It always feels like such a milestone when one of our Belle Brides comes back onto the blog to share their actual wedding day after we have been part of the whole journey and build up. It is such an honour to welcome back to FWS today Belle Bride Victoria and her beautiful wedding to Maxime.
So for the last time let’s catch up with Belle Bride Victoria:
Finally, almost 6 months after our big day in the north of France, I am extremely happy to share this moment with you!
Let’s be honest and start with the harsh reality before revealing the fairy tale. We arrived in our respective families the week before the wedding (Maxime to the north and me to the south). We thought to spend a week resting before the big day but not at all, this week was quite stressful because we had to manage the last preparations (last minute cancellations, family disagreement, decoration, service providers, payments …) to be chill on the D-day.
Let’s talk now about the day before… We wanted everything to be ready to enjoy the weekend. But we had not expected that so many of our friends and family would come to help us, which was wonderful from them but turned us into site managers. Indeed, we had to give instructions to more than 20 people who also wanted to spend time with us as we haven’t seen some of them for a year. It was also very difficult because we did not have all the answers and we realized that we had a lot of things to do in such a short time. In the end, I had to write my vows at midnight the night before the wedding and I was very stressed because some important details were not settled and I had not slept for an entire week.
Then the magic of D-day appeared … indeed by waking up from a beautiful deep sleep on Saturday morning, I was like in a fairy tale … all the stress flew, I had a huge smile and a feeling of absolute happiness. The preparation was magical, surrounded by my family and my friends with some surprises … A very DIY preparation since my best friend made me makeup and my sister-in-law styled my hair me while my mother dressed me. My maid of honor was admirable, she was my brain and my hands all day, taking care of me and thinking of everything!
Our discovery session before the civil ceremony was magical since we did not know our respective outfits, we had not seen each other for a long time and the Domaine du Bois Saint Mard is magnificent. The day spun at 200km / h … we enjoyed every second, our civil ceremony, the non-religious and very personal ceremony, the cocktail, our friends, our families … everything was just exceptional. A lot of joy, love, laughter, as if everything was so obvious.
We all met the next day for a big barbecue in the lawn, arriving there and seeing all our loved ones in the garden, I had a real breath of indescribable happiness, which quickly made me forget the little hiccups from the previous day (provider issues, cancellations, stress).
A very special thank you to our families and friends who accompanied us marvelously during our preparations and our big day. But also, a big thank you to our most professional, available, discreet and flexible providers, we are in love with them and absolutely recommend them:
– Ricardo Vieira, photographer
– À la tête du client, caterer
– tampa wedding florist
– Cédric Dumortier and his team, waiter
– Nazca, amazing band
– Le Domaine du Bois Saint Mard
– Katrina Tuttle, designer
My advices:
– Be firm and clear with your providers to not be disappointed, you pay them so you have the last word, do not try to be accommodating, a contract is a contract.
– Take a person to coordinate the preparation a week before and the D-day, according to your budget it can be a professional (wedding planner) or a close friend/relative (maid of honor, family …). This person will handle all the details and problems for you and you can just relax
– Book a whole afternoon and evening just for you (massage, beauty, relaxation and your last details …)
– ENJOY every minute
– Do not feel guilty if you cannot talk to everyone, your guests will understand
– Plan a #wedding to your names to be able to retrieve all the photos on social networks
– Do not be afraid to get help throughout the preparation and the D-day
– Make a wedding to your image and take photos and videos
My only regrets: to forget to read our speech to our guests and not to have photos or videos of our first dance. Our friends from the band Nazca had interpreted a customized version of our song and everyone joined us on the dancefloor under the light of a few light bulbs … A magical moment that I would have loved to see again…
Victoria
A huge big thank you to Victoria for sharing her wedding journey with us here on FWS so open and honestly. We wish you every happiness in the future.
Victoria’s Wedding Vendors:
Reception Venue: Domaine du bois Saint Mard
Photography: Ricardo Vieira
Videographer: Julia Swell
Band: Nazca
DJ: Gystere
Flowers: La Fontaine Fleurie
Wedding Dress: Katrina Tuttle
Gluten free wedding cake: Noglu
Food Truck: À la tête du Client
Grooms outfit: custome from Faubourg Saint Sulpice
Tableware: Magali Location Vaiselle
Decoration: Big Day Bazaar
Waiter Service: Cédric Dumortier
Shoes: La redoute
Clutch: Asos
Make up: Jessica Boussuge
Hair style: Agnès Chapuzet
Shoes (groom): Asos
Bow tie: Colonel Moutarde
Stationery: Un Beau Jour
Tote bags: Bagart
Belle Bride Victoria’s Wedding Day:
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