Victoria & Ryan

Château Le Petit Verdus wedding, Bordeaux

Victoria and Ryan on the lawn below the towers of Château Le Petit Verdus

Morning

Victoria got ready in a bedroom with blue toile curtains, with a glass of wine while her hair was curled. Her dress hung in the stone spiral staircase, her bridesmaids raised a toast in matching white robes, and the long veil went on by the old dressing table.

The white turreted façade of Château Le Petit Verdus

Victoria’s wedding dress hanging in the stone spiral staircase

Wedding rings on a small white dish beside a bouquet of white flowers and blue nigella

Victoria’s white strappy heels on an inlaid wooden tray against blue toile

Invitation suite with a painting of the château, the rings and Victoria’s shoes on a rug

Victoria’s bouquet of white roses resting on an antique chair by the toile curtains

Victoria’s fluffy white slippers above an open make-up case on a patterned rug

Victoria with a glass of wine as her hair is curled

Victoria in her robe having her hair done, seen through the open bedroom door

Close-up of the lace trim on Victoria’s robe and a glass of wine in her hand

Victoria with her feet up beside the dressing table and its oval mirror

Victoria checking her make-up in a pale blue hand mirror

Victoria reflected in the oval mirror of the dressing table by the window

Victoria under her long veil on a wooden chair by the dressing table

Victoria in her robe on the stone spiral staircase beside a deep window

Victoria and her bridesmaids in white robes raising their glasses

Victoria fastening the ankle strap of her white heels

Victoria holding up her dress in the bedroom with blue toile curtains

Victoria’s dress being lowered over her head by helping hands

A friend fastening Victoria’s off-shoulder dress by the blue toile curtains

Victoria in her off-shoulder dress touching her hair on a toile sofa

Victoria in her dress with sheer puff sleeves standing by the toile curtains

Victoria in her dress on the stone spiral staircase

Ryan’s white shirt cuff embroidered with his initials

Across the house

Ryan dressed under the sloping ceiling of the attic, with his shirt laid out on the pool table and his friends laughing over the shoes. Then he and his groomsmen walked out together across the lawn in front of the château.

Ryan’s white shirt and braces laid on a green pool table

A black cufflink on Ryan’s white shirt cuff resting on the green pool table

The groom’s friends putting on their shoes side by side in the attic room

Ryan and his friends laughing as they put on their shoes

A friend helping Ryan into his jacket under the sloping attic ceiling

Ryan smiling in his navy dinner jacket and bow tie by the window

Black and white of Ryan and a friend coming down the spiral staircase under a chandelier

Ryan and his groomsmen walking across the lawn in front of the ivy-covered château

Ryan walking alone across the lawn towards the camera, the château behind him

First look

Victoria and Ryan saw each other before the ceremony, on the gravel by the house. Because of that we could make their portraits early: on the lawn below the turrets, between the hydrangeas at the door and under a wall of pink roses.

Ryan waiting with his back to the door as Victoria comes down the steps

Ryan turning to see Victoria for the first time on the gravel

Ryan kissing Victoria as she lifts her arms in her puff sleeves

Victoria and Ryan standing together on the cobbles in front of the château door

Black and white close-up of Victoria and Ryan nose to nose, softened by her veil

Black and white of Victoria laughing beside Ryan on the lawn below the turrets

Ryan smiling at Victoria, seen over her bare shoulder on the lawn

Ryan kissing Victoria’s temple with the château towers behind

Victoria and Ryan side by side on the lawn below the ivy-covered château

Victoria standing alone on the wide lawn in front of the turreted château

Ryan dipping Victoria for a kiss between columns of blue hydrangeas

Ryan sitting on the steps at Victoria’s feet between the hydrangea columns

Victoria laughing on Ryan’s knee under a wall of pink roses

Victoria and Ryan kissing on a white bench under climbing pink roses

The ceremony

They married on the cobbled courtyard in front of the château door, between two tall columns of blue hydrangeas and white flowers, with ivy on the walls around them. Ryan shook hands with the guests, and Victoria laughed her way through the vows.

Column of blue hydrangeas, white flowers and greenery beside the château door

White chairs set out on the cobbled courtyard in front of the ivy-covered door

Guests seated on white chairs facing the château door as the ceremony starts

Guests standing either side of the aisle on the lawn, the couple small at the far end

Ryan shaking hands with guests in the courtyard

A guest clapping and laughing as the ceremony begins

Victoria and Ryan holding hands at the door as the officiant reads

Ryan smiling down at Victoria as the officiant reads into a microphone

Victoria and Ryan holding hands before the officiant beside a column of hydrangeas

The ceremony in the courtyard seen from afar beneath the château’s turrets

Victoria and Ryan at the château door during the ceremony as the front row looks on

Victoria slipping the ring onto Ryan’s finger

Victoria laughing during the vows as the officiant smiles

Guests smiling in the front rows of white chairs during the ceremony

Guests in the front row watching Victoria and Ryan exchange vows between the flower columns

Victoria and Ryan kissing in front of the château door as guests cheer

Guests rising from the white chairs to congratulate Victoria and Ryan in the courtyard

Cocktail hour

With the portraits already done, Victoria and Ryan had the whole cocktail hour with their guests. Oysters were opened on ice in the courtyard, there were charcuterie boards on the tables, and people spread out across the lawn and through the open door.

A gloved hand opening oysters onto a platter of ice

Guests gathering on the cobbled drive below the ivy-covered tower

Guests around the oyster table in the courtyard

Guests on the lawn in front of the château at cocktail hour

Guests gathered under the chandelier inside the open château door

Two guests laughing together on the lawn beside the clear marquee

Dinner in the marquee

Dinner was outside under a clear marquee on the lawn, at long tables with white flowers and full glasses of Bordeaux wine. The speeches touched everyone, and there was as much laughing as there were tears.

Long dinner table under the clear marquee with white flowers

Victoria and Ryan laughing with friends at their table

Long tables of guests at dinner under the clear marquee

A plated starter with herbs on a blue-rimmed plate carried to the table

A guest throwing her arm up in laughter at a dinner table in the marquee

A guest gesturing mid-speech as tables of guests listen under the marquee

A guest drinking red wine at the table during the speeches

A guest hugging Victoria at her seat during dinner

Victoria with a white napkin over her head as Ryan and friends laugh at the table

A guest wiping his eyes with laughter beside Victoria

Guests in fits of laughter at their table during the speeches

A guest raising his glass to Ryan across the table

Sunset and dancing

At sunset the light was too good to miss, so we slipped out to the field for a few more photographs. Back at the marquee they had their first dance on the wooden floor, and the night ended, as every wedding should, with everyone dancing.

Victoria and Ryan walking across the lawn towards a lone oak at sunset

Victoria leaning into Ryan’s arms on the lawn at sunset

Ryan lifting Victoria on the lawn with the château behind them

Black and white photograph of Victoria and Ryan running across the field

Victoria and Ryan’s first dance on the wooden floor beside the marquee

Ryan lifting Victoria high during their first dance

Ryan dipping Victoria at the end of their first dance

Victoria and Ryan kissing at the table as friends lean in behind them

A guest punching the air at the candlelit table as friends cheer

Guests around an ice bucket of bottles under the string lights of the marquee

Guests dancing under the marquee with streaks of light

Friends singing and dancing close in the marquee at night, hair flying

A guest dancing among purple and white light trails on the dance floor

Ryan and his friends dancing with their arms in the air

Friends in braces dancing wildly with their arms up under the marquee lights

Photographing at Château Le Petit Verdus

Victoria and Ryan walking hand in hand on the lawn below the turrets

The estate.

A turreted château near Bordeaux, with ivy on its walls, open lawns and a cobbled courtyard. Guests can settle in for the whole day without being moved around, which leaves me room to watch rather than direct.

Ceremonies.

On the cobbled courtyard in front of the château door, as Victoria and Ryan chose, with the ivy-covered walls framing the aisle.

The spiral staircase.

A stone staircase winds up through the tower. Seen from the top landing, it curls around whoever stands at the bottom.

Dinner.

Outside on the lawn under a clear marquee. Between the open landscape and the sheltered corners by the house, the light changes gently through the evening.

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Questions

Have you photographed at Château Le Petit Verdus before?

Yes: Victoria and Ryan’s wedding on this page. I know the spiral staircase, the courtyard by the door and the open field where the sunset light falls.

How far ahead should we book?

Most couples book six to eighteen months ahead. Summer Saturdays go first.

Do you charge for travel to Bordeaux?

No. Travel within France is included in every package.

I’m excited to go wherever your love story is taking me and looking forward to hearing from you!