Mariana + Brandon
Today I bring thisoriginal wedding in FranceI had the pleasure to photograph a few weeks ago. An authentic “love fete”.
I’ve done manyweddings in Franceand they all have had a very similar style. When one thinks of France, you think about green landscapes, vineyards and always a bucolic, romantic and vintage style. That is why I say that this was definitely anoriginal wedding in France, where I had the possibility of taking natural picture and tell the story of the wedding as it was happening, enjoying all the details that were prepared for this magnificent day.
Bride and groom, Mariana and Brandon met and are currently living in New York, but as usual, this is an international couple: she is Colombian and he is English. So when they decided toget married in France, they both agreed to do it in a very special place: The Presbytere, the amazing villa Brandon has in Gabat, a lovely village to get married in the French Basque country, near Saint Palais.
The Presbytere was responsible for hosting both the wedding ceremony and the wedding celebration, they both agree there could be no better location for thisoriginal wedding in Francethat their private villa. Le Presbytere is an old farm that long belonged to the village priest and when Brandon finally had it in his hands, he reformed into what you see in the photos, a marvel.
So why do I say that this was an original wedding? Because, although I only show you in this post pictures of the wedding day, this was a wedding celebration that lasted three days. Groom and bride wanted to recreate with their guests all the little things they like to do when they come to their little corner in France. So, on the first day each guest was given a basket and together we went to the Pau market, we bought local products and perform went for a picnic in a beautiful setting in the Pyrenees.
The second day was the big day: the wedding day. Both bride and groom got ready for the wedding celebration in the villa. They were very sure, they wanted a casual, elegant and very fun wedding. Brandon, wore a suit and Mariana, the bride surprised everyone with the original dress that you see in the photos, her good friend took care of her hair and she did her wedding makeup herself.
While the couple were getting ready, family and guests took control got in charge of all the wedding preparations: setting the tables, preparing the feast…
They did it with all the love in the world, as directly participating in the course of this original wedding was a real privilege for them and it was what made of this a very intimate and special wedding in France.
The wedding decoration was lovely: long tables decorated with cheerful flowers and garlands of lights that gave a dreamy look to the place. All wedding decoration was made with Ikea products.
The civil wedding ceremony took place among the trees Brandon has planted long ago and they had great meaning for him. Although at first the weather was not so good, it even started to rain, when the ceremony started, the sun came out! It was a very intimate and moving ceremony officiated by a dear friend and neighbor of the village. After exchanging vows, the couple made an original present to each other: Brandon gave her a ring designed by him and Mariana a book with photos and texts of its story as a couple.
When the wedding ceremony ended, after family and friends gave very beautiful speeches, everyone headed to the wishing tree. Where guests wrote on a piece of paper their wishes for the newlywed and hung it from the tree so these good wishes were fulfilled.
Dinner started with a small co*cktail of champagne and continued with typical French and Mediterranean cuisine with a Colombian touch: there was paté, cheese, Spanish ham and michoui, a rich traditional roast lamb, as a main dish.
After the dinner together, guests and relatives danced until the wee hours enjoying this great day.
The day after the wedding we went to San Juan de Luz, one of the first towns on the border between Spain and France. We had a last meal together to put the icing on what was one of the most unusual and special weddings I think we’ve all been in. In all my time working as a wedding photographer in France I had never been in such a special and fun wedding.
Many thanks to Mariana and Brandon for how they treat me during these three days, it was a real pleasure working with you and hope we can work together again very soon!
Well, you see a getting married in France can be as intimate, romantic and original as you want to do it! I hope you enjoy the pictures!
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