Belle Bride Cassie’s Wedding at Chateau Le Plessis

I am soooo excited to share today’s post, as it is our own Belle Bride Cassie’s wedding at Chateau le Plessis by CKB Photography!  Before I hand over the blog to Cassie so that she can tell you all about her wedding, if you missed any of her planning journey, be sure to catch up here!

Cassie: “We had our moments in planning our big day in France – moments when we weren’t sure we’d done the right thing – but as soon as we sat down with a glass of wine surrounded by friends and family in the sunshine, in the grounds of our beautiful Chateau, we knew we had done the right thing.

We arrived on the Sunday and our big day was planned for the following Friday, so we had plenty of time to soak up the sun and enjoy the beautiful scenery. An enormous amount of cheese and wine was consumed in those five days, it’s true, and a lot of sunbathing and swimming in the pool was done, as well as a fair few games of Bananagram (warning: it’s addictive). And alongside the relaxing, we started to decorate the barn, make shopping lists and cook what we could ahead of time.

On the day itself, we got up pretty early and started putting the finishing touches on everything while the kitchen crew – consisting of my newly acquired sisters-in-law and mother in law and headed up by Marilyn of Marilyn’s food  got started on prepping all the delicious food for our picnic.

The weather had been predicted to rain at 2pm and we had been trying to decide whether to move everything indoors or not, but it seemed sunny and fine in the morning, so we decided to risk it!

Originally, we had planned on having the ceremony in the woods, but we discovered that the woods at that time of year and in the heat, were full of bugs and, worryingly, horse flies! After one of them took a chunk out of my sister, we decided to move the ceremony away from the tree line and instead we set up in front of the pretty chapel, which actually worked out beautifully.

Then at about 11am, we got a bit of a shock. I had entered us into a National Lottery competition to win a luxury honeymoon, but obviously didn’t expect to win; but my phone rang, I answered and was told that we had won the top prize and were going to Australia! We could not believe it. I was shaking for an hour afterwards and it was hard to focus on getting ready with all the excitement! It certainly added to the day!

Things were starting to shape up, so off I went to get ready. My sister, Jo, was there to help me, as were my bridesmaids, though they were also off helping set everything up! They were all incredible and so helpful, especially when you consider that two of them were pregnant.

My sister-in-law Rachel came along and helped me finish my hair off and also did the bridesmaids’ hair and did a fabulous job. Ed sent me a little gift of a locket, which contained photos of him and our cat, Chili! It was very cute.

With my makeup done (I did my own) and my hair done, it was time to get dressed and my sister helped me into my gown. I felt a million dollars! Or should that be Euro? When my Dad came to collect me, it was very emotional and I did have a little cry, as did he!

I walked down the aisle to “First Day of My Life” by Bright Eyes. I was so happy to see Ed standing there, looking very handsome and smiley, if a little nervous! And waiting at the front were my younger brother, Michael, and Ed’s sister, Bethan, who were our celebrants for our ceremony. They were absolutely fantastic and it was so nice to have family do the job for us. We had been legally married at our local registry office the week before, but this definitely felt like our proper ceremony!

Ed and I wrote our own vows to each other and I admit, I cried all the way through saying mine. I opted to go first in the hope I wouldn’t yet be crying, but it didn’t help! Ed’s vows to me were beautiful and everyone commented on how lovely it was to have such a personal ceremony. 

Once we were married, we all walked over to the barn, where we had laid on some cocktails and delicious nibbles made by my new sister-in-law, Marilyn, who, luckily for us, is a chef extraordinaire! In the meantime, the picnic boxes were being laid out by our lovely friends and family and we all sat down to a delicious lunch of homemade tarts, salads, cheeses, bread, pate and wine. It was so delicious!

After that, we had arranged a little surprise! We found a group who performed traditional French folk music and dance from the region and they came along and did a bit of performing for us, as well as getting the guests involved. It was great fun and really got the party started.

The speeches were brilliant – Ed’s brother and best man delivered his in the form of a quiz about Ed, which was so clever and really good fun – and Ed’s best friend and second best man Adrian also gave a brilliant speech, full of laughs. My dad did a great job too and there was hardly a dry eye in the house by the time he was through!

After lots of milling around in the sunshine, watching the dancers, drinking more wine, playing petanque and generally enjoying ourselves, everyone headed in so that we could cut the cake. The cake was made by Ed’s mum, Lynn, and was absolutely stunning. She even made me my own special almond flour cake, as I don’t eat any grains, and it was absolutely delicious!

Then it was our first dance, to “Naked as We Came” by Iron & Wine. At that point, the rain we had been promised finally arrived, and with a vengeance; the heavens opened, the wind whipped around the barn and poor old Henri and Jean-Luc were trapped outside, cooking our pigs for the evening meal, in a small marquee tent that kept threatening to blow away! It was very dramatic and really added to the atmosphere, especially when it cleared again and we were given a rainbow to add to the mix.

We danced the night away in the barn, the men mostly propped up the bar (which we had fitted with our own beer on tap for the night, which proved very popular!) and a great time was had all round. And at the end of the night, a brave contingent decided a midnight swim was in order! Though Ed and I only managed a couple of minutes before we jumped out shivering…

It was such a magical day. We really could not have asked for more. Having our friends and family out there with us and watching them all enjoying the beautiful surroundings and  seeing all our plans come together was just the most amazing feeling. 

Our photographers and videographers were outstanding. We are so completely delighted with the images and the film that we have of our day. What an amazing way to remember everything. I must have watched the video twenty times and I still cry every time.

And to add to the joy, we are very happy to announce that we are now pregnant with un petit bébé francais!”

#ShortEdit // Cassie + Edward Wedding from BKT-Films.com on Vimeo.

I am so excited for Cassie and Ed on their wonderful news.  It is my time to get emotional as I wish them both all the best in their married life!

I did have to get a tissue as I watched the beautiful wedding film and say a heartfelt, bon voyage to our wonderful Belle Bride Cassie.

Wedding Suppliers:

Catering: Marilyn’s Food  | Wedding Cinematography: BKT-Films.com – Authentic Wedding Cinematography | Wedding Photographer: CKB Photography  & RJP  |
Wedding Venue: Château Le Plessis | Wedding Dress: White Boutique | Bridal Accessories: Red Raven Studios | Bridal Shoes: La Redoute | Florist: Pearl & Petal | Bridesmaids Outfits: ModCloth  | Bridesmaid Accessories: Vivd Designs | Grooms Outfit: Ted Baker waistcoat, Topman shirt, Charles Tyrwhitt , Levis 501 jeans | Wedding Decorations: Cassie (bride) and her business Ink Love  | Music and dancing: Les Gas du Berry

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