Ad
Wedding Guide France - Chateau Wedding
France is renowned for romance and passion. The country’s capital is famed as the ‘city of love.’ As the third largest country in Europe, France offers a vast array of countryside from mountains, beaches, and forests, and a varied climate making the country a perfect all-year wedding destination.
A wedding in a french chateau full of history, style, and elegance provides an ideal venue to seal a partnership.
Highlights
For many, chateau weddings in France depict the picture of a fairytale wedding. A chateau’s image is luxury, fine wine, and gastronomical delights. Here are a few wedding chateaus in France that provide for large al fresco weddings or small intimate elopements.
Château du Vraysee
In southwest France, in the Dordogne region, Château du Vraysee is a medieval castle dating back to 1155.
The beautiful wedding chateau in France sleeps 38 guests. For exclusive hire of the entire estate, prices start from US$1385 (€1380) per night.
The estate offers different wedding packages and can accommodate 100 guests, possibly 120, and the château’s gardens make an ideal setting for the ceremony.
If you prefer an indoor ceremony, a large hall is available, which has a capacity for up to 70 guests for dining and dancing.
There are two kitchens for catering, and you can choose your own caterers. The château provides a list of recommended suppliers. A popular choice is The Hog King, which offers a succulent roast of pork and sushi.
Château de Challain
The chateau is set in the Loire Valley, famous for wine. A grand chateau with towers, turrets, and an on-site chapel specializing in French chateau weddings, offering three wedding packages for up to 120 guests. Catering for larger parties of 250 is possible with the addition of marquees. You can even have the château as your venue for a super glamorous photo shoot.
Guests can enjoy exclusive use of the chateau and 72 acres of gardens, forests, and a lake.
The chateau can assist you in coordinating your perfect day and has over 30 years of experience. They can arrange make-up artists, caterers, harpists, jazz bands, fire eaters, and a horse and carriage.
The Chateau for a wedding in France is easily accessible from Nantes, in northeast France, or is two hours from Paris.
Château de Bois Rigaud
This is a beautiful chateau for a wedding in France, only 45 minutes from Clermont-Ferrand Airport, surrounded by the volcanoes of The Chaîne Des Puys.
The noble chateau can accommodate more than 120 guests with marquees, two ballrooms, a swimming pool, and a jacuzzi.
Sleeping accommodation is a combination of suites, a villa, two dormitories, and glamping accommodation.
Wedding packages range from US$8,035 - US$12,050 (€8,000 - €12,000). The cost depends on the time of year, the length of stay, and how many suites.
Château Lagorce
A fairytale wedding chateau in France in the Bordeaux region of southwest France provides an idyllic wedding destination with ancient woodland, a lake, and beautiful gardens. The chateau is only a 40-minute drive from Bordeaux airport.
Château Lagorce offers perfect chateau weddings in France, from intimate elopements to large parties. Originally a fortified castle, the chateau is restored to a dream French chateau wedding destination.
The chateau prides itself on its wedding feasts, and on the menu are traditional dishes, including Boeuf Bourguignon and Coq au vin.
As a feast finale, there is the opportunity for a wedding cake or a croquembouche, a sugary French dessert of choux pastry puffs pilled high and in a cone shape.
There are 22 rooms where 50 guests can feel like royalty in the regally furnished rooms. The local area provides plenty of alternative accommodation.
The estate has the capacity for 150 guests for the ceremony.
Weather and Climate
France is a large country with diverse geographical nature, and each region has its own climate. See our France wedding guide for more information on the weather and climate in France.
Culture and Etiquette
The French are polite and welcoming if you make an effort to learn and speak some simple terms and sentences in French. You’ll go a long way if you learn some basic French terms before traveling to France.
Family life is important and much time is spent socializing at family dinners and social gatherings.
Food and Drink
French cuisine encapsulates French tradition and a love for fresh ingredients, creating a diverse catalog of dishes. France produces a world-renowned collection of wines, including Champagne in the north and Rhone in the south. French cuisine offers many choices for gastronomical delights for wedding chateaus in France.
Coquille St Jacque
Pilgrims in the 12th century named the king scallop shell Coquille St Jacque while traveling to St. Jacques de Compostelle.
After using the shells as water and food bowls, the dish was developed by sauteeing king scallops in butter, then baking in cream, cheese, and mushrooms in the shell.
Chateaubriand
Named after and created for the French author and statesman Francois René Vicomte de Chateaubriand.
Made using the thickest part of beef tenderloin. Served pink, and when sliced, gives a heart-shaped steak. Served with a white wine reduction, shallots, demi-glace (rich brown sauce used as a base), butter, and lemon juice.
Money and Wedding Costs
The cost of hiring chateaus for a French wedding varies from region to region. Prices range from US$3,012 (€3,000) to US$50,210 (€50,000). A secluded chateau near Clermont Ferrand will cost less than an extravagant venue in the south of France.
The season, the number of guests, the type of entertainment, and your menu choice will affect the cost of hiring out a wedding chateau.
Legal Requirements for Marrying in a Chateau
To have a legally binding marriage in a French Chateau, one partner must reside in the local area for a minimum of 30 days. See the law at Service-Republic.fr for information. It is always advisable to check with your embassy.
Most couples legally marry in their own country of residence before going to France for a symbolic ceremony.
Check our legal requirements for marrying in France.
