Today we are going to a famous French city for a heartwarming, intimate Bordeaux Villa Wedding. From our brides BHLDN wedding dress to the autumnal inspired flowers you’ll find so much inspiration from this intimate affair.

We love the warm tones and their epic candle lit dinner which was planned and captured beautifully by FWS vendors Clémentine and Mark from Awardweddings who will also be walking us through this cosy Bordeaux wedding…

As wine lovers, Alyssa and Ben decided to celebrate their union in Bordeaux, with their closest family and friends. They chose an incredible villa to spend a few days. They used it to celebrate their wedding with the ceremony in the garden, cocktail and canapes in the living room and in the dining area.

Although the wedding took place in the centre of the city, the villa had a lovely little garden. The ceremony took place in it and the couple took their vows under an olive tree. We used cream draping onto the floor. The aisle was decorated with flower petals. And candles came to complete the arch and the aisle.

They took their vows amongst their closest people, with the fantastic Ruffled by Grace, in an intimate ceremony. “From the beginning I wasn’t sure how I felt about writing our own vows. But Michelle, oh my goodness that woman has a gift. It felt like she’d known us forever and did such an amazing job telling our story in a way that felt really special, and was so much better than anything we might have come up with on our own. She was wonderful before our wedding helping us decide how we wanted the ceremony to feel, what we wanted to focus on, and how to integrate both of our faith backgrounds in a way that felt inclusive and personal. Her ceremony just hit all of the right notes, it was funny and serious in all of the right places, and felt so much like us.” Says the bride.

Our couple went for their photos in the city, it was a really special moment, just for the two of them.

Alyssa and Ben treated their guests to a delicious French meal from a fantastic local caterer Maison Dulou Traiteur.

“We wanted a small, intimate wedding with just our closest family and friends, beyond that I didn’t really have much of a vision for what I wanted the day to look or feel like. Somehow in the conversations we had with Clémentine she captured exactly the atmosphere we wanted. When we saw everything come together I was completely wowed by how it felt and how beautiful it looked.” Says the bride.

The couple sent me some photos of things they would like for their wedding and I worked around it to plan the styling of the whole day. They wanted these lovely warm colors, with lots of candles. Being in the middle of Autumn, it was just perfect to create a heartwarming feel. It also fitted in the house that had a lot of wood and brown color tones.

The villa being so well decorated, there was no point adding too much to it so I just added a few touches with flowers and candles. The dinner was really the piece de resistance with a long table decorated with a central garland of flowers and candles. The florist did an excellent job and it all felt so natural, lovely, heartwarming.

“One of the best parts of our reception was Mark taking photos of all the couples at the end of the night – totally impromptu, but so much fun and such a great memory to be able to share with all of our guests.” Say the couple.

Special tip from the couple

“Planning a destination wedding definitely adds a layer of difficulty – we weren’t able to see our venue in person, or meet with other vendors (florist, caterer, etc) but the end result was everything we could have ever wanted, and that’s entirely due to Clementine.” Hiring a wedding planner will definitely relieve the stress, and help you choose the right suppliers, ensuring you’re getting what you need, at the right price.