.  Athletic, all-American and keen sailors (on the bride’s side) they had chosen to have their ceremony and reception on one of the elegant boats that cruise the Seine in Paris.  It was abundantly clear that a nautical theme was in order and we helped them go all out.

Guests arrived in bateau chic attire and were delighted as the bride and father of the bride cruised up in a Venetian water taxi.  The ceremony began and guests (and the neighboring boat) watched as Elizabeth and Nathan tied the knot.  The boat set sail and an accordion and clarinet duo added a festive tone to the cocktail – it was Fête de la Musique after all!

The reception followed and the room looked resplendant in navy and white, tall calla lily centerpieces, thematic table names (bow knot, square knot, clove hitch…) and elegant calligraphied escort cards and menus.  The meal was topped off by the presentation of a traditional French pièce montée de croquembouche and a champagne fountain poured by the couple.

The couple opened up the dance floor with their first dance to “Sailing” by Christopher Cross and as usual, the young crowd closed the place down.

Photos courtesy of Fred Marigaux

Loire Valley wedding

The story of this wedding has a happy ending… but there were definitely twists and turns along the way.

Katy and Richie had originally signed with a chateau near Blois. Due to completely unforseen circumstances they found themselves without a venue and out their deposit. A difficult situation for any bride and groom to bear, but they were troopers.

We found them another (and in our opinion much nicer) chateau – one that back in the early days of her engagement Katy had cut out a picture of for her wedding inspiration book. Another stroke of luck – the weather cooperated and they were able to hold the cocktail in the chateau’s back gardens. In the end, a very grateful and relieved bride and groom were finally able to enjoy the wedding they had spent so much effort on making happen.

Photos courtesy of David Bacher

A Château Wedding in the Loire Valley – Part 2

The reception room we started with was a bare room with stone vaulted ceilings so all the decoration needed to be brought in. In keeping with the château chic theme, the tables were dressed in gold damask tablecloths with high gold candlelabra centerpieces and gold candles. Different aged gold picture frames denoted table names each named after a different Loire Valley chateau.
Lighting was essential to pulling the room together and our expert lighting technicians lit bathed the room in soft gold and rose-colored light and projected damask and leaf patterns on to the vaulted ceilings.
The bride and groom had two cakes – One a traditional American wedding cake and a Pierre Hermé macaron cake.

Have a look at some of the pictures…

All photos courtesy of Olivier Lalin.

Eco-wedding idea: Paperless Post

We love it when we learn about something new from one of our brides.  Case in point:  Paperless Post.

Paperless Post is an online invitation service that has an elegant selection of stationery and myriad ways to customize.  Clean and modern in style, it is unlike the Evites and Send-o-matics of the world, and truly has a tactile, high-end stationery feel to it.

We received a Paperless Post invite and were charmed by the paper-meets-online experience:  the email you receive has an image of an envelope (which has your name inscribed on it, natch) and when you click on it, you’re directed to the Paperless Post website where you see an animation of an envelope opening and then the invitation/note/announcement comes sliding out.

It’s not free (150 Paperless Post “stamps” go for $10) but it’s still a great deal and has many of the great qualities of stationery without the hours of stuffing envelopes.  So you can keep it posh but save on postage.

A Château Wedding in the Loire Valley – Part 1

The theme was château-chic. The colors gold, pink and ivory. Here’s how it all came together.

All photos except top photo courtesy of Olivier Lalin.

Romantic Small Wedding in Paris

We were contacted by a couple at Christmas time this year looking to have a romantic elopement in Paris.  With only one month of planning and the holidays in between we sprung into action to make their wedding vision come true.  Here are some pictures from their day which included getting ready at a private apartment by the Eiffel Tower, a wedding ceremony in an elegant salon of a 5 star hotel and then a tour of Paris for pictures.  They and their two friends ended the special day with a dinner at a restaurant under the Eiffel Tower.

PS. His green suit fortunately was just for laughs

Livre d’or: Lohr Couture

We recently had the pleasure of visiting Aimée Lohrbauer’s new atélier in the chic Montorgueil area.  Her space is a perfect reflection of her design style, very modern vintage:  mercury glass vases, antique furniture picked up at the marché aux puces, and tea served in delicate painted china teacups.

Aimée’s aesthetic is perfectly in step with the modern vintage theme that seems to be popping up on more and more wedding inspiration boards.  A professionally trained stylist, she worked for Kenzo and Nina Ricci before taking the big step into the entrepreneurial world.  Her specialties are wedding and evening dresses, adding touches (embellishments, bias-cuts) that remind you of beautiful vintage pieces but are completely original.

And let’s not forget to mention the person!  Aimée is a wonderfully warm, charming and very pretty Swede, who in addition to her native Swedish seems to speak myriad other languages (English, French, Italian…)  She clearly understands that the relationship between the bride and the designer is a privileged one and that she’s accompanying them in a very special time in their lives.  Finding a great dress can be stressful, but in the lovely atmosphere that Aimée has created in her atélier, we wouldn’t be surprised if you too wanted to spend all afternoon sipping tea and chatting with her!

Her website is currently under construction and we’ll be sure to let you know when it’s up and running!

Lohr Couture, 31 rue Etienne Marcel, Paris 1er.  Prices starting at 2 500€.

Fête in France’s wedding on Perfect Bound

Coverage of a wedding we did this past December on the stylish wedding blog, Perfect Bound.

Update:  Check out the full posting on Perfect Bound!

Update:  It’s been reposted on Eco Chic Weddings!

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