France is a big country.
And I have only been to Paris and Disneyland (yes, apparently I opted for Mickey over Provence).
Therefore I enlisted the help of wedding planners from Chateau and Villa Weddings.
I found these ladies while doing research for my television show (called ‘Wedding Belles’ - watch out for it in March!). They are based in Europe and specialize in, well, chatueau and villa weddings. So when the Engineer proposed I immediately got in contact with them about my own wedding.
Point of awesome one: they are speedy speedy in their correspondance. A big plus I think for the stressful bride. Within one day, Caroline always gets back to me with ideas and solutions.
So far, her ideas are: a luxury Mediterranean Villa near St. Tropez, a castle in the Loire Valley, and, get this, a pumpkin castle! PUMPKIN CASTLE! Named this because they grow pumpkins in their courtyard. It’s like Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast Combined.
Can we say amazing??? AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
So the negative side of a France wedding is not only the fact that France is a difficult destination to get to, but that all venues and food is in Euro. Which means 1.5 times each amount. And each amount isn’t cheap. To rent a venue is about 5000 euro. Which is comparable to renting some venues in Canada. But add the exchange rate, now it’s closer to $8000. Food ranges from 100 to 150 euro a head! Which even if in equivalent dollars is high. But have 100 people at a wedding and about $200 a head? You get the picture.
But look at these pictures? Amazing right? To stay near this castle is only about 50 Euros per couple a night, not bad. But thousands to get there . . .
Granted, if we choose one of these places, oru numbers significantly decrease and we are guaranteed amazing service. And it’s a fairytale. But at what cost?
Another French location, at a high price, is a converted old farm house in Provence: Le Mas de la Rose
Pretty oui? Should be, it's about 27 000 Euro for a week, or 10 000 for the reception. Ummm, ouch.
Compensation? The Engineer and I are planning a visit here on our JellyMoon (our Honeymoon which is happening before the wedding, therefore it is Jelly, not Honey) because they have a special before April 1st. Hooray for sales!!
1 comment:
I have only been to Paris for a day and a half - and I loved it! This looks so amazing - breathtaking! Oh, it's like a fairy tale. I, for one, don't believe in fairytales, but I do believe in destination weddings. I hope that you can afford your dream wedding. Just remember that it's only one day, though, you don't want to start your marriage squabbling about debt.
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