Sophie and Ben's Intimate Mas Wedding at La Deveze in the Cevennes

The gown hung waiting in the morning light, its tulle overlay still attached, the bridesmaids' dresses lined up beside it. Sophie kept her look soft and undone, with natural makeup by Florie Dieleman, the version of herself she felt most at home in. Ben got ready nearby with his groomsmen.

Vows were exchanged by the property's old stone fountain, which the florists filled with soft pastel blooms that seemed to grow out of the water and along the aisle. A string quartet played through the trees. The moment that stood out was a hand-fasting ribbon ritual that brought their families in to mark the long history behind the day, before they walked back up the aisle into the afternoon sun.

Sophie and Ben wanted their photography to feel as easy as the day itself, documentary and discreet rather than posed. Mariko Kieffer stayed inside the celebration and let it run, then stole the couple away for a short golden-hour session in the softest evening light, catching the mountain views they had hoped for before returning them to their guests.

This was never meant to be a single day, but a whole weekend. It opened with a welcome dinner the night before and ran from the string-quartet ceremony to poolside cocktails with mountain views, then to a three-course dinner, catered by La Devèze itself, with a live cooking station. Dessert kept to French tradition: a croquembouche and a champagne tower. The next day closed the weekend with a sun-drenched pool party. Their advice: "Hire a planner. Having someone local who can guide you throughout the process made the whole experience so enjoyable and stress free."

The design celebrated colour in a way that suited the countryside: soft garden pastels concentrated where they counted, at the ceremony and the long dinner tables, so the stone courtyard and leafy canopy could stay the stars. The florals, by De Fil en Fleur, were loose and wild, the fountain and aisle arrangements later repurposed to dress the dinner. Sophie wore Paloma Blanca with a detachable tulle overlay for the ceremony, then stripped it back and added a white neck scarf for the dance floor; her bridesmaids wore sage-green satin, the men black tie.

La Devèze, an intimate mas wedding venue in the Cévennes, sits against a dramatic mountain backdrop, rugged and green. One of the most characterful settings for a destination wedding in Occitanie, the mas gave the weekend room to breathe: a pool terrace looking out over mountains and vineyards, shaded courtyards, and the long tables waiting under the trees.