R+R from Newport BeachIntimate Destination Wedding from Newport Beach to Château de la Flocellière
Château de la Flocellière
France - September 2021
Above: Wedding Film of R&R by Il était un Pixel in Chateau de la Flocellière, France, 2021
Below: Photos by Il était un Pixel
R & R's story begins under rain that had no business being there: an engagement session at Newport Beach, in a Los Angeles where it famously never rains, under one stubborn downpour. Out of solidarity with my couple posing stoically in the wet, I refused to cover up for the whole session, and it was the bride who told that story, word for word, in the review she left on Fearless Photographers. When a wedding begins with a story like that, you know it will be a good one.
Thirty guests, extraordinary elegance
Their wedding at Château de la Flocellière kept the promise: an intimate guest list of around thirty, and one of the most elegant celebrations I have photographed. The bride, a woman of rare style, wore a magnificent Rue de Seine Bridal gown; the groom's suit matched her ambition; and the two of them were so beautiful together that social media asked me, more than once, whether these images were an editorial with models. No: a real wedding, with real tears.
Our private joke deserves the archive: we nicknamed them "the Canadians," so relentlessly kind were they that guests themselves kept asking. A wedding magnificently decorated, organized and prepared, and above all inhabited by two people whose warmth photographs itself.
The privilege of the small guest list
This is the lesson their day illustrates better than any other: at thirty, the château opens differently. R and R did not dine in the reception hall or under a tent: they dined inside the château itself, on the first floor, in the gallery between the library and the grand piano, by candlelight. A magical, intimate setting that larger formats simply cannot access. The dancing then moved downstairs into the great glass gallery, one of Vendée's most beautiful dance floors. For couples weighing a big wedding against a small one, this day is my best visual argument: intimacy is not a renunciation, it is an access pass.
A craft note: photographing by candlelight
That gallery dinner deserves its technical footnote, because couples ask: yes, a candlelit dinner photographs beautifully, provided you accept it for what it is. No flash flattening the atmosphere: fast lenses, flames treated as legitimate light sources, and faces modeled by that warm glow which the Flocellière's first floor, with its books and its piano, carried like a film set. The images from that dinner are among the most intimate in my Flocellière archive, and they exist only because nobody tried to out-light the candles.
Wedding Team
Photo/Video: Il était un Pixel, Jérémie
Venue: Chateau de la Focellière
Gown: Nahla from Rue de Seine Bridal (through Lovely Bride Los Angeles)
Shoes: Loeffler Randal
Jewelry: Jade Oi Studio
Flowers: Nuances florales
Decor: Happy Wedding Events
Cocktail: Instant cocktail
Catering: CK traiteur
The château at thirty
A note for couples reading this while sizing their guest list: the Flocellière at thirty guests behaves like a family house that happens to be a castle. The garden ceremony needed no amplification; the cocktail hour spread across one terrace instead of three; and the couple's portrait escape stretched luxuriously because nobody was waiting on a seating chart of a hundred and forty. Small weddings do not get less château; they get more of it, and this gallery is the proof I show most often.
"We had the most amazing experience working with Jérémie. When he was in the United States we were able to do an engagement shoot on the beach. It was raining and cold and Jérémie insisted he not wear a jacket with us so that we wouldn’t be the only ones suffering. Jérémie is kind, funny, and extremely hard working. He was there for us over the past two crazy years with Covid-19 and helped us at every turn with our destination wedding. Jérémie is a phenomenal photographer and videographer. Everyone at our wedding was blown away by his skill, professionalism, and abilities. Jérémie was able to shoot photos, switch to video, while his drone was also flying!! His skills are unmatched! Not only is he incredibly talented but also so thoughtful! He brought us sparklers for our exit which is one of our favorite parts of the wedding. He will help you to feel comfortable and direct you if you don’t know how to pose. We can not say enough good things about Jérémie. He is just AMAZing!!"
- Rio, 2021
A transatlantic friendship
R and R are among my favorite couples, and the story continued across the ocean: we have met again several times on both sides of the Atlantic, including a shared dinner in Los Angeles on one of my California trips. That is the hidden face of destination weddings: bonds that keep crossing in both directions. Their American coast, from Newport to Santa Monica, is part of my working map too.
And for your wedding?
If an intimate wedding in a French château is the dream, the Flocellière and its candlelit gallery are waiting, and I know the house by heart.