Fairy Tale Romance and Ribbon Vows at Chateau du Rivau, Loire Valley

Alex and Aleks' autumn wedding at Chateau du Rivau featured ribbon vows, Loire Valley gardens, and photography by Encre Noire.

By Elena Moretti | Published 21 February 2017

Fairy Tale Romance and Ribbon Vows at Chateau du Rivau, Loire Valley

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Alex and Aleks celebrated their autumn marriage at Chateau du Rivau, a storybook castle surrounded by fairy tale gardens in the Loire Valley. Planned by Eugenie-Melinda of Castle Key Weddings and captured by Eric M of Encre Noire, their celebration blended French-Canadian and Venezuelan heritage with literary charm.

Photography

Venue

Chateau du Rivau

Region

Loire Valley, France

Couple

Alex & Aleks

Getting Ready

An outdoor couple portrait taken in a garden setting, with the bride and groom softly kissing in the background, intentionally blurred using shallow depth of field. The sharp foreground features vivid red dahlia flowers, with a peacock butterfly perched on one of the blooms. The bride is wearing a white lace dress and the groom a dark suit. The composition uses the dahlias as a creative foreground framing element, placing the couple in soft focus behind them against a lush green garden backdrop.

A getting-ready moment captured indoors, showing the bride and two women — one in a pale blue-grey sleeveless gown and one in a dark navy dress with a statement necklace — examining or fastening jewelry on the bride's wrist, all three smiling and laughing. The bride wears an ivory lace cap-sleeve gown with beaded detailing and a pearl bracelet, with her hair styled in an updo. The room features rustic exposed wooden ceiling beams, a large wooden armoire, and a colorful painting on the wall, suggesting a French farmhouse or chateau interior. The shot is a medium portrait taken at close range, with warm natural light coming from the left side of the frame.

A detail shot of a wedding dress hanging from a wooden shutter beside an arched stone window inside what appears to be a historic chateau or castle. The dress is a fitted, floor-length ivory gown with all-over lace and beading, a sweetheart neckline, and thin lace-edged straps. The interior walls are rough-cut stone, and natural light filters in through the arched window, illuminating the dress against the rustic backdrop.

Alex prepared in one of the chateau's sunlit rooms, her gown laid out beside personal keepsakes and accessories chosen for their sentimental value. Hair and makeup took shape as friends gathered around, the atmosphere buzzing with warmth and anticipation. The morning's pace was relaxed and joyful, perfectly fitting the couple's approach to their day.

Ceremony

Close-up detail shot of a custom engraved wooden wine box personalized for a wedding. The light pine wood box features laser-engraved text reading '9.4.16' in large numerals alongside an illustration of a château building and the text 'Château de Riven' with additional script writing. The box has a brass latch closure and engraved text visible on the side panel as well, suggesting handwritten letters or vows are stored inside. This appears to be a wine box ceremony keepsake, a popular French wedding tradition where the couple seals wine and letters inside to open on a future anniversary. Woven baskets and blurred greenery are visible in the background on what appears to be a burlap-covered surface.

Close-up detail shot of a wedding ceremony program fan displayed outdoors, propped up against a wicker basket planted with labeled herbs including chive and lemon balm, with small black chalkboard markers identifying each plant. In the foreground, a second wicker basket is filled with dried lavender. The program is printed in a script and serif font combination, titled 'Order of the Ceremony' and 'The Wedding Party,' with a small floral illustration near the bottom. The styling has a rustic, garden-herb aesthetic, using natural materials — wicker, dried lavender, and potted herbs — as decor elements for the ceremony stationery display.

The outdoor ceremony took place on Chateau du Rivau's grassy aisle of fairies, officiated by Alexandre's godmother. A five-ribbon handfasting ritual, each colour representing a promise, anchored the vows alongside readings from The Little Prince. A live rendition of A Thousand Years accompanied Alex down the aisle, and Can't Take My Eyes Off You closed the ceremony with upbeat energy.

Bridal Portraits

Close-up detail portrait of a bride shot from behind, outdoors with tall ornamental grasses visible in the background. The image focuses on the bride's low twisted updo hairstyle, which is decorated with small crystal hair pins, paired with drop crystal earrings. She is wearing a low-back ivory gown with heavily beaded and embroidered lace cap sleeves and a deep V-back neckline with a thin spaghetti strap detail. A portion of a groom in a dark suit with a white floral boutonniere is partially visible on the left edge of the frame.

A couple portrait taken outdoors, with the bride and groom standing close together with foreheads nearly touching in an intimate pose. They are positioned along a narrow grass path flanked by tall reeds or ornamental grasses, with a low stone wall visible in the background. The bride wears a fitted ivory lace gown with an open lace back and cap sleeves, while the groom is dressed in a black tuxedo with a white dress shirt and black bow tie. The shot is a medium full-length portrait taken from slightly below eye level, with the tall grasses framing the couple on both sides to create a natural tunnel effect.

A couple poses together on a cobblestone courtyard in front of a large French château featuring multiple conical-roofed towers and pale stone architecture. The groom wears a classic black tuxedo with a bow tie, while the bride wears a fitted, sleeveless white gown with a slight train. They stand close together, facing each other in a relaxed portrait pose. Raised wooden planter beds with vegetable garden plantings frame the foreground of the courtyard. This is a medium wide shot capturing both the couple and the full façade of the château behind them. Potential venue feature image.

Among the chateau's garden pathways and orchard trees, Alex posed in her gown as September light filtered through the branches. The Loire Valley landscape provided a romantic, slightly wild backdrop that matched the day's literary and storybook themes. Each portrait balanced poise with the natural beauty of the estate.

Cocktail Hour

Wedding guests mingle during what appears to be a cocktail hour in an outdoor courtyard or garden area adjacent to a historic stone building with arched architectural details and ivy-covered walls. Approximately 20 guests are visible in small conversational groups spread across a gravel pathway, with one guest pushing a black stroller. Guests are dressed in formal attire, with women wearing dresses in shades of grey, silver, and black, and men in dark suits. The setting is landscaped with trimmed hedgerows, ornamental grasses, and trained trees forming a natural canopy over part of the gathering space. Wide shot capturing the full scene and architectural context. Potential venue feature image.

Cocktails unfolded in the chateau's orchard, where medlar, apple, and cherry blossoms scented the air. Guests mingled among the trees as the couple slipped away for their first quiet moments alone that day. The setting carried the feel of a secret garden, perfectly suited to the day's storybook mood.

Reception

A celebratory outdoor portrait of a bride and groom alongside a male guest who is raising his arm and spraying what appears to be champagne or confetti, all three laughing and reacting joyfully. The setting is an outdoor garden area with tall ornamental grasses and dense green trees in the background. The groom wears a dark tuxedo with a white boutonniere, the male guest wears a black tuxedo with bow tie, and the bride wears a fitted white lace cap-sleeve gown, holding a bouquet of peach and coral roses with greenery. The shot is a medium-wide portrait taken at ground level.

Wide-angle exterior shot of a French château at dusk, featuring a multi-turreted stone castle with grey slate conical roofs and lit windows visible on the right, alongside a lower stone outbuilding with a grey roof on the left. In the foreground, raised wooden garden beds contain lush plantings including what appears to be a vegetable and herb potager garden, with grapevines along a wooden fence bordering a gravel path. A white event marquee is visible in the middle ground between the outbuilding and the château towers, suggesting a wedding reception setup. No people are visible in the frame. Potential venue feature image.

Candlelit tables filled the stone courtyards as the reception carried into the evening with speeches, laughter, and music. The celebration reflected both French-Canadian and Venezuelan heritage, blended seamlessly under Eugenie-Melinda of Castle Key Weddings' direction. Night fell softly over the Loire countryside, sealing the weekend in warm, golden memory.

Flat Lays

A nine-image collage showcasing various moments from a French château wedding. The top-left wide shot shows a classic French château with formal manicured gardens, identifiable as a Loire Valley–style property with white stone architecture and pointed turrets — Potential venue feature image. The top-center image shows four bridesmaids in floor-length dusty silver-grey chiffon dresses holding small bouquets of cream and blush flowers, accompanied by a young flower girl in a pink dress, posing on the lawn in front of the château. The top-right image shows the bride's white gown hanging in a stone window frame, backlit by natural light. The middle-left close-up detail shows the couple holding hands, with the bride wearing a pearl bracelet and a lace-sleeved gown. The center-left portrait shows the bride's back, revealing a low-cut cap-sleeve lace wedding dress with intricate beading, her brown hair styled in a loose updo with a small floral pin. The center image shows a reception table detail with a tall vase of red and blush flowers alongside a smaller arrangement of green and blush hydrangeas, with a small 'bride' place card visible. The center-right close-up shows strappy ivory heeled sandals placed on a reflective surface. The bottom-center flat lay shows three wrapped bridal bouquets of blush, peach, and cream roses. The bottom-right image shows the bride being helped into her dress by two attendants in a stone-walled interior room.

A close-up detail shot of a pair of silver glitter strappy stiletto heels placed on a reflective glass surface. The shoes feature a cage-style multi-strap design with an open toe and ankle strap, and a branded insole label is visible inside. In the soft-focus background, a beaded or lace wedding dress is partially visible, suggesting this is a bridal getting-ready scene. The overall styling is classic and polished, with the metallic silver shoes as the clear focal point.

A close-up detail shot of bridal jewelry arranged around a Loire Valley wine cork. A solitaire diamond engagement ring and a diamond-set wedding band are balanced on top of the cork, while a large cushion-cut crystal drop earring with a halo of smaller stones leans against its side. A crystal-encrusted bracelet or necklace is blurred in the foreground, and a bouquet of pink, cream, and mauve flowers is softly out of focus in the background. The items are arranged on a deep red fabric surface, and the overall warm, dim lighting gives the image a rich, moody tone.

An outdoor garden ceremony procession showing a young ring bearer in a black tuxedo with a white boutonniere and a flower girl in a blush pink tulle dress with a pink flower sash, holding hands and walking down a grass aisle toward the camera; the flower girl carries a small silver wire basket. In the background, a groom in a black tuxedo and a bride in a white fitted gown holding a bouquet stand at the top of a stone staircase, waiting to begin their processional. The garden setting features ornamental grasses and red-toned border plantings along the aisle path. Wide shot capturing the full scene from the children in the foreground to the couple in the background.

Details revealed the couple's literary and personal touches: miniature suitcases, maps, and handwritten quotes from The Little Prince placed among the table settings. Five coloured ribbons from the handfasting ceremony rested alongside stationery and favour boxes. Each vignette reflected the fairy tale character of Chateau du Rivau and the couple's cross-cultural story.