A love story among the vineyards of South West France

As a wedding photographer, I look for the moments when a place and a couple’s feelings connect. Bordeaux makes this easy, and weddings there feel intimate and personal. Victoria and Ryan, above, married at Château Le Petit Verdus, near Bordeaux, with family and friends who came all the way from the USA.

In spring the vines wake up, all fresh green and soft light. Summer brings long evenings, warm air and dinners that carry on under the stars. In autumn the vineyards turn gold and brown, some of the best natural colour there is for photographs. Nowhere more than around Saint-Émilion, where the vines run right up to the château walls.

Lexi and Jeremy among the vines at Château de Garde, where they married under a pergola looking out over the vineyards.

A bride at a château window before the ceremony. A groom taking a breath before he sees his partner. A couple walking through the vines once the party has started. That is how Jared and Molly’s day at Château Rigaud, just outside Saint-Émilion, unfolded.

None of this is performed. It happens on its own, and it shows how the day really felt.

• Handwritten vows
• A dress moving through the garden
• A glass of wine shared at sunset
• A parent’s face during the ceremony
• Candlelight at dinner

Years later, these small details are often the photographs couples go back to most.

In the late afternoon the sun lies low across the vineyards, warms the stone and brings out the architecture. The château walls, gardens and fields change character as the day moves into evening.

Fran and Guy in the vines at Château Lacanaud, in the Dordogne, after the sun dropped.

My job is to keep that feeling: the warmth of the day, the place, and the people who came together among the vines. If you are planning a wedding among the vines, tell me about your day.