Knowing they wanted to have a destination wedding, Lynzie and Josh took advantage of the stunning Chateau’s on offer throughout France. They instantly fell in love with the charm and authenticity of CHATEAU DE BOUTHONVILLIERS (trust me it’s amazing – I was there a couple of years ago myself!). It has the rare honour of being owned by descendants of the original family that constructed it, and the couple were quite enamoured with the history and the elegance of it all. They went with a very organic feeling aesthetic throughout with a lot of natural, loose greenery in their florals by FORAGED FLORAL – who joined them in France from Oregon. French wedding photographer GERT HUYGAERTS captured their wedding with these truly stunning images!
Gert shares his thoughts on the day, “When Lynzie and Josh asked me over a year ago if I wanted to shoot their wedding, I didn’t hesitate for a moment. An adorable couple, with good taste in wedding styling I knew it would be a dream! The location wasn’t determined when they booked and my heart almost skipped a beat when they decided on organising the wedding at the amazing Château de Bouthonvilliers, one of the most picture perfect châteaus in the river Loire region!
Lynzie and Josh had their closest family and friends with them on this adorable location, to celebrate their love. For these guests, it sure was a delight to stay for a few days in this beautiful French region.Having the bridal preparations in the beautiful château, it couldn’t be a more romantic start of the day. With the colour scheme being made up of delicate shades of light peach, soft yellow and ivory combined with shades of green it was a perfect match for the Château setting.
For the ceremony, the couple chose to use the original round chapel of the domain to be the ideal place to read their vows. it only added to the authenticity of the day. The château gardens in true french style were the perfect setting for the romantic couple shoot. With the antique oranjerie, the ancient trees and the the château as a backdrop, the inspiration wasn’t hard to find! In the evening a cosy outdoor dinner was held in a nomad tent behind the château, animated by a live band which also set the tone for the first dance of the newly weds.
HOW DID YOU MEET? We met in law school when Josh was just about to start his first year and I was just about to start my third year. I first saw him in the lobby of my apartment building, where we both apparently lived, and he was carrying all of his newly bought first year law school books back from the bookstore. Since I had never seen him before, I initially thought that perhaps the bookstore had started a new delivery service! But then we started talking and he mentioned that he was about to start his first year, so I offered to help him study.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: Josh proposed to me at sunset on the balcony of our suite at Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica, CA – he got down on one knee and had the ring in his hand…and then he had arranged for us to meet some friends for a drink later that night to celebrate!
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS: As a wedding photographer myself, I had a long time to eye dresses and find the perfect one! MARCHESA has been my favourite designer for a long time and when I saw a dusty blue vintage style that seemed made for a French chateau setting, I tracked it down to a small shop in Los Angeles and flew there to get it!
FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY: My favourite detail of the day would have to be the flowers, which were out of this world. Tiffany Siladke of Foraged Floral flew all the way from Portland, Oregon and foraged for our flowers in the French countryside, and they were absolutely amazing! People could not stop talking about how exquisite they were, and she really did an incredible job. Also, the dowager of the château made the most delicious traditional French cuisine for our dinner which was to die for! And of course, the French wine goes without saying.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OUT TO A COUPLE PLANNING THEIR WEDDING? In terms of planning a destination wedding, definitely take the time to visit a number of different properties, ideally in a couple of different countries, before selecting the one that is right for you. You will learn so much about yourselves and what you want as a couple throughout that process, and it makes a great excuse to take a romantic vacation!
ANY OTHER DETAILS THAT HELP TELL THE STORY OF YOUR DAY? We also had a rehearsal dinner for our guests in Paris at the Maison des Polytechniciens in the seventh arrondissement, which was so beautiful and was an amazing way to welcome everyone to France!
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR HONEYMOON: We spent our honeymoon on the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy… some of the most breathtaking views and incredible food and wine! We started on the Isle of Capri and then travelled to Positano and Ravello, where we stayed at the beautiful Belmond Caruso Hotel, which was absolutely stunning!
A huge thank you to French wedding photographer GERT HUYGAERTS for sharing these gorgeous photos with us today and letting us enjoy the Loire region and this beautiful Chateau vicariously through his images.
If you want to see more of Gert’s work be sure to check out this Romantic Anniversary shoot in the city of love!
