This season, as a wedding planner in Lyon, I had the opportunity to organize a wedding at a family property for 170 guests.

This mixed French-English wedding took place over two days so that guests who had come from England and several countries around the world could enjoy the celebration and atmosphere.

Here is the story of this extraordinary wedding that seems like a music festival.

The Wedding Organization

Louise and Paul contacted me in January 2023, 18 months in advance. Living in England and wanting to get married in the Drôme, they needed someone to help them with the complete organization of their wedding. The venue was already chosen, as it was a family property. Several family weddings had taken place in this field, and for Louise, it was clear: her wedding had to be here and nowhere else.

No one believed in this somewhat crazy project: bringing together family and friends, both French and international, 170 people in the middle of the Drôme des Collines, with no nearby accommodations and over an entire weekend. Therefore, we had to plan, in addition to the reception, accommodations for the guests for the whole weekend. Quite a challenge!

Louise and Paul strongly believed in their project and stayed on line until the big day.

It took more than a year to select the various vendors for this magnificent project. Everything had to be set up from scratch because nothing was available on-site: reception tent, accommodation, toilets, showers, and electricity. Only water was available on-site.

The last few weeks before the wedding were used to finalize the details to be ready for the big day.

I was on-site four days before the wedding to coordinate the various vendors and facilitate the installation of all the elements: reception tent, catering tent, flooring, stretch tent (Back up plan), accommodation tipis, toilets, generator and electrical installation, furniture, and decoration.

We had only one access point to the site, and the storms and mud made access difficult, but no vendor gave up, and all rose to the challenge.

The Big Day

A Tough Decision to Make

On the big day, everything was almost ready. We waited until the last moment to set up the ceremony because the weather was changing daily. The celebration of their union was planned outdoors under the oak trees, so we needed it not to rain.

After some consideration and checking the weather forecast, we decided with the couple to set up the ceremony outdoors as planned and to set up the cocktail under the stretch tent (Back up plan) as a storm was expected in the late afternoon.

A Beautiful Wedding Day

Louise and Paul got ready separately. The first look took place privately while the guests settled in the shade of the oak trees for the ceremony. After the first look, the couple made their entrance to the ceremony accompanied by their son and their dog, Rocket. Marked by emotion and orchestrated by two witnesses in both French and English, loved ones came forward one by one to share their part of the history of the couple.

After an original exit in a buggy, the newlyweds rejoined their guests for the cocktail. This was the beginning of the celebration. We encountered two heavy rain showers during the cocktail, forcing the rock band to stop their performance twice. The Plan B, prepared in advance, proved very useful.

The party continued in good spirits, and the guests were able to sit down at beautifully decorated tables under the marquee.