Intimate Chateau de la Couronne Wedding

Intimate Chateau de la Couronne Wedding

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Happy Friday Trulovers, and we are off to the South West of France today, for the intimate Chateau de la Couronne wedding of Jess and Kenneth from Australia. The venue for today's wedding Chateau de la Couronne sits in the pretty village of Marthon on the border of the Charente and Dordogne regions in the South West of France.

Today's wedding and indeed couple, is a lesson in how not to get stressed with wedding planning, taking it in their stride as they planned their big day from Australia, with all arrangements complete 3 months before the big day, due to traveling for 3 months before their big day in France!

Bride Jess takes us through their big day: " Kenneth and I met in our hometown of Tamworth NSW, Australia. We joined the same Oz Tag team (kind of like rugby league but without the tackling!) and after a few months of flirting and overcoming my incredible shyness, we started going out. We've been together ever since, almost 10 years now. Kenneth and I have always joked that opposites attract and that's why we are so good together, we are completely different people but we share the same life values. Our relationship is built on balance and independence with an incredible love for each other.

While we always knew we'd get married one day it took Kenneth 8 years to propose. He's never been one to rush anything! We lived in Sydney together for around 7 years often returning to our hometown for family events, long weekends etc. One particular weekend we went back to Tamworth for a friend's baby shower. Little did I know it was an elaborate scheme to get us back around our family and friends and there was no baby shower! After a series of 'lies' we ended up in the park where we first met and Kenneth proposed. It was a magical moment which was perfected with the champagne picnic Kenneth's friend had hidden in a nearby garden waiting for us. That night we celebrated our engagement over dinner and the conversation naturally focused on our wedding. Without having ever really discussed it at length we both instantly agreed that we wanted to get married overseas. A few months prior to getting engaged, Kenneth and I had made the decision to travel Europe and move the UK, so we already had thoughts of Europe on our mind. Over the next few days we discussed several destinations, but we kept coming back to France. I had travelled to France 2 years earlier with my best friend and had fallen in love, always dreaming of going back there. Kenneth knew how much I loved it and knew he'd love it too. Within a week the decision was made. Our decision to get married abroad wasn't all easy though, we knew there would be some family and friends that wouldn't be able to make it which was hard. However, right from the start we promised ourselves not to get caught up in trying to make everyone else happy and just to focus on our dream day. We wanted our wedding to be relaxed and elegant. We didn't want anything too formal or traditional just because we felt like we had to. We did tonnes of research online using blogs including French Wedding Style and lots and lots of Pinterest! I also read Cosmopolitan Bride and White magazine in Australia more than I care to admit. Kenneth and I were probably the most laid back couple ever to plan a wedding - we were so relaxed about most of it and refused to get stressed. As we travelled for three months before our wedding took place (we had our honeymoon first!) we needed to make sure pretty much everything was organised before we left Australia. Thanks to email, Skype and Google we were able to plan any last minute details as we were travelling including my wedding dress. I had ordered one from Etsy before leaving Australia and had it shipped to London however it was a mini disaster so with just 2 weeks to go I had to find a new one. Thankfully David's Bridal saved the day and I found my real dream dress just in time. Our day was everything we'd dreamed of and more. We didn't have a bridal party, just our little flower girl Lily who I used to nanny when we lived in Sydney. My sister Hannah and Kenneth's brother Nicholas were our witnesses and in front of 20 close friends and family we had the most memorable day of our lives. As everyone stayed in the Chateau, it made for a real wedding 'experience' that lasted for three days and meant that everyone was able to relax and enjoy every moment. We would strongly suggest arranging similar accommodation for guests if possible as it makes the whole wedding all the more memorable and special. Our only other advice for couples looking to get married overseas is to not get too stressed over the little details, at the end of the day getting married overseas is special enough in itself and if you focus on a few key elements that are special to you (for us it was venue, food and photography) it's bound to be a unique and magical wedding."

Wedding Suppliers:

Photographer: PhotoStories | Wedding Venue: Chateau de la Couronne | Reception Venue: Moulin de la Tardoire, Montbron | Wedding Dress: David's Bridal Westfield Stratford | Accessories: Swarovski | Shoes: Michael Kors | Florist: Cote Art, Angouleme | Hair and Makeup Artist :Ella Bache, Tamworth NSW | Grooms Outfit : French Eye Westfield Stratford | Wedding Rings : Georg Jensen | Wedding Cake - Patissier Parfums Sucres, Angouleme | Wedding Celebrant - Sue Ward from Celebrants in France |

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