White Silk Flowers and Tennis Balls at Château de Garde

The ceremony was held under a covered area overlooking the vineyard, which offered shade from the bright sun in the middle of the summer's fourth record-breaking heatwave. To reach it, guests walked through several arches dressed with white silk flowers. Megan's godfather led the ceremony, with two large urns framing the couple.

Megan designed her own dress, which Kate Edmondson Bridal made in Chantilly lace, and James wore a Loro Piana suit tailored by Jack Davison. When Megan walked in, James saw her in the dress for the first time, and he shed a few tears.

Megan also shared a first look with her father. Her mother was unable to attend, so during the ceremony a family member read out a letter from her.

For dinner, the tables were dressed in white, with black bows on the stationery and gold-rimmed glasses and plates. The only flowers at dinner were white roses in bud vases.

At the end of dinner, James's father had a surprise for the couple: a song he had written for them, which he played. Acoustic songs from a band and espresso martinis followed, then a champagne tower before the party started. Later in the evening, McDonald's treats came out.

Megan asked for white flowers only. Different shades were allowed as long as everything stayed white, and the arrangements mixed silk and real flowers. Silk made up the large ceremony arrangements, to give them volume, and a river of flowers ran down the bar. Those arrangements were then repurposed for the rest of the day.

Château de Garde is an 18th-century château in Moulon, in the Gironde, surrounded by six hectares of Bordeaux vineyards. It is about 30 minutes by car from Bordeaux, and Saint-Émilion is 15 minutes away. The estate hosts weddings of up to 120 guests and sleeps 36 on site. It is one of the vineyard wedding venues near Bordeaux we feature, and our guide to wedding venues in Bordeaux covers the wider area.

For the day after, the couple wanted something close to a private members' club, with the château as a backdrop and the infinity pool looking over its vineyards. Some of the silk arrangements came back, the river from the bar and the welcome sign among them, with tennis balls added for the tennis club where they met. A DJ and a saxophonist played the pool party.