PLANNING GUIDES

A welcome dinner is often the first occasion when everyone comes together during a destination wedding weekend in France. Friends who have never met share a table, relatives catch up, and guests have an opportunity to spend time with the couple before the main celebration. It can also become considerably more complicated than expected. Dinner for 60 people at a restaurant in Provence isn't simply an oversized reservation. The restaurant needs to accommodate the group, serve e

Choosing a wedding photographer is difficult for one simple reason: almost every experienced photographer can show you beautiful photographs. Your job is not to find out whether someone has ever taken a beautiful picture. It is to work out what your wedding is likely to look like through that photographer’s eyes — from the quiet part of the morning to bright afternoon sun, from portraits of the two of you to photographs of your parents and friends, and from a candlelit dinner

A French château tells you that a wedding coordinator is included in the rental. That sounds reassuring — until you discover that their responsibilities may end at managing the property. Who will coordinate the photographer and celebrant? Make sure the florist has finished before guests arrive? Adjust dinner service if the ceremony runs late? Arrange for the decorations to be removed before the château's checkout deadline? These are not necessarily the venue coordinator's res

A wedding at a château in the Loire Valley can mean very different things. At Château du Rivau, near Chinon, a historic reception room accommodates up to 250 seated guests, yet the property has just seven double hotel rooms. At Château de Candes, near the confluence of the Loire and Vienne rivers, couples can arrange a residential wedding weekend across historic suites and village houses, with accommodation for up to 94 guests advertised in its wedding offering. Farther west,

Flying to France to see wedding venues? Here's how to make the most of your trip, arrange meaningful visits, and avoid spending valuable time on properties that won't work for your wedding. A château can look perfect in photographs and turn out to be completely wrong for your wedding. The reception room is too small, half your guests would need hotels 30 minutes away, or the beautiful garden ceremony space has no suitable rain alternative. These are good reasons to visit a ve