Dream Team:

Photography | @layersphoto (https://www.layersphoto.com/)
Wedding Planning | Meredith Events (https://www.meredithevents.com/) Meredith Corning
Florist | @27ruedefleur (https://www.facebook.com/27ruedefleur/)
Venue, catering, bar, co-coordination: Chateau de Jalesdes (https://chateaudejalesnes.com/)
Band | Rip It Encore (http://ripitencore.com/)
Musicians | String Infusion (http://www.stringinfusion.com/)
Videography | Tu & Tara (Nguyen) (https://www.tunguyenwedding.com/)
Cake | Dea-licious Gateaux (https://www.facebook.com/dea.liciousgateaux/)
Rentals | Options (https://www.options-hire.co.uk/) and Madame De La Maison (https://madamedelamaison.com/)
Officiant/Celebrant | Mary Smith
Makeup Artist | Claire Jones (http://www.clairejonesmakeupartist.com/)
Hair Stylists | Michelle Goram Beauty (https://www.facebook.com/MichelleGoramBeauty/) and Kerrie Langfield (https://www.frenchweddinghairandmakeup.com/)
Stationery | Ciarra Claire Fine Art (https://ciarraclaire.com/)

Read Blog Post on Carats and Cake➤

Interview with Alexandra

Q. How did you meet?

We met through mutual friends. We went to the same gym facility.

Q. How did he propose?

He told me we were going to a dinner for his niece's graduation and he wanted to stop by our friend's new house on the way.

*Side note: It was raining so we were delayed. Rain is a common theme in our love story :)

We walked through the house to the back yard where he'd created this sort of magical woodland fairytale with hundreds of candles and lights and flowers. He got down on one knee, read a letter he wrote and proposed. We had a champagne toast and joined many of our family and friends for a dinner party downtown afterwards.

Q. Why did you choose a destination wedding and how did you decide on your location?

We attended several large weddings in the year leading up to our engagement and we knew we wanted a more intimate experience. We are both from amazing communities with an abundance of love and support, so our guest list for a local wedding totaled nearly 600 people. Knowing we wanted an intimate celebration, we chose to have a destination wedding with our closest friends and family in attendance. Our love for travel also played a major role in our decision, and we wanted to give our friends and family an experience they might not have otherwise.

Why France? Well Will loves food and I love wine so France was the obvious choice!

We chose Chateau de Jalesnes in part because of its rural location and proximity to Paris, and also because it could accommodate our entire wedding party. The Chateau was a brilliantly livable space - I wanted our guests to stay in this amazing Chateau in the beautiful Loire Valley, but still feel at home in their accommodations. Chateau de Jalesnes was a perfect fit for us.

Q. Describe your wedding design and style.

Romance, romance, romance - a mixture of modern paired with Renaissance.

Honestly, I changed my wedding design and style SO many times, but I couldn't have been happier with the outcome.

Q. Did anything interesting or funny happen that you would like to share about your wedding day?

HA.

We got married in the pouring rain. Looking back at photos now, we just laugh. How many people say to heck with it, the show must go on, and still have the ceremony outside? We did! And of course 10 minutes after the ceremony we had clear blue skies.

It rained during our engagement and during our engagement shoot on the Isle of Skye, so it was only fitting that it rain during our ceremony, right?

Q. What is your favorite memory of your wedding day?

The ceremony. I am a perfectionist and up to this point everything had gone astray. When I finally made it down the aisle, we giggled our way through the vows and the rain drops in my contacts and just enjoyed ourselves. It stopped being stressful and started being FUN!

Q. What was your biggest worry and how did you overcome it?


I was worried about everyone having a good time. I knew we had a good support team for wedding "stuff," but I became the unofficial travel guide of the group and few things were going according to plan. Taking on this role wasn't the best decision for my wedding week, but by the time we made it to the Chateau, I had a glass (or three) of champagne and told everyone to fend for themselves! Ha!