How does one top a New Year's Eve surprise proposal knee-deep in the snow after a helicopter ride in the Alps? With a grand destination wedding in a romantic fairy-tale castle in France!
British couple Sarah and Will love to travel and love to spend time with their families so celebrating their marriage over a four day weekend in a 17th century French medieval chateau was the perfect plan for them. After visiting 10 chateaux in the Loire Valley area to find one that would suit their classic style and accommodate all their guests, they chose Château de Saint-Loup-sur-Thouet. "We fell in love with this chateau because of all of its beautiful gardens, since the whole wedding weekend will be outside."
Chateau St Loup is also known as the “Puss in Boots” château because it was previously owned by the Marquee Caravas, the count who inspired Charles Perraud to write his famous fairy tale. The chateau, complete with moat, turrets, orange tree orchards, garden courtyard, and even a dungeon, is located in the quaint French village of Saint-Loup-sur-Thouet just outside the Loire Valley.
The couple wanted a relaxed and classic wedding celebration. They had various events throughout the weekend at the castle: A casual arrival dinner on the main lawn beneath the keep on Thursday: an afternoon picnic party with croquet and other games on Friday on the main lawn; the wedding day with its ceremony by the river and reception and a “recovery brunch” the morning after the wedding in the chateau gardens.
For photography, Chateau Saint Loup was a dream! The venue offers so many unique locations for shooting: the riverfront ceremony pavilion, the tree-lined pathways, the chateau's ornate rooms filled with tapestries, paintings, and artifacts, and of course the curved stone archways and dramatic architecture of the castle itself.
Having such a variety of spaces in a compact area makes all the difference in photography, especially at a busy destination wedding like Sarah and Will’s where their main focus was on spending time with their guests. This meant our primary concentration was photojournalism throughout the day, but despite having less than an hour of dedicated time with just the two of them alone, we were able to create many distinct and evocative portraits.
We loved the experience of documenting this couple's Loire Valley wedding and were happy to know they love the experience as well! The couple were thrilled with their coverage:
"MERCI BEAUCOUP!!!! Thank you so much, guys!! Absolutely LOVE the photos - thank you :) They're just beautiful and the colours and perspectives are incredible!" - Sara & Will
Photographers: Chris+Lynn
Venue: Chateau de Saint-Loup
Since we photoraphed our first French destination wedding at a Loire Valley Chateau in France back in 2007, French weddings have been a serious passion for us as photographers. Some of the all-time favorite weddings we've shot have been at the following French Chateaux: the grand and imposing Chateau Chambord and Chateau Saint-Loup in the Loire Valley, and the more intimate rustic rustic country wedding location Chateau de Malliac in the Gascony countryside near Bordeaux. Some other dream French wedding photography locations in the Loire Valley include Chateau de Blois, Chateau de Cheverny, Chateau Chenonceau, Chateau de Villandry, Chateau Amboise, Chateau de Usse, Chateau Azay-le-Rideau, Chateau Chinon, Chaumont, Meung, Chateau Rivau, Clos Lucé, and Chateau Valençay. The best Bordeaux wedding photography locations include the UNESCO world heritage village of St Emilion,Hotel Chateau Grand Barrail, Chateau de Mirambeau, Les Pres d'Eugenie, Château Figeac, Château Haut-Brion, Château Lafite Rotschild, Château Latour , Château Margaux, Château Guiraud, and Château Lagrange.