My first destination wedding
August bank holiday weekend - usually the weather is glorious in The UK at this time. Everyone sits outside drinking, going to festivals, chatting with friends, exploring - soaking up the sun over the three day weekend. This year, however, the weather wasn’t quite so good as Storm Lillian swept across The UK. The wind was so strong the glass top of one of our outside side tables was blown off!
Chateau de Ripaille, Thonon-les-Bains
Fortunately, my clients had chosen Chateau de Ripaille in Thonon-les-Bains on the banks of Lake Geneva (Lac Leman) for their wedding. And boy did we have sunshine! 30 degree heat for set-up day and the wedding day itself was quite the contrast to what they would have experienced had they got married in The UK. An English groom and Swiss-Canadian bride meant that Ripaille was chosen due to its proximity to the bride’s family who live the other side of the lake.
A gorgeous French chateau, Ripaille is steeped in history and surrounded by beautiful landscape. The lake one side, The Alps the other and vineyards surrounding - it truly was the epitome of a French wedding. The bride’s aunt lives in the private residences of Ripaille and so we had access to a tree-lined avenue for the outdoor ceremony (complete with a sing-a-long of The Beach Boys ‘God Only Knows’!). It was perfect. Sonya, the florist, actually said she thinks it was her favourite ceremony ever! Here we stayed for the drinks reception, as speeches and champagne flowed in the outdoors, before moving inside the Chateau for the meal and dancing.
The couple wanted a relaxed day, evocative of their personalities, where the surroundings did most of the talking. We opted for natural, earthy tones with the flowers and design, giving the illusion that the flowers were meant to be there growing up from the ground. The tables were dressed with white and neutral-toned linens, green water glasses, and a mixture of wildflower bud vases and terracotta pots. It was a day truly inspired by nature. The day was photographed by the talented Emilie Cabot and I cannot wait to see the images - more on that soon!
However, that’s not to say there were no hiccups on the day and this is where the value of a planner really comes in. One of the guests announced, 30 minutes before eating, that his girlfriend was on her way and could we make space at a table for her (he had asked the bride the day before and she had said yes, just forgot to pass on the message!). Fortunately, I had ordered spares of linens and glassware and the caterers were able to do an extra meal, so she was squeezed on without any issue and the bride and groom were unaware of any of the potential drama. But boy did it fill me with panic initially! Plus we had to work hard with the florist to time the flower set up perfectly, as the 30 degree heat is not good for delicate roses! Luckily we had chosen to use terracotta plants and lots of dried flowers to avoid any really awful flower mishaps, but the foliage was looking very sorry for itself by Sunday morning (amazingly, the roses looked perfect still!).
Ultimately, the day was so personal and so reflective of the couple that I had got to know so well over the last 11 months of planning. R & E, I hope you had a truly brilliant day and wish you a wonderful life together.
