A 19TH CENTURY CHATEAU GARDEN AND WEDDING PARTY IN L OCCITANIE

We would like to turn the clock back by two centuries, to the era of impressionism, Art Nouveau, the Eiffel Tower, the rise of Haute Couture and fêtes en plein air. Welcome to the Beautiful Era: “La Belle Époque”!

With this nostalgic glimpse in bygone days, we remind ourselves of how beauty, hope, optimism, prosperity and charm have a meaningful place in our lives, forming the very foundation of living life to the fullest. Or, as the French call it: “L’ Art de Vivre”!

The Chateau
Chateau St. Joseph was the heart and soul of the shoot - a historic residence built at the very peak of the Belle Époque in 1879. Originally created as a vacation country house away from bustling Paris, this has been the setting for festivities for almost two centuries now! The bucolic chateau, with its lush gardens and private forest has been the discreet witness of a thousand whispered secrets, delicious loves, and sumptuous parties for the aristocracy looking to escape the burgeoning cities.

The horse-drawn carriage
The fete started with the entrance of our newlyweds in a horse-drawn carriage. The chateau's owners and their children greeted the couple at the chateau’s grand entrance.

Then followed the most important time of any French wedding: the feast. The guests gathered around for quality food and drinks, including fruit punches, macaroons and delicious samples of occitan cuisine, such as clafoutis (a cherry-based dessert)! The al fresco dinner was styled by floral designer Laetitia Clement and wedding designer Aurélie Olarte y Roman of J'ai Deux Amours. A long table was laid with french bread loafs, cheese platters, wines and sweets, creating an inviting and unpretentious provincial atmosphere that elicited approachability and exhumed elegance. Mix-matched antique chairs, crystalware, delicate porcelains from the chateau’s cupboards, and candles added the final touches.

After the al fresco dinner, as a reference to painter's Louise Abbéma's famous croquet painting, the guests enjoyed a game of croquet. Croquet was au courant in the 19th century, so we wouldn’t miss the opportunity to include it. The fun continued with a game of blindfold, another popular garden party game.

Then followed an "elegance competition”. The guests would give a ribbon to their guest of choice based on their sartorial finesse! After all, the Beautiful Era is when High Couture was founded!

The party finished in style with a set of quadrille dance, the “contredanse française”, which was fashionable in 19th-century Europe. The 19th century was the time when ceremonial details of parties became formalised, including the etiquette of asking a partner to dance.

Fashion
Our bride’s wedding dress was a perfectly preserved original 1879 silk gown (coincidentally the very year the chateau was built) with a tightly corseted bodice, as was customary at that time. The groom's suit was tailor-made for our shoot by Maison Geraci, and consisted of a double breasted six-button seersucker jacket - perfect for a warm summer afternoon in South France!

The fashion in the shoot is very accurate, from dresses to the tiniest of accessory: jaw dropping dramatic gowns of every imaginable fabric & trim, embellished with original accessories from the Arts and Crafts movement: lace-up boots, wide-brimmed hats bedecked in feathers, brooches, lavalieres, elaborate choker-style necklaces, parasols, and even original chatelaines - an ingenious device that suspended from a lady's waist and had dangling chains holding any accessories a lady might need closest at hand.

You can imagine women traveling to St. Joseph with tens of trunks for a weekend, as they had to change their clothes innumerable times a day! Designers from the top fashion houses in Paris were defining a mood of grace, beauty and femininity, and the entire 19th century witnessed an ongoing metamorphosis of fashion that enveloped the female figure in ever-changing silhouettes.

Photography
Our visual narrative was inspired by impressionism. We wanted to create a sensationalised visual narrative capable of holding the attention of a viewer with images that resemble paintings by Monet, Seurat, Degas and Renoir. The guests are seemingly caught off guard in various relaxed poses, a part of a larger reality captured as if by chance. Photographer Andreas K. Georgiou, worked hand-in-hand with designer and stylist Aurélie Olarte y Roman and Delphine Roubieu, owner of the chateau, to bring to life this painterly vision. We intentionally placed the fête under the canopy of the chateau's park, at just the perfect time so that the sun would travel through the foliage casting dappled light on the guests. This gave the images a distinct pointillistic quality akin to the quick brushstrokes of an impressionist painting. Photographing on medium format film further allowed for this painterly effect!

This might not be for the faint-hearted couple, but it is for those who truly want to make an event that is truly unique! Therefore, be prepared to give your guests an experience that feels as authentic as possible. Giving guidance to guests about dress code is the first step! A great idea would be to offer them some context, perhaps through your wedding website, about the customs of the period, for a truly immersive experience. As an example, the Belle Epoque was a period when haute-couture became a cultural phenomenon. Also great would be to select your venue to match the historic context. Our chateau was built exactly during the Belle Epoque and it offered an ideal backdrop for our shoot! When it comes to dancing, it was fascinating to watch our actors learn the quadrille from an instructor. Not only did they pick up the steps quickly, they had the time of their life, and a dance instructor to show your guests the basic steps could really add to the fun of the event!

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