Dreamy Homemade Destination Wedding in Normandy

via

Today we take a short trip across the English Channel for a wonderfully personal destination wedding in Normandy captured by Anibas Photography. It's easy to forget sometimes just how close Normandy is to the UK. Just a couple of hours drive from Paris, or a ferry journey across the English Channel, it's a great location for a destination wedding, offering all the benefits of getting married abroad without too much trouble for your guests to be there with you.

And I love how personal Andy and Carole's wedding in Normandy is, even down to the homemade cakes that Carole made on the morning of the wedding! Any Bride who can bake and get married all in one day deserves massive respect in my book! I do hope you enjoy...

Normandy is a wonderful place to marry in France. It has many beautiful chateaux such as this typically Norman one in the Orne department. There are areas where the architecture is creamy sandstone and other areas where buildings are made from granite with slate rooves so there is a lot of choice for that perfect location. There are rolling hillsides and little country lanes, lakes and woodlands as well as lots of beautiful coastlines. For wedding guests there is the history of the D-Day Landing Beaches and the world famous Mont St Michel to visit (second only to the Eiffel tower in France).

Andy and Carole's wedding was wonderful in that they had planned it so well that both Carole's French family and friends and Andy's American family and friends felt included by ensuring that the priest officiating their outdoor ceremony under the 100 year old Cedar tree spoke in both French and English. In addition they chose Sabina Lorkin of Anibas Photography to be their photographer who is also bilingual having lived in France since 2004. This helped at the moment when the family and group photographs took place, as she guided discreetly in both English and French, in addition to capturing all the candid images that tell the story of a wedding day.

The bride had decided that instead of ordering a wedding cake that she would like to prepare a number of gateaux herself, with the help of her mother and (nearly) mother-in-law on the morning of her wedding. It was a relaxed and calm atmosphere despite the added pressure, so much so that the groom even found time to go jogging with his brother and father, before the ceremony began.

Andy and Carole wanted the 'normal' formal photos for their family groups but they also hoped to have some fun and more informal ones too. It wasn't difficult at all as their friends were full ideas and enthusiasm as you'll see.

The evening celebrations were held in a beautiful marquee that they had decorated themselves, in the grounds of the chateau. The evening started with a wonderful idea. The couple took to the microphone and introduced, one by one, all of Carole's French family to all of Andy's American family and visa-versa saying that they were "all one family now". It was a great ice-breaker and itself included much laughter. There were many speeches in between the courses of the meal, some exceedingly poignant, each one translated into either French or English to ensure that everyone understood. The evening continued with a fun 'Ipad' photo-booth that they created themselves and lots of great music choices and dancing.