Fredrik & Michaela

Perrotin wedding, Saint-Pey-de-Castets near Bordeaux

Fredrik and Michaela on the lawn in front of the long stone house at Perrotin

Getting ready

The bridesmaids were out on the terrace in pink robes with a glass each, under the cedars. Inside, Michaela had a pearl comb in her hair, a golden retriever at her feet and a lot of tulle to get into.

Michaela’s pearl hair comb and drop earrings on a pale green cloth beside a rose

Michaela’s satin shoes with jewelled buckles hanging on a cane-backed chair

The bridesmaids in pink robes with glasses on the terrace under the cedars

Michaela’s low bun with a pearl and flower hair piece, seen from behind

Michaela in her robe laughing in an armchair with a golden retriever at her knees

A bridesmaid fastening Michaela’s shoe under layers of tulle

Michaela in her lace dress sitting in an armchair by the window, looking away

On the lawn

The ceremony was on the lawn in front of the house, under an arch of greenery and white flowers, with the bridesmaids in yellow, pink, lilac and blue on one side and the groomsmen in navy on the other. Afterwards Michaela stood for a moment on the grass with her bouquet.

Michaela and Fredrik holding hands under the arch as the celebrant reads

Michaela alone on the lawn with her pastel bouquet, the house behind her

Around the house

We stayed close to the house for portraits: a low wall full of white roses, a tall arched door covered in climbing roses and the flagstones of the courtyard. Fredrik had a few minutes on his own against the ivy.

Michaela holding Fredrik’s face as they kiss, her bouquet of pink roses in hand

Michaela and Fredrik sitting on a low stone wall among white roses

Fredrik and Michaela by a tall arched glass door framed with climbing roses

Michaela and Fredrik walking hand in hand across the flagstones of the courtyard

Fredrik in his navy suit adjusting his cuff against a wall of ivy

Oysters and the tables

Drinks were on the lawn, with oysters on ice and a little wooden cart of snacks under an awning. Before anyone sat down I photographed the tables in the courtyard: white linen, wooden chairs and small pastel flowers.

Oysters on ice in a long black serving dish

Michaela hugging a guest as friends with drinks wait their turn on the lawn

Two guests choosing snacks from a wooden garden cart with a chalk sign

A round table laid with white linen, glasses and small pastel flowers

Round tables with wooden chairs set out in the courtyard, seen from above

A long table with wooden chairs down the paved courtyard beside the outbuildings

In the vines

In the last hour of sun we walked into the vines at the edge of the garden. The light came in low along the rows and Michaela’s train spread out over the grass. They finished with a pair of sunglasses each.

Michaela walking away between vine rows, her tulle train across the grass

Michaela and Fredrik standing in a vine row, the lace back of her dress to the camera

Fredrik and Michaela embracing between the vines in the evening sun

Michaela and Fredrik at the end of a vine row, framed by branches

Fredrik and Michaela walking along a grass track by the vineyard in low sun

Michaela and Fredrik posing in heart-shaped and dark sunglasses by the vines

Dinner in the courtyard

Guests waved their napkins as Fredrik and Michaela walked into the courtyard. The speeches made Michaela cry and Fredrik laugh, and the golden retriever kept an eye on the tables.

Michaela and Fredrik arriving in the courtyard for dinner, waving napkins

Guests at the long tables waving napkins over their heads

Michaela wiping a tear at the top table during the speeches

Fredrik standing at the top table laughing as Michaela smiles beside him

Guests raising glasses down the long table in the courtyard

A golden retriever sitting by the dinner tables on the flagstones

After dark

After dark the courtyard was lit by strings of bulbs. There was a cheese table, a shoe game with Fredrik and Michaela back to back, and friends in sunglasses singing with sparklers in front of the house.

Michaela and Fredrik back to back holding up shoes for the shoe game under string lights

Guests laughing and pointing from their tables at night

Guests at the tables under strings of bulbs, a projection screen behind them

A guest in sunglasses waving a napkin at his table at night

Friends in sunglasses singing with sparklers in front of the lit stone house

Five friends in sunglasses singing into microphones, sparklers raised

Photographing at Perrotin

The long stone house at Perrotin seen across the lawn through the branches of a cedar

The estate.

The buildings belong to a wine estate rather than a formal château: a long stone house, outbuildings around a paved courtyard and a lawn edged with cedars. Everything is close together, so Fredrik and Michaela’s day moved from the lawn to the courtyard to the vines without long walks.

The lawn.

Fredrik and Michaela married under an arch on the lawn, with the long façade of the house behind them, so the ceremony photographs show where the day happened.

The courtyard.

Pale stone bounces light back onto faces, which helps in the brightest hours. I photograph the tables before anyone sits down, while the courtyard is still quiet. After dark, strings of bulbs hang over the tables.

The vines.

The rows begin at the edge of the garden. Ten minutes there with the two of you, usually in the last hour of sun, is enough for portraits without taking you away from your guests.

In the heat.

The cedars on the lawn give real shade. In July and August I suggest moving the bridesmaids’ photos and the drinks under them rather than out on the open grass.

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Questions

Have you photographed at Perrotin before?

Yes: Fredrik and Michaela’s wedding on this page. I know it from the bridesmaids getting ready on the terrace to dinner in the courtyard, and the vine rows at the edge of the garden for the last hour of sun.

Do you charge for travel to Saint-Pey-de-Castets?

No. Travel within France is included in every package.

What does a full wedding day cost?

€2,800 for 10 hours or €3,100 for 12 hours of coverage, with travel included.

How far ahead should we book?

Most couples book six to eighteen months ahead. June and September Saturdays go first, so ask early if you have one in mind.

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