I have known Helen for a few years now and then Olivier once they got together. I was THRILLED when they asked me to shoot their wedding which, due to COVID had to be rescheduled a couple of times. I was even more delighted that the wedding was going to be in France! Helen is originally from New Zealand, Olivier is French and they live together in a tiny French village just south of Paris
Heather and I traveled to France and spent a couple of days in Paris as tourists as you do, then Helen and Olivier collected us and drove us to their home. We were treated as long lost friends by EVERYONE.
This wedding was like no other wedding I have ever shot. The morning it all began, family and friends gathered at the home of Helen and Olivier and just spent time enjoying each others company. A spread of cakes, baguettes, meats was put out for everyone and we all laughed and tried to understand each other – trust me, Google Translate was used A LOT LOL The French are SO expressive with their body language and we just felt so ‘included’. It was an amazing experience.
Then, when everyone was ready, like a scene from Love Actually, we all walked down to the village hall where the ceremony was to take place. Neither Heather or myself understood a lick of what was said but love is universal they say so……… 🙂
Once the Mayor had concluded the ceremony and it was signed, sealed and delivered, everyone drove to the reception which was about an hour South of the village.
As a surprise for Olivier, Helen had invited a guy to come, and during cocktail hour, teach the guests the Haka. Olivier LOVES everything about New Zealand and he loved this event as did all the guests. It was hilarious to see them all taking it all in.
The reception was also completely different to American receptions. The dancing didn’t start until MIDNIGHT. During each course of dinner, games were played by all the guests and time was spent just chatting and enjoying each others company! The cakes – there were SEVEN of them – arrived, lit by sparklers and THEN the DJ cranked up the music and guests were dancing until 5:30am. Over 50 bottles of champagne were enjoyed along with wine……..
The whole weekend was a delight to shoot and be a part of and I wish, every day, to go back and shoot it all again. It is still fresh in my mind and going through all the photos to choose which to put in this post made me just relive it all again.
Enjoy
