Last October, Alex and I hosted our destination wedding in France at the Chateau de Jalesnes in the Loire Valley. Everything about it was a fairytale, even more so than I imagined!
Why France? Shortly after getting engaged, Alex and I traveled to Paris and Normandy to celebrate. We initially thought we’d get married in Scotland since we got engaged with whisky and even met through whisky. But on a whim I looked up chateau wedding venues in France and we quickly realized they were exactly what we wanted in a wedding venue.
We kept coming back to the Chateau de Jalesnes in the Loire Valley, so I reached out to them and they invited us to come stay for a night. We immediately loved it and booked our wedding for a year later. Here’s how we planned it, how we pulled it off, and tips for planning a destination wedding in France.
Tips for Planning a Destination Wedding in France
Know What You Want in a Venue
When we were first throwing around the idea of a destination wedding in France, we knew exactly what we wanted in a venue. That made it easy to immediately recognize that the Chateau de Jalesnes checked all the boxes for us. It’s a relatively short distance from Paris (about a 3 hour drive), where all our guests would fly into. We could reserve the entire chateau, which sleeps up to 50 people, so all our guests could stay there. And we could stay there for three nights.
Plus the historical chateau was beautiful. Built in the 17th Century, it had actual history, and was even surrounded by a moat! (Our guests played archery in the moat while the bridal party got ready.) And the best part was it has multiple location options for each part of the wedding celebration that were indoor and outdoor, so we had an automatic contingency plan built in if the weather was bad.
And the icing on the cake: the Chateau’s wedding package included a lot of baseline wedding components. A coordinator, some flowers, a jazz duo for the welcome dinner, a harpist (or violinist) for the ceremony, and meals were all included (among other things) in one large lump sum. We added or upgraded most things (additional flowers, a wedding cake, upgraded beverage package and dinner options, archery, a wine tasting, photo booth, transportation, and more), but the package was incredibly convenient as a baseline.
Visit Your Venue & Come Prepared
We stayed at the Chateau de Jalesnes when we were first deciding on our venue. Even in the deciding stage, we made a lot of decisions: we picked where we wanted each part of the celebration to take place, did a wine tasting (in the crypt!) to pick wines, and tasted a caterer. It was also really nice to meet the wedding coordinator in person, who was such a gem to work with throughout the whole process. (Thanks again, Katy!)
Halfway through planning our wedding when we needed somewhere to go for our February birthday trip, we returned to the Chateau. While it wasn’t exactly necessary to visit twice, we covered a lot of ground. We came armed with dozens of questions and things to investigate on the ground. We met with the florist to discuss flowers, had a cake tasting with the baker, nailed down tons of details, and tried a second caterer, which we ended up choosing.
Of course we had multiple virtual meetings with Katy and the Chateau team throughout the process. But being able to see everything in person was so important. The chateau said many couples do everything remotely, but I can’t imagine seeing the venue for the first time when arriving for the wedding!
Also this Moleskine wedding journal was a lifesaver during the planning process. If you’re a pen-and-paper person like me, I highly recommend it!
Focus on What You Can Control — And Pack!
Because it was impossible to have “hands on” most aspects of the wedding from so far away, instead we focused on our guests’ experience. Knowing the financial sacrifice our guests were making to attend, we created an incredible trip that was as stress-free as possible. That included booking a hotel room block in Paris, organizing a bus from Paris to the Chateau, and arranging a day trip to the nearby city of Saumur for a wine tasting the day after the wedding. And we made sure our wedding website also had tons of information to help people plan their international trips.
When it came to personalizing our wedding celebration, we leaned away from any decor or trinkets that we’d have to ship to the Chateau. Not only is it astronomically expensive, it runs the risk of getting stuck in customs or lost along the way. So we focused on personalizing things that we could pack with us, mostly paper goods that would add little touches.
I designed dinner menus, door hangers, and drinks signs using Canva and a guest book to sign using Shutterfly. I created a magazine for guests with who’s who photos, itineraries, and Chateau maps that I printed through Smartpress. For favors, we gave guests personalized wine openers and Alex’s parents made soap, lotion, and lip balm for everyone. All of this we could pack with us — majority of it in our carry-on luggage.
And we personalized tiny parts of the wedding even if no one besides us would notice! For example, our flowers included sprigs of wheat and Scottish thistle as a nod to how we met through whisky (photo below). None of our guests probably put that together, but it was a fun detail for us (and looked pretty, too!).
Vet Vendors from Afar and/or Bring Local Vendors Abroad
Another bonus with the Chateau de Jalesnes is they work with multiple wedding vendors they’ve previously vetted. We just had to decide which ones we wanted and personalize our vision with them. They also had suggested vendors for other areas, like make up artists and photographers. But we ended up booking those ourselves.
I researched hair and makeup artists in Europe that spoke English and found Samantha Pretto, based in Milan. I liked the way she made clients look natural but elevated and her pricing packages clearly stated her travel and trial expenses. Tip: book really early in advance and definitely do a makeup trial! I had a trial in February and, honestly, didn’t love how I looked. But that helped me know how to direct her on my wedding day and I loved how it turned out! Samantha is amazingly talented, plus she’s funny and made me feel relaxed while getting ready.
When we learned that European wedding photography is different than American wedding photography, we decided to bring Stephanie Lang from Chicago. Apparently European wedding photographers are more focused on portraits and staged photos while American wedding photographers have a journalistic style where they capture the details and candid moments. Or at least that’s what I was told. (I’m sure there are exceptions, of course!)
Stephanie Lang did our engagement photos in Chicago (here’s a peek!) and was incredible to work with. Her photos capture the scene and emotions perfectly and her charismatic energy makes you feel comfortable with her. Of course covering her travel was an added cost, but it was absolutely worth it. (See some of Stephanie’s photos of our wedding here.)
Pack Strategically & How to Get a Wedding Dress Abroad
One of my biggest worries about having a destination wedding in France was getting my wedding dress to another country. But my amazing seamstress (Iana at Davis Imperial in Chicago) packed my dress in my carry-on suitcase and I brought it on the plane with me. My dress was an A-line shape with a semi-cathedral length train and it fit in my carry-on! Once in Paris, I hung it in my brother’s hotel room to air out (thanks Chris!), then put it in a dress bag to transport to the Chateau, where my bridesmaids steamed it (thanks ladies!).
We also carried on any essentials for the wedding, like Alex’s tux, the rest of my outfit (shoes, jewelry, etc.), and wedding signs and menus. It was a tight squeeze in Alex’s carry-on, but we packed a few days early to make sure everything fit. My parents did the same, using this genius garment suit bag to carry their wedding attire on the plane. We weren’t going to risk the airline losing any wedding essentials!
A few notes about my wedding dress worth mentioning. I bought a second dress in case my dress got uncomfortable and never wore it! Other brides have different stories, but I wore my big dress until 3 am with no issues. I also didn’t need any gimmicks or tools to go to the bathroom — just some very good friends who helped me!
Check Legal Marriage Requirements
One important thing you may not have considered yet is whether you can actually get legally married in the country hosting your wedding. Requirements vary by country, but France is pretty strict so it wasn’t possible for us. So we got legally married at the courthouse in Chicago before our destination wedding in France.
In fact, we did it on our dating anniversary a few months before our wedding. Only one friend knew about it beforehand — he couldn’t come to France so he got to be our witness at home. We even celebrated “our anniversary” with friends who later found out we had actually gotten married! (They were not happy about the reveal!) Afterwards, we told our parents and family, but no one else knew.
So look into legal requirements and make arrangements for the legal side of things as early as possible!
Remember All the Stress is Worth It!
Even as someone who loves planning every detail of vacations in advance, planning our destination wedding in France was one of the most stressful things I’ve ever done. But it was also really fun and rewarding (at least most of the time!). One last tip: go to your destination early to relax. We went to Paris a few days early and it was really nice. I’d recommend it if you have the time and budget!
And, most importantly, Alex and I had so much fun on our wedding. It was so rewarding to see all our hard work pay off and our guests having a good time. So cheers, congrats, and good luck!
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Related :: Our Wedding at the Chateau de Jalesnes, Getting Engaged with a Bottle of Whisky, and Our Honeymoon Wine Trip in the Loire Valley
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