French couple Julie & Fabien chose both town and country for their wedding and brought their chic sense of style with them to both! Their two-part wedding included an intimate civil service in a stunning town hall, before heading off to meet their guests for their second ceremony and reception at Château de Nolet in Southwestern France. The couple’s photographer, Vanessa Madec, guides us through their stylish day with her gorgeous imagery...

So, how did these stylish companions meet? Well, Julie & Fabien met in September 2008 while they were studying. Julie was in first year, while Fabien was in second on the same Product Design studies. Fabien immediately had a crush on Julie! The months passed and the pair got closer as best friends until they spent almost all of their free time together.  'In April 2009, 7 months after we met, we spent a few days together and this was the beginning of our story. On this day we kissed for the first time, and our story started and 10 years later, we got married', Fabien reminisces.

Julie admits she had been waiting patiently for a few years for a marriage proposal. Finally, Fabien spoke with Julie's uncle, Jean-Pierre, whom she is close with to ask for advice and Jean-Pierre urged Fabien to make his request!

For their 8 year relationship anniversary, the couple headed off for a romantic weekend in Paris. Fabien thought it would be the ideal opportunity to propose. He had chosen the perfect ring and carried it around nervously in his backpack waiting for the right moment! Although, every time he said to himself 'this is the right place', something came to interfere without Julie realising it. The first day passed and the pair returned to their Airbnb. Julie was sitting on the bed and leaving the bathroom, Fabien told her to close her eyes, and he knelt in front of Julie and asked her there and then. She said YES, while crying with joy. It may not have gone totally to plan, but he got the answer he was looking for in the end!

Ok so we now have the low down on how Julie and Fabien met and how the proposal went, now lets talk about our super stylish bride! Julie is a talented designer and she dreamt up not one, not two, but three wedding dresses for her big day which were sewn by her mum. She also did her own bridal makeup. Incroyable!

Fabien's stylish ensemble came from ASOS and his shirt from DEVRED.

For their first ceremony, the pair said 'I do' in a a stunning town hall ceremony which is the norm for French weddings. The couple fill us in, 'We had planned a secular ceremony totally organised by our 2 respective uncles who brought in our friends and witnesses.'

The couple kept costs low with lots of talented and helpful friends chipping in! Julie's bridal bouquet was made by her bridesmaids, her hair was styled by her sister, and the couples stationery was designed by a friend which they then printed themselves. The gorgeous vintage car was kindly leant to them for the day by a friend.

The couples second ceremony and reception was held at Château de Nolet. Julie tells us what made this venue “the one”, 'It was the only one who looked like us and who we liked. We reserved the venue a year and a half in advance. It was perfect with an Orangery with a nice parquet floor for dancing, a magnificent lawn and at the end, a small castle.'

With style like Julie's it's no surprise they planned a modern wedding with a vintage twist. Details were key on the day, starting with the bride herself, and the stylish vintage touches the couple added throughout the day.

The evening continued in the orangery, carefully decorated in black and gold tones.

Julie & Fabien's advice to couples planning their weddings is what they excelled at on their big day...To choose things that look like them and that organising a wedding can be easily managed on your own by having just a little organisation.

For their honeymoon, the couple are planning to, 'make a trip of several weeks with a road trip, and end the trip with a week in a paradisiac place with our toes in sand! But for the moment, we don’t plan anything until the pandemic is over.'

Summing up their wedding, Julie & Fabien tell us, 'The wedding went very well, everyone was chilling and enjoying the day. Julie had everything organised so well that’s why she was not stressed at all! We wanted to get married for ourselves but also to be able to get together all our families and friends, which never happens. It was a great opportunity to share with them beautiful moments with them. The weather was very nice, it was the only weekend in several weeks when it was such a weather without rain, we were so lucky.'

Massive congratulations and thanks go to Julie and Fabien for sharing all the details of their beautiful wedding day with us all. It was a real treat to be transported to a destination wedding! And of course a huge thank you to Vanessa Madec for sharing her beautiful photographs. Make sure to visit the gallery below to see more details from their day.