Blog

10 tips for choosing a wedding reception venue… So you are starting out on the journey towards the most important day of your life, and one of the first things you will search for is the perfect wedding venue. But the amount of information (and questions) can initially seem overwhelming, and so in this article, we give you 10 points to consider to help give you a head start.

• The date – how important is it for you?

More and more couples are increasingly flexible in order to make sure they secure the venue of their dreams. For some, this is not possible because their preferred date may have sentimental value. However, if this is not the case, it may be that varying the date by a week or two (or a month of two) may be the difference in securing their ideal venue. And for destination weddings there probably won’t be the need to tie in with a town hall or church ceremony, which makes life easier still!

• The capacity

When thinking about a venue’s capacity, it is easy to have tunnel vision based on the number of people on your guestlist. Obviously, you need to ensure there is enough space for your guests, but a venue can be too large as well as too small, especially for those with an intimate wedding in mind. Hence, can you do everything you want on-site. Also, is there a space to hold a ceremony? Furthermore, does the venue have nice spots for photos to save you having to move from the reception venue? But also, are there spaces for an apéritif, maybe for your dinner outside? Finally, is there an alternative option available in case of bad weather (but don’t forget, this is Provence so this is highly unlikely during the summer months!)?

• Location – a key point in deciding on a venue

Is the venue easily accessible? For destination weddings, being close to an airport or train station will be important, whilst having motorway links within easy distance is also key. Furthermore, for some people, a venue in a town with accommodation close-by might be important, particularly if there is not accommodation on-site. On the other hand, for others, part of the allure of a destination wedding might be a venue in the middle of the countryside.

Why an article on for how long should I hire the venue for my wedding reception?  “Oh, it goes by so quickly”! Possibly the phrase we hear the most often from our couples as they celebrate their wedding at Chateau la Beaumetane! So how long should you hire your venue for? Here are a few points to bear in mind as you grapple with this age-old question…

Hire the wedding venue for however long suits you

There is a reason the time goes by so quickly as you celebrate your wedding. You are happy, and surrounded by the people you love. You want to make the most of the time you have with everyone who has come to celebrate with you. Just one little statistic I like to use…. If you have a wedding for 120 people and you only spend two minutes with each guest, that already takes up 4 hours of your day!

So if you also count all the things you have to do on your special day, it’s not surprising that the day of your wedding reception flies by!

This is why many of our couples decide to hire the chateau for a two- or three-day wedding, especially our destination weddings. This allows them to enjoy a brunch with their guests. You can spend time with people you may not have caught up with the day before (perhaps because the photographer whisked you off for a sunset photo in the vines and olive groves). What’s more, brunch is generally more ‘low key’, with fewer obligations and things to do. So you can just take the time to be yourself and enjoy each other’s company. This is worth considering when ou hire the venue for my wedding reception.

How can I get married in France? This is a question we are often asked in our first conversations with our foreign brides and grooms. We explain it all here.

Getting married in France – what does it mean?

First of all, it’s important to know what you mean by “getting married in France”. Are you talking about a civil ceremony? A religious ceremony or a secular ceremony? Or perhaps just having your wedding in France? Because the rules are quite different, and so are the answers to the question of whether you can get married in France.

So let’s start with the simplest. If you just want to celebrate your wedding in France or in Provence, as we do here, you obviously don’t need any special authorisation. What’s more, the same applies to a secular ceremony. A ceremony has no legal, official or religious value. It is not recorded in any register. It is a symbolic and personal act performed in front of your loved ones. So in the first two cases, there are no formalities to be completed before you can get married in France.

Being relaxed for your destination wedding… brides and grooms can stress about it 😊 and yet… We tell you more in this article

Being relaxed for your destination wedding… a myth?

Let’s put things down first…. Everyone is different. Some people are anxious by nature, while others take things as they come and as they happen. So I don’t think it’s possible to ask someone who’s anxious by nature not to stress about their wedding.

However, there are things that can be done to help with this. I’ll give you a few tips in this article based on the experience we’ve had at the chateau over the last ten years accompanying our brides and grooms.

But first of all, a small point… it’s normal for there to be a lot of emotions during the preparations for a wedding and on the big day. It’s about making a commitment, doing this in front of lots of people who have come especially for you, and an event, with responsibilities and a budget… so a little stress is perfectly normal, even for the most zen of you!

Choosing the right destination wedding suppliers is absolutely essential if you want your reception to be the wonderful day of your dreams. Of course, with a destination wedding, things can be even more complicated. You may not even know our beautiful region of Provence and you may not speak French, which can make things seem very complicated. But only on the surface 🙂 We tell you more in this article

Choosing  suppliers – the basics

There are a few essential points to bear in mind when choosing your destination wedding suppliers.

The first of these is that not all reception venues in France operate in the same way. Some venues impose their own service providers or offer complete packages, organising your wedding from start to finish. On the other hand, other venues will let you choose the suppliers for your wedding entirely. Of course, between these two extremes there is a whole range of other possibilities. So we strongly recommend that you don’t book any suppliers without checking with your reception venue what is and isn’t possible.

The next two criteria to take into account are, of course, the availability of suppliers on the big day and your budget. These two criteria can easily narrow down the field of possibilities for some brides and grooms. So it’s important to establish all this as soon as you start your search.

Should you have your wedding dinner outdoors or indoors in Provence? This is another of the big questions that brides and grooms regularly ask themselves. However, it’s true that for our destination weddings, for our overseas brides and grooms who come to Provence to get married, it’s usually because they want to dine outdoors. So, in this article, I’ll explain why it’s important to ask yourself this question, even for a destination wedding in Provence.

Wedding dinner outdoors in Provence

It’s true, however, that future brides and grooms often visit the château with a view to dining outdoors for their wedding dinner. This is certainly even truer for our brides and grooms who come from abroad to get married in Provence. The setting of the château lends itself well to this, with its park just in front of our beautiful building, shaded by its plane trees. Cocktails are usually served on the lawn, on the side where you can enjoy the sunset over the vines.

Of course, this option is only feasible when the weather is fine and the temperature allows it. Also, without wishing to shatter the dreams of future brides and grooms, we would like to make it clear to them that according to our experience of ten years of weddings in Provence, this is possible with us. Taking all the different parameters into account, we realise that the time frame for doing so is not that great. We generally manage to offer this option to all our brides and grooms who decide to do so.

It’s true that dining outdoors for your wedding can be a very pleasant experience in summer. Under the guinguette lights, you can enjoy the drop in temperature and the last songs of the cicadas. What’s more, the aesthetic setting can suit a variety of themes, especially the more country-style weddings.

How to choose your wedding date, a real question. For some couples the date is everything – maybe an anniversary, maybe a birthday, or some other date that has fond memories. For others, the date is flexible, depending on the availability of the dream venue, or maybe the availability of close friends and family. In this article, we give you some advice on the questions to ask yourself when choosing your wedding date.

Choosing the date for your wedding – thinking about the essentials

• A symbolic date

You may choose a date that has special meaning for both of you – perhaps the date you met, or your engagement date. This can be a key factor in choosing your wedding date.

• Your professional commitments can have an impact on the decision to choose the date of your wedding.

For some people, their job will dictate the wedding date – it isn’t easy for teachers to take time off during term time, however much they’d love to! So be realistic about what you can and can’t do. As I am also a winemaker, my colleagues would not be impressed if I had decided to get married in August or September because of the grape harvest!

• The personal, professional or educational commitments of key friends and family

Let’s be honest, your wedding just wouldn’t be the same if your bestie couldn’t be there to share your happiness, and so if there are people who you can’t imagine celebrating your big day without, you will want to check their commitments and availability.

• Give advance notice

Don’t stress too much about the idea of getting married on a weekday. Every now and then, for one reason or another, this can actually provide you with some real opportunities. Service providers often offer discounts during the week, plus there is less chance your preferred venue or photographer will already be booked. Remember, your guests will be the people who care about you the most, and if you tell them you want to be at your wedding a few months in advance, they will usually make the effort to take the necessary days off work to be at your wedding.

• Don’t worry too much about the weather

The dates that generally benefit from the best weather are often the first to be booked for a wedding. Couples generally hope for good weather so they can make the most of the day and take beautiful photos with a perfect sunset. However, this is not the case for everyone. What’s more, you have to accept that Mother Nature will do as she pleases on the big day. So even a midsummer day in Provence can be a rainy day (although not very often, if we’re honest!). If you want to know more about this, you can read the story of our couple from a few years ago here or in this other article.

• Seasonal charm

Those sunny summer days are also the period when the days are longest. However, unless you absolutely want to dine outdoors, you might consider celebrating your wedding at a different time of year. With the shorter days, your reception venue lit up at night can add even more charm to your special day (not to mention your photos!). What’s more, the charm of autumnal colours can also be a real wow factor! And then, of course, there are those who love winter decorations, which add yet another special touch to a warm, intimate wedding.