A Vintage Jaguar and Elderflower Gin at No.3 The Château

Emma and James's summer wedding for 80 guests at No.3 The Château near Cognac: a groomsman's vintage Jaguar, French toile and homemade elderflower gin.

By Anne-Sophie Boubals | Published 15 October 2026 | Last reviewed 15 October 2026

A Vintage Jaguar and Elderflower Gin at No.3 The Château

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Chateau

No.3 The Château

Nouvelle-Aquitaine · Charente

Up to 100 guests

From €20,000 5.0 (2)

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Chateau

No.3 The Château

Nouvelle-Aquitaine · Charente

Up to 100 guests

From €20,000 5.0 (2)

Emma and James first met at a house party in London when they were 16. Each went to university and travelled before they reconnected in 2020. Of their wedding, they say: "Food and drink were a huge focus for us."

They married in summer at No.3 The Château, a Napoleonic château wedding venue near Cognac, with 80 guests, under a mix of cloud and sunshine. The house was built in 1805 as a château and Cognac distillery, among the Grande Champagne vineyards of the Charente. It was restored after its purchase in 2015. Emma and James loved that it offered a different setting for each part of the day: the ceremony, cocktails, dinner and dancing.

Chatelaine Events planned the wedding. Abbi Kemp of VBA Studio photographed it, and used film.

No.3 The Château is among the wedding venues in South West France we feature, and our Nouvelle-Aquitaine wedding venues page covers the wider region.

Photography

Visuals by Abby

Venue

No.3 The Château, Charente

Region

Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Couple

Emma & James

Getting Ready

A black and white image of a smiling bride in a slip dress with her hair up, standing beside a large floral arrangement and a mirror.

A woman in a floral dress fastens the back of the bride's gown in a stone room with a tall wardrobe mirror.

The bride in a white robe laughs while holding a champagne bottle, surrounded by smiling women in pyjamas.

Gallery upload (Story 38-58) — unclassified, pending rw-prep sectioning.

A long-sleeved white lace jacket hangs on a carved wooden wardrobe, with a pair of strappy sandals on the floor below.

Arriving in a Groomsman's Vintage Jaguar

The couple walk hand in hand through a shower of petals while guests in green and pink dresses cheer around them.

The bride and groom walk hand in hand as guests on either side throw confetti, with a chateau behind them.

The couple kiss while guests around them throw confetti, with a chateau in the background, in black and white.

Guests in formal and floral outfits sit in rows under trees next to a large arrangement of white flowers and greenery.

The bride and groom stand with their backs to the camera, facing rows of seated guests, in black and white.

In black and white, the smiling couple walk between lines of guests as confetti falls, with a grand building behind.

Emma arrived at the ceremony in a vintage Jaguar belonging to one of the groomsmen, who had driven it across Europe for the occasion. The car was her "something blue".

Raw Bloom, the floral business owned by James's sister, framed the aisle with a wild arrangement of flowers.

A Bespoke Suzanne Neville Gown and Veil

A black and white portrait of a bride in a high-necked lace gown holding a large white bouquet, her veil blowing across her face.

A bride in a long-sleeved lace gown with a full skirt walks down a spiral staircase with a dark wrought-iron banister.

A smiling bride in a high-necked lace gown holds a white bouquet as she stands in an open glazed doorway beside a stone wall.

A black and white portrait of a smiling bride in a lace gown and veil, holding up the full skirt of her dress.

The bride in a high-necked lace gown and long veil smiles while holding a white bouquet on a sunlit lawn.

The bride, seen from behind in a long-sleeved gown and veil, walks along a gravel path holding a bouquet beside vines.

Emma wore a bespoke gown and veil by Suzanne Neville, with Aquazzura heels and Swarovski earrings. Sophie Fleur Beauty did the hair and make-up.

The groom wore Oliver Brown.

Couple Portraits

The couple kiss on a gravel path with trees and a blue sky behind them, framed by a dark film-style border.

Seen from behind, the couple walk hand in hand across a grassy slope in warm low sunlight, the bride's long veil trailing.

The couple walk arm in arm between rows of vines, the bride lifting her skirt, with a stone house and trees behind.

A close view of a bride's white bouquet and lace bodice, with the groom's dark sleeve and their joined hands beside her.

Bridal Party

A man in a black tuxedo stands smiling beside a woman in a green satin dress holding white flowers, with others behind them.

A bride in a lace gown walks across the grass between two bridesmaids in green satin dresses, all holding white bouquets.

A bride in a lace gown laughs while bridesmaids in green dresses holding white bouquets stand around her on the grass.

A row of nine men in black tuxedos stand smiling on stone steps in front of a balustrade, in black and white.

The bride in a lace-sleeved gown and veil smiles beside a bridesmaid in a green satin dress, both holding white bouquets on the lawn.

In black and white, two men in white shirts hug closely in front of dark leafy plants.

Hydrangeas on the Tables and Elderflower Gin Favours

The couple laugh and dance together in a dimly lit stone-walled room with string lights, framed by a dark film-style border.

The smiling groom in a dinner jacket and the bride in a strapless dress dance with joined raised hands under string lights.

Long runs of hydrangeas dressed the dining tables. Guests loved the spicy margaritas, mini lobster rolls and beef Wellington, by Emma and James's account. SN Patisseries made the wedding cake.

Through the afternoon, an acoustic roaming band played, and family and friends gave speeches throughout the day. The favours were more than 100 bottles of homemade elderflower gin.

Green, White and French Toile

Rows of wooden chairs with rounded backs stand beside tall arrangements of white hydrangeas and flowers in front of a pale stone building.

A white reserved card with handwritten-style lettering hangs from a green ribbon on the woven cane back of a wooden chair.

A framed welcome sign on an easel stands among white flowers, with rows of seated guests on a lawn in the background.

A dense arrangement of roses, dahlias and hydrangeas photographed in black and white, with layered petals filling the frame.

A white cake on a pedestal sits within a lush display of white and green flowers before a stone wall with an arched mirror.

Emma and James paired green and white with French toile fabrics. The flowers were white, cream and green throughout the château, with fruit worked into the arrangements at the cocktail and bar areas.

More from the Day

A pair of jewelled strappy sandals lies on soft tulle in black and white, framed by a dark film border.

A cream stone chateau with shuttered windows and balconies stands behind two tall white floral arrangements on the lawn.

From a high viewpoint, dressed-up guests gather on a terrace beside a pool with white fringed parasols and a tiled-roof building.

Aesthetic

ElegantClassicRomantic

Guest Count

80 guests

Budget Range

€50k - €70k

Bride's Dress

The Wedding Team

VBA Studio - Abbi Kemp

Dress

Suzanne Neville

Groom's Suit

Oliver Brown

Wedding Cake

SN Patisseries

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The Venue

The couple chose No.3 The Château, a chateau in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Chateau

No.3 The Château

Nouvelle-Aquitaine · Charente

A boutique Napoleonic château and former Cognac distillery built in 1805, set amidst the Grande Champagne vineyards of Charente. Fully restored in 2015, it offers exclusive hire for up to 140 guests with 6 suites sleeping 12 on-site.

Up to 100 guests

From €20,000 5.0 (2)

Browse Château Wedding Venues in France Discover more weddings in Nouvelle-Aquitaine