When we decided to get married in the South of France, one of the things I worried about was whether planning a wedding in another country was going to make everything much more stressful. Our guests would all need to travel, we’d have suppliers in another country, and there were extra things to think about like getting everyone to the venue.
In reality, I didn’t find it stressful at all. There were definitely more logistics involved and quite a bit more luggage, but having a destination wedding was honestly one of the best decisions we made. We were in the South of France for just over two weeks, lots of our guests turned the wedding into a holiday and the whole experience became so much more than just one day.
Why We Chose the South of France
We’ve always loved the South of France. It’s such a beautiful part of the world and somewhere we love going back to. You have the sea, mountains, beautiful little villages, amazing food and so many different places to visit along the Côte d’Azur.
Château Eza was the second venue we viewed and fell in love with it as soon as we visited. The views are incredible as you’re high above the Mediterranean with the mountains around you and the sea below, but it wasn’t just the view that made us choose as the first venue had an equally beautiful view, it was the feeling.
We both felt so relaxed and peaceful when we were there. It’s difficult to explain, but the venue just has this really calming atmosphere and we could immediately imagine getting married there. It also felt intimate which suited the size of wedding we wanted, and the food was a big factor for us too. We both love fine dining and the venue now has a Michelin Star, so having really good food at our wedding was always important. It just felt like us.
Having a Smaller Wedding
We had around 30 guests and having a destination wedding naturally helped us keep the guest list smaller. We never wanted a huge wedding and having less people meant we could actually spend time with everyone rather than feeling like the whole day was spent trying to make sure we’d spoken to everyone.
People started arriving in France at different times in the days before the wedding, so we’d meet up a lot as more people arrived. We went for drinks, dinners, spent time at the beach, and generally met up with everyone without feeling like every single thing had to be an organised wedding event.
By the time the wedding day arrived, everyone was familiar with each other and the whole group got on really well. That’s one of the things I loved most about having a smaller destination wedding.
It Was More Than Just One Day
We were in the South of France for just over two weeks, so our wedding didn’t feel like one day that we’d spent months planning and then suddenly it was over.
Most of our guests turned the trip into their own holiday, which was exactly what we wanted. I don’t think you need to organise every minute for your guests just because they’ve travelled abroad for your wedding. We liked that everyone had the freedom to do their own thing but could also meet up with us whenever they wanted, it made the whole experience feel really relaxed.
Why Everyone Stayed in Nice
Although our wedding was in Èze most of our guests stayed in Nice as it’s more central and easier for everyone, particularly when people are turning the trip into a holiday. Our guests could spend time in Nice, go to the beach, or easily travel to places like Cannes, Monaco and other towns along the Côte d’Azur.
We stayed at Château Eza ourselves for a few days around the wedding in the presidential suite which was incredible, then joined everyone in Nice afterwards. We stayed in a beautiful place overlooking the seafront and Promenade des Anglais, which was such a lovely way to finish our time in France.
Planning a Wedding Abroad Was Easier Than I Expected
Before we started, I imagined that planning a wedding in France would involve constantly flying backwards and forwards. A lot of the planning was done remotely, so good communication became really important.
Our venue was incredibly responsive and helpful, particularly when it came to recommending suppliers. We relied quite heavily on those recommendations because there was much more trust in using people who already knew the venue and had worked there before.
Our florist, for example, had done lots of weddings there. I sent her photographs of what I wanted and explained the sort of look I had in mind. When I saw everything on the wedding day, she’d created exactly what I’d imagined. Actually, it was even better.
That experience pretty much summed up planning our wedding abroad. There were lots of things where we had to trust people because we couldn’t physically be there checking everything, but everyone communicated so well that I never really felt stressed about it. Our photographer in particular was incredibly helpful and actually recommended our videographer who was amazing.
We Had to Bring a Lot of Luggage
One thing I hadn’t really considered at the beginning was just how much of the wedding we’d end up taking to France ourselves. We used local suppliers for the bigger things, but there were lots of personal details we wanted to bring from home.
My husband designed and drew our wedding invitations himself, as well as our signs, order of the day, and table plan. We also had oyster shell place names and various other little details for the tables that we wanted to take with us. Then there were the gifts for our bridesmaids and groomsmen that we wanted to give them on the morning of the wedding.
I loved that although we were getting married abroad and relying on local suppliers, there were still lots of little things we had created or chosen ourselves.
All the Little Personal Touches
We put quite a lot of thought into the smaller details. Alongside everything my husband had designed, we had personalised Ladurée macarons, which felt like the perfect little French touch for the wedding.
Music was really personal too, we had a string quartet and chose all of the songs ourselves, with our parents choosing some as well. I walked down the aisle to Kissing You by Des’ree, and after the ceremony they played At Last by Etta James. Being able to choose music that actually meant something to us and our families made it feel so much more personal.
Food was obviously important too. We both love fine dining, so we wanted the food at our wedding to reflect that. We had canapés and a fine-dining wedding meal, along with Moët & Chandon and an open bar. For us, that was much more important than adding things just because we thought we were supposed to have them at a wedding.
The Things I Worried About
There were still a few things I convinced myself might go wrong and the main one was transport. As everyone was staying in Nice, we organised transport to collect our guests, take them up to Èze and then bring them back afterwards. I remember worrying about whether it would actually turn up!
When you’re already at your wedding venue in another country and you have 30 guests waiting for transport somewhere else, it’s one of those things that suddenly feels completely outside your control. Obviously it arrived and everyone got to the wedding and back to their hotels afterwards without any problems, but at the time it was a concern.
Planning Around the South of France Heat
Getting married somewhere hot also changes the way you plan the actual day, so we decided to have our wedding later in the day because of the heat. Obviously you want beautiful weather when you’re getting married in the South of France, but you don’t necessarily want everyone sitting outside in formal clothes during the hottest part of the afternoon. It was still very hot but much more manageable than the peak heat in the afternoon.
It’s definitely something I’d recommend thinking about if you’re considering a destination wedding somewhere warm.
The Two Things I’m So Glad We Invested In
Our photographer and videographer were two of the best decisions we made and I would choose both again without hesitation.
The actual wedding day goes so quickly and there are things happening that you don’t even realise you’ve missed. Having the photographs is obviously amazing, but I particularly love being able to watch our wedding video and hear everything again.
We can hear the string quartet playing the songs we chose, see our friends and family, and watch little moments from the day that we’d probably have forgotten otherwise. Also our ceremony, vows, and speeches were all filmed and it’s so special we can watch them back. Those are things we’ll be able to keep forever.
The Day After Our Wedding
One of my favourite memories actually happened the day after the wedding. We had dinner at Château Eza and had a little private balcony to dine on overlooking the sea. We could finally sit together, have dinner and talk about everything that had happened.
I loved having everyone around us for the wedding, but having that quiet evening together afterwards felt really special, reflecting on our perfect wedding day.
And then there was the leftover wedding cake for breakfast with my parents, which is probably one of my favourite post-wedding moments. We enjoyed it on our balcony the morning after with the incredible views of the French Riviera, it was perfect.
The Strange Part of a Destination Wedding
Something I hadn’t expected was how strange it would feel when everyone started going home, just as people had gradually arrived over several days, they gradually left too. One day someone would go home, then someone else the next day, and the group just kept getting smaller.
After spending so much time surrounded by everyone, it felt really strange watching people leave one by one. Eventually, everyone had gone apart from us and my parents. It was a little sad because we’d all had such a good time together.
I don’t think you get quite the same feeling with a wedding at home. Everyone normally says goodbye at the end of the night and that’s it. With a destination wedding, we’d spent days together before and after, so it felt like this little holiday bubble was slowly coming to an end.
Is a Destination Wedding More Stressful?
This is probably the question I would have wanted someone to answer before we did it. For us, no. It was more complicated logistically, but I didn’t find any part of the wedding planning process stressful.
We had to organise flights, accommodation, extra luggage, transporting wedding decorations and gifts, arranging transport for guests and trusting suppliers we’d mainly communicated with from another country. I think a huge part of it not being stressful was choosing a venue that communicated really well and then trusting recommendations.
We weren’t trying to find every single supplier ourselves from hundreds of miles away. We used people who already knew the venue, had worked there before and communicated well with us. That made such a difference.
What I Loved Most About Having a Destination Wedding
If I had to choose one thing, it would be that our wedding became an experience rather than just one day. We had over two weeks in one of our favourite parts of the world.
Our friends and family gradually arrived. We went for dinners and drinks, spent time at the beach and watched everyone get to know each other. Then we had our wedding day.
Afterwards we had more time together before people gradually started going home. Those days either side of the wedding are now just as much a part of the memory for me as the wedding day itself. Having around 30 guests made it intimate, but it never felt small.
If anything, we spent far more quality time with everyone than we would have done at a much bigger wedding at home.
Would I Have a Destination Wedding Again?
Yes, it was honestly one of the best experiences and would do it all over again.
There were definitely moments when I wondered whether the transport was going to turn up or whether our wedding cake would look how we’d imagined, and travelling to France with extra luggage full of wedding things isn’t something I’d previously pictured. However, those things were such a small part of the overall experience.
What I remember is everyone arriving in France, spending days together, our friends and families getting to know each other, the beautiful weather, incredible food, our wedding day and then having all of those extra memories afterwards.
A destination wedding does involve more trust and a little more organisation. But for us, what we got in return was worth every bit of it. We didn’t just have our wedding day, spent over two weeks in the South of France with some of our favourite people, with our wedding right in the middle of it. I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Rebecca x
