I’m finally onto the third and final recap from our Europe trip last year—France! The France leg of the trip was really the whole reason for us going, as we were attending some of our dear friends’ wedding in Provence. Knowing their wedding date, we planned the rest of the trip around it. Their wedding was so incredibly special and fun because it was basically like a long weekend of summer camp with their friends and family. They had their wedding at the Chateau La Tour Vaucros, located in Sorgues, in the region of Provence. The way the Chateau works is that you rent out the whole property for your wedding weekend, and then all or most of your guests can stay on site in the gorgeous accommodations, and you have your wedding rehearsal, pre-wedding festivities, getting ready, etc. all on site. It was a DREAM. The property has a bunch of different small castle-like accommodations that can sleep 20-30 each (from what I remember), two swimming pools, tennis courts, and just tons of space to relax.
To get there, we flew from Brussels to London, where we met up in the airport with two of our best friends who were also attending the wedding. We were so giddy once we saw them in the airport! We all hopped on a flight together to Marseille, in the South of France.
Everything was so incredibly stunning from the moment we landed. We then drove from Marseille to the wedding venue and got set up in our adorable, French country-style bedroom. I forgot to take any good pics of it sadly! Once we were settled, we joined the wedding party for welcome wine (made nearby) and caught up with many friends we hadn’t seen in awhile, including the bride and groom. I remember seeing this room with a long table (probably seating 25 people) absolutely FILLED with people toasting and celebrating this soon-to-be-married couple and just feeling so filled to the brim with joy and sense of community. It was so special!
Mirror pic at the Chateau with our friend Rachel who was staying in the room right beside ours!
When we’d arrived at the Chateau the night before, it was dark, so waking the next morning was stunning to see how beautiful the property was.
I forgot to snap a pic, but each morning we were at the Chateau a local bakery delivered piles of pastries and breads. We got croissants, baguettes, turnovers, madelines and more. I miss it so much.
After we had some breakfast on our first morning at the Chateau, my friends Natalie and Rachel and I headed to the French supermarket to get some provisions for the group. French supermarkets are AMAZING. We probably spent over an hour just browsing, sampling, and marveling at everything you could buy there. Since most of our main meals were covered by the wedding festivities, we focused on buying small provisions (and wine) for snacks and light lunches.
I also bought a big orchid to snip the flowers from for some hairstyles for the wedding weekend:
For the rehearsal dinner (a little sunburned!)
And for the wedding!
We made a big spread of food for the group when we got back from the supermarket.
I still dream about this food! France does produce, dairy and bread EXCEPTIONALLY well.
That afternoon was spent poolside, and it was so much fun hanging with our friends and getting to know some other wedding guests we hadn’t met before.
James, the groom, about to jump in!
That night was the rehearsal dinner, which was a food truck that came and made huge platters of paella. It was amazing! I didn’t take any photos though, other than this snap of the gorgeous vineyard lining the property.
The next day was WEDDING DAY! I always get so excited on my friends’ wedding days. The whole day feels electrically charged. Grace and I woke up and went outside to do some yoga on the lawn with one of our best friends Laura, who led us.
The wedding photographer was already on site starting in the morning, so he got these fun shots of us.
While we were waiting until it was time to start getting ready for the wedding, we relaxed in the sun, played games, and of course made another huge snack platter.
The whole day was so relaxing because it was all on site. Late afternoon, we decided to get dressed for the wedding, and then we strolled across the lawn to where the ceremony was being held. Our friend Laura officiated, and she did an incredible job. The ceremony was bilingual—French and English—and Laura nailed both!
With the newlyweds!! We love you, Camille and James!
Grace hanging with Laura’s precious son after the ceremony
A bunch of Grace’s high school friends. All except me and one other (Clayton, on the far right) are high school sweethearts. I will forever be grateful to this group for welcoming me so warmly. I feel like I’ve always known them!
The reception was SO MUCH FUN. The bride and groom are huge foodies, so there was so much amazing food. I wish I could remember it all. I know there were about ten different “stations” during cocktail hour, including cheese being freshly shaved off huge blocks, and there was a late-night meal of burgers and hot dogs (the reception went until 4am). There was also a sit-down dinner, which was so delicious, and everyone danced afterward. I wish I had photos of the desserts, but it was like every type of French sweet you can think of. Macarons, profiteroles, and on and on.
At the end of the night, it was so fun to just stumble back across the courtyard to our rooms. It was such a fun night that we’ll never forget.
We were very sad to leave the next day, but it was time. We were off to Paris, which made the most sense for us to fly home from. But we also wanted to try to make the most of our short stay there. We stayed at the Hotel Monge, which I very highly recommend both on location and on charm! It’s a stunning boutique hotel in the Latin Quarter. I researched a bunch of hotels, but Hotel Monge was I think ranked #2 or #3 in Paris on TripAdvisor, and I found a good rate so I ended up booking there and loved it.
The wallpaper is to die for.
For our one night in Paris, we started by walking to the Jardin du Luxembourg for our Paris photos (which I already recapped in the linked post). Grace and I have both been fortunate enough to visit Paris more than once in the past (though not together), so we were okay having our time there be so short. But we took in some pretty sights while walking around on the way to our photos.
After our photos, we walked the winding streets leading back to our hotel from the Jardin du Luxembourg, and stopped along the way at a delicious seafood place for a late dinner. After that, we searched for crepes, finally finding a stand still open. I got lemon and sugar (my fav always), and Grace got Nutella. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.
We flew home to our little house and pets the next day, feeling very grateful! We nearly had to stay in Toronto overnight unexpectedly (where we had a layover) because of flight delays, but ended up on a flight on standby and got back to LA. The whole trip was so special and so much fun. Can’t wait for the next one!
If you haven’t read them yet, you can find my England recap here and my Belgium recap here.