South of France Wedding Photography

I was over the moon to be asked to shoot Claire and Ben’s stunning wedding at a beautiful family property in the south-west of France, not least because they are great friends of mine but it also meant an opportunity for a rare summer break. As they held their wedding in August, fantastic weather was virtually guaranteed and the sunshine certainly didn’t disappoint the 100 or so guests who were invited to make a holiday out of the wedding. Many stayed on-site and everyone was welcomed by the family’s gorgeous golden retrievers, Ruby and Amber.

Although officially married a week earlier at a church ceremony on the same day as their son’s christening, the couple saw France as their ‘real’ wedding and held their ceremony outdoors under a hand-made flower-adorned bamboo arch. The bride and groom drove from the UK so they were able to bring many unique finishing touches with them to create a very personal day, with help from some very hands-on family and friends. Flowers and all wedding stationery were designed by bridesmaid and illustrator Emma from Emi Lou Makes, who also did Claire’s hair for the day, and the marquee for the reception was decorated with fairy lights, bunting, flowers and an array of photographs by many friends in the days leading up to the big event. Favours included damson gin, made by Claire’s parents from damsons picked by Ben’s mum and delicious fudge made by Ben’s mum. Claire wore a vintage-inspired dress from Phase Eight and borrowed a stunning hair vine from a friend. Her finishing touch was her grandma’s diamond ring (a gift from her parents) and Ben completed his dapper look with his grandfather’s pocket watch.

Family friend, David, officiated at the ceremony and talented guests Anna and Dan performed a very chilled acoustic version of ‘Your Song’. The bride and groom then made their way up a petal-strewn confetti line to where the decked-out marquee awaited guests with delicious canapés and a game of boules to fit in with the locals. Guests were served roasted suckling pig with dauphinoise potatoes and a selection of salads and vegetables. The fantastic selection of delicious desserts were made by the groom’s sister Sophie and included lemon and poppy seed, chocolate and carrot cakes. As we were in France, it was only right that the wine was flowing to get guests into the party spirit. Music is a big part of the couple’s lives: they got engaged at Glastonbury and Ben used to moonlight as a DJ in a former life, so the party was always bound to be raucous. Ben and his brother-in-law were in charge of the decks and fancy dress was encouraged so the guests got well and truly stuck in. A fabulous day and night was rounded-off with the hard-core continuing the celebrations into the early hours around a camp fire. Enjoy this selection of images from the day!