A+B from CanadaOutdoor Ceremony in the Ruins at Manoir de la Jahotière
Manoir de la Jahotière
France - June 2025
Above: Wedding Film of A&B by Il était un Pixel in Manoir de la Jahotière, France, 2025
Below: Photos by Il était un Pixel
Some ceremony backdrops no florist could ever build, and the ruins at Manoir de la Jahotière are the finest example I know: the walls of an old forge, open to the sky, vegetation quietly reclaiming the stone, and light falling into the enclosure the way it falls into a church that has misplaced its roof. This is where A and B chose to say yes, and I can testify they chose one of the most magical settings in the Nantes region.
Two grooms, one team, enormous joy
We worked this day as a team of two, my assistant Matheo and I, covering both photo and film, because this wedding deserved both languages. And what a day: A and B's wedding was among the most joyful I have photographed, that particular joy that circulates when two well-loved people celebrate exactly what they want to celebrate, exactly how they want to.
The open-air ceremony in the ruins concentrated the day's whole emotional charge: the grooms' families and closest people, the readings, the tears, in a setting that seemed to have been waiting a century for precisely this moment. Photographing moved faces framed by those stone walls and climbing greenery, with the sky for a ceiling, remains one of my strongest memories of the season.
The light in the ruins, a craft note
Photographing a ceremony inside roofless walls is its own discipline, and a delicious one: the sky becomes the light source, the old stones act as soft reflectors, and the gathering sits in a wraparound glow no reception hall can produce. Then, as evening comes and the sun rakes the tops of the walls, the ruins ignite in bands of gold, and that is where we made the grooms' portraits: warm stone, green leaves, and two radiant men at the center.
If a setting like this calls to you, know that it rewards precise timing, and the Jahotière's timing is one I know by heart.
Photo and film, one direction
Covering this day in both media, as one team, mattered more here than at most weddings: the ruins reward the still frame, the emotion rewarded the moving one, and having a single artistic direction over both meant neither medium ever elbowed the other out of the moment.
The film's ceremony sequence, cut to the readings, is the piece that traveled online; the photographs are what the grooms printed. A day this rich deserves both memories, and it is exactly why I keep photo and film under one roof.
A wedding that traveled
This celebration had a second life after the day itself: when I published film excerpts, they traveled widely and moved a great many people online. And the most beautiful sequel happened off-screen: this wedding inspired another couple, two grooms as well, to trust me with their own celebration this year. That is exactly the virtuous circle I love in this work: one beautiful day, honestly documented, giving other couples permission to imagine their own.
The venue, for the curious
Manoir de la Jahotière earns its reputation well beyond its ruins: beautiful bedrooms, a resident tree the whole estate treats as a mascot, generous accommodation including dormitories, and a reception hall that carries the party. I have photographed several weddings here, and the manor holds a proud place in my guide to the best venues around Nantes.
Wedding Team
Photo/Video: Il était un Pixel, Jérémie + Mathéo
Venue: Le Manoir de la Jahotière
And for your ceremony?
If an out-of-the-ordinary open-air ceremony calls to you, in ruins, under trees, facing the sea, that is a conversation I genuinely love having: the setting changes everything, and I know this region's settings hour by hour. For couples planning France from abroad, the Nantes guide and the elopement pages carry the practical picture.