Planning A Wedding In France {The Final Week}

It’s the final week so I’m sure you can all imagine how busy we are! I’m managing to squeeze in a blog post though, so I must be somewhat on top of it (!) When it came to preparing for our wedding, I always knew that I had another wedding beforehand so that took priority. 3 weeks ago was the wedding of Halle & Bryn, the first wedding I styled and planned for my destination wedding planning company French Bague-ette. I am thrilled with how it turned out! The sun shone brightly for the cliff top ceremony, the day ran smoothly, the party kicked off! It was such a pleasure to see the bride and groom and their families so happy. Halle wore the most amazing Rue de Seine gown and her bouquet was to die for. Both Halle & Bryn are total babes so I can’t wait to see the photos from Yoris, their photographer. There are a few pics already up on my French Bague-ette instagram so go check them out! It took a little while to rest and recover after that and then we realised there were just two weeks left until our own wedding which kicked us back into action! I’m not going to hide it, these last few days have been a bit manic, mainly running around getting everything where it needs to be. I think that no matter how well you have planned there’s always a bit of running around in the last few days because some things you can’t actually do until the last minute.

WEDDING WEATHER!

We’ve been watching the weather forecast apps like hawks! Biarritz, where we live, is snuggled between the mountains and the ocean so it has a bit of a weird microclimate. The apps are never really that accurate around here, but it hasn’t stopped us checking and even buying add-ons so we can see further ahead! Silly us! At the moment it looks good for next Friday but I just want to share this: Many of the venues I work with have told me that people always worry about what the weather is going to be like on their wedding day. Of course we all want abundant sunshine, not too hot, slightly breezy perfection. But, if you don’t get that, please don’t fret! There is no reason that bad weather should ruin your day. In fact, sometimes it can help bring people together for a more jovial atmosphere. If people have to huddle in under a tent, then so be it! they will get chatting and have new best buds in no time! On the flip side, too much sun can be uncomfortable, or it could mean that your guests spread out exploring the venue gardens, only to return and find out they missed the speeches. Worth noting too, that a bit of cloud cover can make better photographs as you don’t get odd reflections and squinting bridesmaids! So I’m vowing to not worry about the weather anymore! Anyway, what’s worrying about it going to do?

LISTS & DELEGATION

I think that the best advice I can give at this time is LISTS and DELEGATION. I’ve been struggling a bit with the idea that it won’t actually be me doing the on the day set up and styling. That’s the bit I love and I want to be there to make sure my vision comes together as I imagined. The logistics of me being there just aren’t really possible though, especially as I don’t want to see Olivier the morning of the wedding. So I’ve delegated the final say to a creative friend that I trust. I’ll be opting instead for some morning yoga followed by ALL the pampering! It’s not easy to delegate but you do also have to put your trust in your friends and especially your suppliers. Generally you have chosen your suppliers because you love their work. So explain clearly what you want and then let them do their job. I’m not sure I would get through life generally without ‘to do’ lists! I find writing it down makes it all clearer and easier to manage. I even sleep better if I’ve written my ‘to do list!’ Having lists has helped with the delegation of tasks between Olivier and I and helped us to feel like we are making progress when we can tick things off. There are now just a few little things on the list to tackle before our friends and family start to arrive this weekend. Hopefully we’re organised enough that we can have a relatively calm week, relaxing with our guests before the big day! So this time next week I will be a married woman! I can’t wait for the day and to share it with you all after! Wish me luck! Lou x {French Bague-ette}