Le Chateau de Reignac France Wedding Photography | Kate & Steven

Husband: ‘Mooky (one of my many nicknames!), would you like to come and shoot a wedding in the Loire Valley with me?’ Me: ‘Are you completely off your rocker?! What sort of question is that?!! YES, of course…just you try and stop me!’ And, so it was! Chris and I pootled off to France through pretty French villages and fields of sunflowers for what was to be the most stunning wedding of Kate and Steven at Le Chateau de Reignac. I could tell this was going to cause me to have massive wedding envy! The couple hired Le Chateau de Reignac for the entire weekend which meant their friends and family could really settle in and make it home for a few days. I imagined the chateau to quite imposing in grandeur, but it was a perfect in every way. It was oddly smaller outside than I expected, but the interior sprawled into different wings, cubby holes and stairs that took you to unknown places. A chapel was built onto the main body of the house in the 18th century and it has all been lovingly restored over the years by owner Erick who would happily take you on a journey of the chateau’s history. Guests began to arrive on Friday afternoon and were treated to a relaxed, hearty French BBQ in the evening. As we arrived on Saturday morning, the chateau’s beautiful windows and shutters were flung wide open. Many of the wedding party took to sun loungers in the grounds and relaxed under the balmy French sun before heading to their rooms to get glammed up for the wedding. I’m so used to shooting weddings that are an absolute mad frenzy of things going on, that having an uber relaxed wedding was so refreshing, but a bit weird to adjust to…everything was very much on ‘French time’, but I believe, exactly how it should be! Chris & I went off to shoot the bridal preparations and as the room filled, I left Chris to it and went to have more of a stake out of the chateau for photos later in the day. I swooned massively over Kate’s wedding dress…a soft, beautifully beaded Jenny Packham number which she wore with soft gold Kurt Geiger Carvela court shoes and a delicate art deco-style diamante headpiece. Bridesmaids complimented Kate’s look by wearing soft lace dresses in navy and Steven wore a navy jacket and green tartan waistcoat as a nod to his Scottish heritage. After a beautiful ceremony in the chapel taken by the lovely Jean from Celebrants in France, the wedding party relaxed on the lawns with drinks, canapes and shoes kicked off for occasional games of croquet and frisby. Dinner was served by candlelight in the 15th Century vaults beneath the chateau with tables decked out in red and white checked table cloths and summery blooms in blues and yellows. As the wine flowed, Kate & Steve cut their wedding cake and dessert…the mighty croquembouche…Well, I say ‘cut’, but I actually mean a musketeer-style-sword-swipe, as Chris swore blind that was how it was supposed to be done! The result was epic and a lot of fun, not to mention very yummy too! Kate soon donned her comfy Converse trainers for the evening’s dancing and cheeky wedding conga. Sunday came all too quickly and we soon had to leave for our drive back to ol’ Blighty, but what an beautiful weekend we had! Kate and Steven together with their families welcomed us into the fold wonderfully and the whole weekend left us with us with a big French hug and smiles on our faces. I simply can’t wait for the next destination wedding!