An intimate home wedding

Countryside / France / Wedding / 2 Comments / October 20, 2016

Amanda and Vincent have a lot of friends and a big family. They did not want to have to choose among them because of a budget restriction. They wanted an authentic wedding, their own : ” A beautiful and big party, where we dance until dawn, where we have fun from start to finish.”

They chose to celebrate their love “at home”. And : mission accomplished! This stunning day, filled with emotion, organised with generosity, no one will forget it.

How did you meet?

We met at a Jazz festival in Switzerland, where both of us were volunteering. Then Vincent came to visit me in Rome, where I used to work at the time, and that’s it!

How and why did you chose to do a ” home wedding”?

First of all Vincent’ parents own a big house with a big garden so we could totally make it happen, which was very lucky.

Also, we thought that this option looked a lot more like us : it seemed to be warmer and would
reflect what we wanted : a simple and family like wedding.

Finally we wanted to do everything ourselves, which seemed to be easier to organise.

Who was your hair dresser and make up artist? Why did you choose them?

They were my bridesmaids. I chose them because they are very talented : one at doing hair styles and the other one at doing make up. I trusted them and we could do as many trials as we wanted.

It was also some great time shared together.

Where did you buy your wedding dress and why did you pick that model? Same for the groom’s suit? And all the accessories (shoes, rings, jewelries…)?

I bought my dress from “Capsule” collection by Claudie Pierlot.

I wanted a short dress with an open back and looked only in ready-to-wear collections as I couldn’t picture myself in a “princess like” dress. Also I didn’t want to spend a crazy amont of money for a dress I would wear only once.

Same with my shoes : I picked them from a ready-to-wear shoe store : Minelli. I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted, but I totally melted when I saw these ones.

I couldn’t find any ring I liked at the jewellery stores and I didn’t want to have a common ring. I found the one online. Edendiam’s website is offering original models, which we can personalise (material, stones…). I chose a small chain ring with a few very small diamonds.

Vincent also chose a suit from a ready-to-wear clothes store. He didn’t find it all together and picked different elements from different stores such as Kooples, Knowledge cotton apparel, Massimo Dutti. We also found his ring online : a wide silver ring.

Who was the florist? Which flowery theme have you followed?

We chose “Mademoiselle Fleurs et Vins fins”, who I had met in an event.

I really liked their flower crowns and absolutely wanted one for my wedding. So they made me one and a beautiful bouquet with mini pineapples. They also made flower combs for the bridesmaids and and a flower brooche for Vincent.

I purchased the other flowers and leaves from my florist at the market. We followed our theme : “tropical”.

Can you tell me more about your theme “tropical”?

We chose that because it looked like us : we love what’s colourful and I personally really like exotic fruits (manly pineapples) and pink flamengo. This theme also expresses joy, party…

When I was looking for inspiration on Pinterest we were also drawn back with the “exotic” themes. There many palm trees and banana trees in the garden as well, so that was just perfect.

I bought flowers and leaves following the theme for the decoration (small pink pineapples, Monstera leaves…) My bridesmaid had made a backdrop on the theme for the photobooth. We chose balloons and pompom with tropical colours for the decoration, and we purchased rubber buoyant flamengo, fruits and palm trees for the swimming-pool.

We also had a live band playing cumbia, which was totally in with our theme.

What did you decide to do for the cocktail? Dinner? Dessert?

Because we wanted to do everything ourselves we asked friends and family to bring a few starters such as mini pizzas and canapes… We also chopped a few kg of vegetables and made a few dips (humus and white cheese…)

For the main we had “plancha” (stoned fried meet) with ratatouille.

For dessert, a patisserie student offered to create a few cakes around the tropical theme, with fruits and mascarpone cream (we don’t really like icing or butter, which very often is too sweet and heavy). It was delightful!

What about the music?

My father offered to hire a cumbia live band, who were old friends, which was perfect.

After that we had created a playlist, where our guests could hear their songs during the evening.

How was your experience with the photographer?
Thanks to Anais’ sensibility and professionalism all the highlights, looks and small details of the day have been captured, and will stay on high quality images forever.

She was professional, discreet, while smiling and in a good mood, offering good ideas. Even the couple session was lovely (which seemed very challenging to us).

Her photojournalistic style, talent and artistic touch made an incredible result.