When we asked Christine to describe her wedding she replied, “It was a casual backyard affair, but we were lucky enough to have spectacular views of the French countryside and dramatic cliffs, so it didn’t really feel like any old backyard.” Yeah, the French countryside may have just added some bonus points to their wedding, no big deal. Let us warn you now, the way their celebration came to be reads like a movie. Things just fell into place the way they do when you’re an adorable couple like Christine + Tim and hop on a plane two weeks before your wedding to start planning it. We couldn’t be more excited that Caught the Light chose to share their beautiful wedding with us.
We were lucky enough to have friends, Rose and Michael Kelso, who own a beautiful country cottage in a village called St. Gery in the Lot Department in France. They offered it to us, at no cost, for as long as we wanted and needed. And how could we refuse! The house is beautiful! P.S. it’s available for anyone to rent for a holiday get away.
I hate to admit it but we didn’t end up doing much planning at all. The day just fell into place. Rose and Michael had asked their dear friends, Bruno and Pili (Bruno, who speaks no English, is the head chef at a restaurant in a nearby village called Cabreret, and Pili, his partner who speaks excellent English, is the regional Zumba instructor) to help us with catering. Rose and Michael could not stop raving about the quality of Bruno’s cooking so Tim and I decided to hand over all responsibility and creative control to him. All we asked was that they make the most of the regional delicacies. We ended up having only one Skype conversation with Pili to talk about this and to discuss our budget.
Christine’s father custom made that gorgeous headpiece using a diamond in the center that Tim’s mother left for him when she passed away.
Their engagement story… Tim took me on a surprise trip to Japan. Throughout the trip he had been taking photos on his film camera, and every time he needed to change the roll of film, I’d help with the canisters. One day we were temple hopping in Kyoto, and I found a little garden with a gorgeous cherry tree in the middle. The garden had been blocked off to public access, but I was determined to get in here to pick (and eat) some cherries. We climbed in, Tim took some photos, and he ran out of film. He asked me to help with getting out a new roll of film from a canister. I opened up the canister but instead of a roll of film I found an engagement ring wrapped in beautiful blue and cream stripped ribbon. I put the ring on my finger, and thanked Tim graciously. We acknowledged that romantic situations like this just made us feel awkward, so we had a laugh, and went on our merry way. Tim later took me to the bamboo forest up the road where he had planned to ask me. (Tim would argue he was planning on doing it whenever the moment was right – and he had the ring on him the whole trip)
As the Skype conversation was the extent of our planning, and seeing as neither of us had actually laid eyes on the cottage or the region it was on, we decided to fly over two weeks before the big day. We arrived, drove from Paris down to St Gery, met with Pili for the first time, and fell in love with him and the area immediately. We attempted to talk wedding planning with Pili but he wasn’t interested. All he wanted was for us to have fun during our time in the village. He had arranged farm visits, a cave adventure, road trips to antique markets and food markets… he told us to trust him and that he would sort out everything related to the wedding.
So happy for these two and their oh so memorable wedding!
Photographer: Chloe at Caught the Light / Venue: Village House in St Gery / Event Coordinator: Pili (friend of couple) / Hair & Makeup: done by bride / Decor: DIY / Bouquet: family friend / Catering + Dessert: Bruno of La Roue Restaurant in Caberert / Invitation Designer: Tessa Goot / Furniture: bits and pieces from the house the couple was staying in / Bride’s Dress: Fleur Wood from BHLDN / Shoes: Mollini suede heels / Headpiece: handmade by bride’s father who is a jeweller / Engagement Ring: custom made from an 1930s Art Deco design by Glenn Bell / Wedding Bands: designed by bride’s father / Makeup: Bobbi Brown / Groom’s Suit: Custom Made / Shirt: The Cloakroom / Cufflinks: Herringbone / Tie: custom made by David Hartn / Bridesmaid: Zimmermann Dress with Alannah Hill shoes and custom made jewellery by bride’s father / Groomsman: custom made tie by David Hart, shoes by Tim Little, Jacket by Charles Tyrwhitt, Chinos by Dr Denim
