Part of the charm of Chateau de Malliac (aka La Belle Vie de Chateau) is that the chateau is both rustic and elegant – which matches the vibe of Josie & Nick’s relaxed chateau wedding exactly! The ceremony location was a beautiful setting for photography with a beautiful old tree & the chateau tower at the end of the aisle. The gardens, the old ruins of an abbey, and the nearby sunflower field allowed us to create portraits with a real sense of place. As Bordeaux wedding photographers, Chateau Malliac is for us simply the most perfect location for an intimate and relaxed chateau wedding in the French countryside.
This wedding was recently featured on the French Wedding Style blog. In the FWS blog post, bride Josie describes her day:
“Our wedding style could be described as rustic vineyard chic. We had a color palette of mostly neutral pale pastels with some lavender & light blue. My bouquet was white roses (my birth flower) and lavender with lots of foliage, as well as looking great it smelled amazing, and the smell of lavender takes me back to that day. Lavender was also a nice touch on all the tables – the tabletops turned out exactly how we wanted: the place setting were beautiful, the flowers looked gorgeous, and the lamps that we had purchased from the UK and had guests drive them over were well worth all the effort."
To read more about this British couple's destination wedding in the French countryside, please see their wedding feature on French Wedding Style.
Photographers: CHRIS+LYNN Photographers
Venue: La Belle Vie de Chateau en Gascogne
Planning: Beth Stratton from Marry Me in France
Dress: Dress by Mori Lee
Shoes by Jenny Packham
Flowers: Marry me in France
Cake: Marry me in France
Caterer: Marry me in France
French Chateau Wedding Photographers
Since our first castle wedding at a Loire Valley Chateau in France back in 2007, French destination weddings have been a serious passion for us as wedding photographers. Some of the all-time favorite weddings we've shot have been at the following French Chateaux: the grand and imposing Chateau Chambord and Chateau Saint-Loup in the Loire Valley, and the more intimate rustic rustic country wedding location Chateau de Malliac in the Gascony countryside near Bordeaux. Some other dream French wedding photography locations in the Loire Valley include Chateau de Blois, Chateau de Cheverny, Chateau Chenonceau, Chateau de Villandry, Chateau Amboise, Chateau de Usse, Chateau Azay-le-Rideau, Chateau Chinon, Chaumont, Meung, Chateau Rivau, Clos Lucé, and Chateau Valençay. The best Bordeaux wedding photography locations include the UNESCO world heritage village of St Emilion,Hotel Chateau Grand Barrail, Chateau de Mirambeau, Les Pres d'Eugenie, Château Figeac, Château Haut-Brion, Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Latour, Château Margaux, Château Guiraud, and Château Lagrange.
The day before this destination wedding, we came to the chateau to scout locations for the couples portraits. The chateau was beautiful: a vine covered turret, a rustic old barn, a big green lawn for croquet, and the crumbling ruins of an old chapel. On the way back to our hotel, we got lost and it was the best wrong turn ever! Just a few minutes away from the chateau was a field full of sunflowers - another perfect spot for our couple's portraits! Being a destination wedding photographer means being diligent about researching locations and also being prepared for the unexpected!
Location: Chateau de Malliac, 32250 Montréal, France.