Will you marry “moi” ?

This heart-warming story is enough to convince any cynic that love is still alive and kicking!

A few months ago, we were contacted by a discreet and eloquent English gentleman of a certain age whose son had found us by surfing the internet. His wish was for us to help him organize a declaration of love in Paris for his beloved wife to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

It was with great honour and pleasure that we rose to the challenge and organized an unforgettable evening in Paris for Arthur and Bridget.

The evening began with a chauffeur-driven journey in a vintage car from their cozy hotel to the banks of the River Seine, just a stone’s throw from the Eiffel Tower, where a handsome private luxury motor yacht awaited them.

Bridget’s surprise was clearly visible as she climbed aboard in her long, deep blue evening dress, accompanied by her escort who followed on with a twinkle in his eye. Greeted by a glass of champagne, they settled down in the cozy cabin before enjoying a splendid 3-hour cruise on the most famous avenue of Paris.

While cruising down the River Seine, they were regaled with a delicious 4-course dinner as they gently glided past the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Palais Royal and the Orsay Museum. As they approached the Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris, the captain cut the engine. To Bridget’s astonishment, a man dressed in period costume rose from the lower deck and proceeded to unravel a scroll and read a romantic love poem specially written for the occasion by one of our native English-speaking poet friends. With tears in her eyes, Bridget accepted the scroll as a souvenir and a magnificent bouquet of red roses from her husband before embracing him with such passion that anyone looking on would have seen a 20-year young couple who had just got married!

A few more glasses of champagne later, the rosy-cheeked Bridget and contented Arthur were shown downstairs to their private cabin where they spent the night in each other’s arms dreaming of the magical evening they had just spent together.

An incredibly romantic and true story…enough to warm anyone’s heart on this bitter March morning.

A definite trend has developed over the past 12 to 14 months resulting from the disastrous financial climate enveloping the globe. While couples are just as enthusiastic about organizing a destination wedding in Europe, they are faced with tighter and tighter budgets. As a consequence, many brides are turning to DIY to save money.

As far as Wedding Planners are concerned, two different schools of thought prevail. One is that we should embrace this movement and provide our couples with more affordable alternatives to consider. The second is that we should try to convice brides they can get all that they desire with a professional.

While we are big fans of DIY, especially for those brides who have the time and are creative, our experience has showed us that most brides don’t realize the time and money that goes into DIY, nor have they factored in the challenges associated with transport over long distances or the difficulty in purchasing locally available raw materials.

That’s why we feel a middle of the road approach is the best way to proceed. Let us explain…

On the one hand, planning a destination wedding is very complicated, daunting and challenging, especially when planning across oceans, time zones or language barriers. In such a situation, your Wedding Planner takes on an important role. Not only can they save you a huge amount of time and effort by proposing venues adapted to your requirements, in the region you want, but they can also provide you with valuable local know-how. This is not limited to sourcing the best and most reliable wedding vendors but also includes providing you with local protocol tips and local wedding traditions. These are details that can make a huge impact on your guests and keep them talking about your wedding for years to come.

On the other hand, we understand that organizing a destination wedding is a tremendously exciting prospect for a bride. Not only is she offering her guests the possibility to discover a new country but she is also guaranteeing them new experiences, both culinary and cultural. She wants the wedding to be authentic to her chosen destination but also incorporate some home touches.

Since a wedding planner’s aim is not to spoil this experience nor dampen a bride’s enthusiasm, we suggest you choose a planner who proposes a DIY wedding package. This is one that allows the bride the freedom to be as creative and involved in her own wedding preparations as she wishes. Effectively, she can control as much or as little of the planning as she wishes without having to feel that she is being too picky or stepping on her planner’s toes.

Allowing couples the freedom to choose exactly which aspects of the planning they wish to take on enables them to be in full control of their budget while also benefiting from a planner’s expert advice and presence on the day to make sure everything runs smoothly. A true win-win situation for everyone involved!

Check out our DIY destination wedding package offer on www.chateauandvillaweddings.com

Inviting guests to attend your Destination Wedding in France inevitably evokes images of beautiful rolling countryside with fields of lavender and olive tree groves or a sparkling Eiffel Tower and visits to the Louvre museum. Why not take advantage of all that your chosen destination country has to offer by creating a truly unforgettable wedding in France…j’adore!

Here is a snapshot of 10 of the ways you can make your destination in France “Formidable”!

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