xoxo
omc
Château de la Bourlie is easily one of our favourite Dordogne venues – so anytime we get to work there is a pleasure – even in 36° July heat (!)
This time it was for Kat & Pierre’s emotion-filled day – with the whole family involved in every aspect of the planning and preparations (this must have been a record-setting number of friends/family copied in on each email!)
They chose a classic style and palette of whites and soft peaches and we kept their styling very simple, timeless, and romantic (Which is also a fairly apt description of Kat’s stunning Jenny Packham gown!)
The focal point of the design, and Kat’s main décor priority was the ceremony arch – so we hand-built a bespoke grapevine and willow arch, which was then decorated by their florist Agnès Laye.
According to Kat: “The floral arch with willow and hanging tea lights was my favourite feature from the wedding and was a work of art.”
(Awww, shucks.) 🙂
Sadly, Kat’s father passed away 3 years before the wedding, so Kat’s mum accompanied her down the aisle to start the ceremony – an emotional moment for them both. They had flown Pierre’s old school chaplain over from the UK to perform the blessing, which included readings from The Velveteen Rabbit and The Amber Spyglass.
K+P met on tinder – but only AFTER Kat’s sister had tried to set them up on a blind date, which Kat refused! After finally swiping right, they are one of those couples you can tell simply adore each other!
Dinner was set in the château courtyard with white festoon lights strung overhead. And the emotional speeches (full of lots of raucous laughter and tears) were followed by a big surprise for K+P’s guests:
“We got engaged in Capri and one evening we stumbled across fashion editor Giovana Battaglia’s wedding in the square where they had Italian tenors bursting through the shutters and singing to the guests below. The atmosphere was electric and was such an incredible memory from a very special trip. We looked into doing the same thing in the chateau courtyard but budget ruled it out pretty quickly until Pierre’s parents surprised us a few weeks before as our wedding present. We kept it secret from all of our guests and when the waiters broke into song, their reactions were priceless. Everyone was singing at the top of their voices waving their napkins around. I still get goosebumps thinking about it!”
After dinner Bright Lights took the stage for one hell of a party under our sparkly vintage chandeliers – and utter carnage on the dancefloor ensued! (They also might hold the record for number of broken bar glasses!)
Want to see more? The full wedding was featured over on Love My Dress
And don’t forget to have a look at their beautiful wedding film by Ben Walton Films!
xoxo
PLANNING: LUCY WILLIAMS EVENTS
STYLING: OUI, MON COEUR
HAIR & MAKE-UP: FRIEND OF THE BRIDE
VENUE: CHÂTEAU DE LA BOURLIE
VIDOEGRAPHY: BEN WALTON FILMS
BEAUTIFULLY PHOTOGRAPHED BY: RICHARD SKINS PHOTOGRAPHY
I'm Ajna - Designer, planner, wife, kitty-mama, tiny french village resident, old house renovator, OCD Organizer, crafter, every-day adventurer, and the creative force behind Oui, Mon Coeur. This is where I share tidbits of our recent projects, design ideas + trends, planning advice, and random musings on weddings in general. (Basically all the things my husband is tired of hearing about - you'll find them here. So a big thanks for reading and possibly saving my marriage.)
This is the question we hear most often from couples just getting started planning. And it's not one we can really answer for you, because your priorities and your wishlist are unique! But we do know that it's an important question, and one that needs answering before you can make any other important decisions! So we've created this super helpful guide & worksheet to assess the realistic costs of a wedding in the Dordogne - so you can build your own budget from there. We hope it takes the mystery and stress out of one of the least fun bits of wedding planning!
