We had a delightful time at a wedding in Europe two years ago, and now my daughter is researching wedding venues in France.
Has anyone been to a French wedding ? Does anyone have any personal suggestions ?
I would love ideas from this incredible forum if anyone has a hotel or chateau or vineyard to share.....
What part of France? I know of three great wedding reception venues -- obviously there are more but this what I know. There are so many beautiful places where a celebration of a wedding could be held that it would be great if you could narrow down to a region at least. Also what is the budget? Will this be an "official" French wedding or a celebration? The three places I know of are places where celebrations of the marriage were held as opposed to an official French wedding. The locations are the Shangri-La in Paris, Chateau de Challagne, and Le Mas de Pierre in Saint Paul de Vence.
This link might be helpful: http://www.frenchweddingstyle.com/20-best-wedding-venues-in-france/
Parc Floral Paris.
Thank you !
This will be a celebration and we are looking at Provence or the Dordogne region.
I can't help with the Dordogne but I have some suggestions for Provence other than the place I mentioned in St Paul de Vence. Depending on the budget try La Bastide de Marie in Menerbes. I have not been to a wedding there but I saw it while in Menerbes and thought it would be a lovely wedding venue and asked and they said they have weddings there. But having been married for almost 25 years, I have no need for it now but have noted it for my children. You could also try Le Couvent de Minimes. I don't know if the do weddings but they ought to because the location is lovely. A year or so ago a friend was considering doing a destination wedding but decided to go the Caribbean route but one place she looked at that looked amazing (and was amazingly expensive) was La Tour Vacros which is a private chateau that you rent out for the wedding. Good luck and have fun with your planning. You might enjoy looking at this for some ideas: http://www.brides.com/story/vineyard-wedding-venues-in-france
Thank you again ! We did email Le Couvant.
It's crazy that the European venues are cheaper than venue rental in the LA area where my daughter lives and they include the lodging ! Of course, you have the transportation to Europe....
Bonjour!
I am assuming it will be a Catholic wedding? Have you looked into the Ile of Saint Louis? This is a beautiful location
and there is a church named Eglise Saint Louis en L'Ile. The church outside is plain but beautiful inside. We stayed at the Hotel du Je de Paume and loved it! The church is on the same street as the hotel. Enjoy, and bon voyage!
If this is a true wedding ceremony, there may be legal hurdles to jump.
I think they need to be married in a civil ceremony first.....and celebrate in France.
There are a lot of hoops to jump through to have a legal ceremony in France !
Yes, Carla, the price of weddings is absurd, because these brides have pinterest and facebook and have to keep up with celebrities and their friends, and the industry takes advantage of that. (P.T. Barnum must have influenced the wedding industry.)
My step-daughter is getting married in November and we tried to encourage them to do something small. It will be small by US standards, but still at least $10K. That's her mama's money :). We're helping pay for their honeymoon to somewhere nice since we're the parents who'd rather travel than host dress up parties.
Weddings have been overpriced since well before Pinterest and Instagram etc. Vendors have been overcharging for weddings since I got married in the Dark Ages (1992) and I am sure before that but it really seems like prices have gotten crazier over the past 10 years.
And yes, Carla, there are a lot of legal hoops to jump through to get married in France. Everyone I have know who has done a legal wedding in France is an American who married a French person in his or her hometown and the local person had to move back home for a time before the wedding and submitted proof of residency. Of course, the couple could do a lovely humanist or religious ceremony in France that is for all intents and purposes (except legally) their wedding after a civil ceremony in the US.
Our neighbor married at the courthouse in the US before their Italian wedding !
Exactly, Carla! And it can be a lot of fun to have a destination wedding in a spot that is beautiful. Friends of ours did that and then had a beautiful wedding for 50 people in Venice. I hope your daughter's wedding is wonderful no matter where she and her partner end up getting married.
Thank you ! They are a bit frustrated with the wedding machines in California and the high prices they charge !
They want a large area to dance and it's been a bit disappointing to either find a postage stamp dance space or a 9 or 10 pm curfew for sound, all with a large price tag. They are keeping all options open !
I just found about this place: www.chateauladurantie.com. I can't attend the wedding being held there but the location looks beautiful.
Here's a list of properties spread across France:
https://www.relaischateaux.com/us/destinations/france
Thank you JHK and chexbres !
I am following up on both suggestions and also La Tour Vacros !
The list JHS linked above is an excellent start -- there are other wedding venues listed as well under the venue section, so it's worth venturing beyond that Top 20 list. (And or course, even the venue section is not complete).
As JHK posted above, Le Mas du Pierre has some excellent food and the grounds are lovely (although not fully countryside). It's located just outside of St. Paul de Vence. It's also convenient to a well connected airport. (I have not been to a wedding there, however)
It's a bit outside of your target zone, but I attended a very nice wedding at Le Chateau de la Messardiere in St. Tropez. Each guest had their own suite.
