Valérie and Sylvain are getting married near Chambéry next month and it is going to be amazing !     They had chosen the site for their engagement shoot with care, and visited the gorgeous little bluey turquoise lake, hidden away in the forest a long way down a dirt track, in the sunshine the day before.   We arrived, admired the view and then the heavens opened !!!    A moment of hesitation ???    nope – they were up for dodging raindrops and we carried on with the shoot.   They are gorgeous and in love and just look at the way they look at each other …magic !   so forgive the raindrops, look at the love and enjoy ….

 this was the shot from the car as we left !!!   oooo and the copper brown blur is the irrepressible and supersonic Sullivan,

their mad cocker spaniel, he loved every second of it too and i don’t think he ever actually stopped moving !

An engagement shoot is always fun, and this one with Isabelle and Antoine was no exception.  We had arranged to meet up in Sevrier at the Bistro du Port to talk about all the details for their July wedding .. we arrived to a building site !   Gone was the scruffy but very photogenic boatyard to be replaced by lots of building works … eeeek !  Never mind, we sat down to a delicious lunch and discussed their plans – wow they are so organised, even the group lists were done !    The wind picked up (to show off Isa’s gorgeous hair !!!), the sky went grey and there were waves on the lake as we started the engagement shoot …. but nothing can take away from the fun these two have together!  The afternoon was totally brilliant …

 I’m really looking forward to their wedding in July …  

well Valérie & Sylvain are definitely brave !   we got out of the car after a long drive down a dirt track to the location they had chosen for their engagement shoot and … the heavens opened, it rained and rained !  but wow what a place … a beautiful little place hidden away in the forest near Chambery, it is really really beautiful.  So back to the shoot, did they so ‘oh no it’s awful let’s go home’ ? no they didn’t, they braved the weather and we had a real laugh dodging the raindrops.  Here is just a sneaky peek for you …

more soon x

Last Saturday on the windiest day ever I met up with Isabelle and Antoine at the Bistro du Port in Sevrier to talk about all their plans for their July wedding.   We chatted happily for ages, had a wonderful lunch and then we headed down through the building site (not planned !!!) to the lake and just had fun photographing them for their engagement shoot.  More shots are coming very soon but in the meantime here are the wonderful Isabelle & Antoine !

Wow – it’s one year today since Marieleng and Joachim celebrated their wedding at the fabulous Chateau de Bagnols just north of Lyon.  I know they have had an amazing year and wish them a very long and happy future together.

please click here to see their wedding …   part one   &   part two

awww what a great afternoon – let me introduce you to the brilliant Jessica and Fabrice who are tying the knot in June this year.  We had originally arranged the engagement shoot for the week before but it was one of those awful grey dreary rainy days with no hope of a break in the weather soooooo… we postponed and met up last Sunday.  The weather although threatening at first behaved and off we went … they are both firefighters so where would we go but the fire station, how cool is that ?!   love in the firestation !   Apart from absolutely totally falling under the charm of Jess & Fab who are such great fun and are magic together, i was also a bit taken with "ZonZon" … a charming if slightly elderly 1968 VW fire-engine who will have a starring role in their June celebrations.  Enjoy !

come back in June to see their wedding – it’s going to be fantastic

Here is the final part of Stéphanie and Mario’s wonderful wedding celebrations – a wedding cocktail to welcome their guests followed by an incredibly moving wedding blessing in the fabulous Chateau de Bagnols.   A fantastic jazz band accompanied the evening throughout setting the mood.   After the meal Stéphanie made her way over to the band and sang an amazing song to Mario – wow – tears for everyone, me included !   Then one of the best cakes i have ever seen arrived at midnight … more wows !   and shortly afterwards i left them partying into the night ….

Stéphanie and Mario thank you so much for allowing me to photograph such very happy days ! 

I wish you both a very long, happy and healthy life together

engagement shoot   –   civil ceremony part 1  -  civil ceremony part 2  -  wedding blessing chateau de bagnols part 1

dress – Max Chaoul

shoes - Christian Louboutin

venue – Chateau de Bagnols

jazz band – Jean Pierre Verdolini Jazz Band

I promised you more gorgeousness with the sneaky peek and here it is – absolutely sumptuously gorgeous gorgeousness !    For the second part of their celebrations Stéphanie and Mario chose to have their wedding blessing at the beautiful Chateau de Bagnols, a fabulous venue nestled away in the vineyards north of Lyon.  The day before the blessing, with the whole chateau for just the two of them they organised a "first look" … and wow !    Stéphanie was dressed in a stunning ivory silk dress designed by Max Chaoul and yet more amazing Louboutin shoes … and  Mario was the happiest man in the world, again !    They are a brilliant couple to spend time with, they make you feel as though you have known them forever and they are such fun.   We took couple shots in various rooms in the chateau itself and then went out into the gardens in the golden light of an early spring afternoon ….perfect and gorgeous !

to see their civil ceremony at the Mairie de Dardagny and the Jiva Hill Park Hotel click here (part one & part two)

and here for their engagement shoot  in a museum and a car wrecking yard ! …    enjoy   !!!  

Their blessing ceremony with friends, family, emotion, laughter and happiness in general is coming soon 

- make sure you come back to leave them some love.

Stéphanie and Mario have been soooo patient but here is the sneaky peek of part two of their wonderful wedding held at the Chateau de Bagnols near Lyon.   Even more gorgeous and even happier ……

just wait till you see the rest of the wedding – wow !!!!!

have a look at their civil ceremony here  -  part one & part two,    engagement shoot

i love love love the first time i meet a couple face to face – i love the way they look at each other, i love the way they tell me all about their plans for their big day, the surprises they have planned, the people they have coming .. i love learning about the venue and how they chose it, i love the sneaky conversation while Husband-to-be isn’t listening about ‘the Dress’ … but i extra specially love the engagement shoot part of the meeting.  Just watching them together as they react to each other and forget about camera nerves – they relax and have fun and you can see their love for each other just shining out  – it’s gorgeous

these shots are a few of my favourites from recent engagement shoots used as Save the Date cards to send out to guests before the official invitations go out … a fabulous reminder of a very special moment in their lives…

 have a look at some more engagement shoots here