Lara and Michiel's Colourful Provence Summer Wedding at Domaines de Patras

The ceremony was held in the late afternoon, under a line of tall cypress trees that made a natural aisle. Guests sat close on either side, which kept it intimate even in the open air, soft Provençal light coming through the greenery. It ran emotional and high-spirited at once. Lara set the tone and the people who had travelled down from Antwerp met it with her, so the vows came with laughter and a few happy tears in the same breath.

After the ceremony the weekend exhaled. Cocktails were served in the central courtyard, drinks in hand and music coming off the stone walls, before everyone moved out to the lavender fields for dinner at the long table. As the sun dropped, the lake held the last of the light and the fields turned gold. It was the kind of setting guests remember, and the energy carried well into the night.

The palette went all in on high summer. Soft tones gave way to strong, saturated colour, and the guests were part of the picture: a colourful dress code of flowing couture, wide-brimmed hats and bright, joyful shades that kept every frame moving. The long banquet table was set straight into the lavender fields, where crisp linen and refined tableware played against the wild planting around it. The florals worked the same way, textural and loosely gathered rather than tightly arranged. Lara wore a flowing couture gown cut for the Provençal heat, her hair softly styled and her makeup kept natural. Her bouquet was loose and gathered, vibrant tones cut through with paler accents.

Les Domaines de Patras sits in open Provençal countryside, with room to spread out and a handful of more intimate corners that set the rhythm of the day. The ceremony took the shaded calm under the cypress trees; cocktails moved into the courtyard, where the stone walls threw the music back; and dinner shifted out to the lavender fields, looking over a lake that caught the sunset. That range was the point: a single estate that could carry a destination wedding in Provence across one long, changing evening without moving anyone off-site.