E+J from the united kingdomBlack-Tie Two-Day Wedding at Château de Jalesnes, Loire Valley
Château de Jalesnes
France - June 2024
Above: Wedding Film of E&J by Il était un Pixel in Chateau de la Jalesnes, France, 2024
Below: Photos by Il était un Pixel
A British Black-Tie Wedding at Château de Jalesnes, June 2024
Château de Jalesnes is my favorite wedding venue in France, and weddings like E and J's are the reason why.
E and J came from England for a celebration in the great British tradition, transplanted into the Loire Valley: two days, black tie, and a château entirely their own. My coverage began on the Friday evening with the welcome dinner, that first act I always fight to photograph, because it is where a wedding's real cast introduces itself: two families and two friend groups meeting over glasses in a French courtyard, nobody performing yet, everything still ahead.
Saturday, the wedding. The ceremony took place on the front lawn of the château, one of the many configurations that make Jalesnes unlike anywhere else, with the façade rising behind the couple and a violinist threading live music through the vows. The celebrant led a ceremony that I can only describe with the word the whole guest list would use: emotional.
There were tears, many, the kind that arrive early and keep returning, on the couple, on the parents, on rows of guests who thought they were composed. As a documentary photographer, ceremonies like this one are the entire job: I disappear, and the faces write the story.
The evening carried on in the British manner, which I have come to love photographing: the speeches. Where French weddings scatter their words, British weddings concentrate them at dinner, one speaker after another, wit and love in alternating layers, the room swinging from laughter to tears and back within a single toast.
For a photographer, a British speech run is a gift that keeps giving: every table is a stage of reactions, and I work the room the whole way through. Then the dance floor did what Jalesnes dance floors do, and the château's thick walls kept the party's secrets until late.
Soft June light, a violin on the lawn, black tie against Renaissance stone, and two days of a family becoming one: this wedding distilled everything the Loire Valley promises couples who cross the Channel for it.
Wedding Team
Photo/Video: Il était un Pixel, Jérémie
Music: Violinist euterpe
Hair: Elle Kane
MUA: Emma Holmes
Flowers: Flore et sens
Venue: Chateau de Jalesnes
Catering: Pelican Vernantes
"Jeremie was the most incredible photographer and videographer from start to finish and we could not recommend him enough. I don’t know how he managed to capture all of the photos and videos that he did by himself and make it look so easy. Jeremie blended into our day capturing all the candid moments and helping us (as a couple who don’t take many photos) make sure we had our moments too. All of our guests have commented about how brilliant Jeremie was too!
We haven’t stopped looking at our photos and videos because we love them so much, thank you Jeremie."
- E+J, 2024
One postscript the couple lets me share with pride: a photo of this wedding was published in Vogue UK, in the April 2026 print edition.