Wedding | Juliette & Samuel

Tell us a little about yourselves!

We are a couple of mixed origins. Juliette is Cambodian, Chinese and French and Sam is Jewish and Moroccan.

We are now both in our early years of working life following long studies. We met by chance and fell madly in love in a short period of time. We decided to get married out of a spontaneous impulse. Why? Because we could! It felt right and it felt good. We had talked about what marriage meant for each of us before and realised we were fully aligned.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

We got married at our venue almost accidentally, since things went bad with our first planned venue. We had to change plans and reorganize the whole thing 3 months before the wedding date! We searched a place near Paris (our hometown) and found this place, which rarely has any availability but (miraculously!) had an availability on the booked date. It was a bit over the budget, but we fell in love right away when we visited it. It was a place we could imagine ourselves getting married in.

How many guests did you have?

100 .

What was your budget? 

That’s a secret (but it was nothing too crazy).

Tell us about your outfits.

Unconventional. We wanted to wear something comfortable and that felt like us. We also told our guests to wear what they felt good and fabulous in. Dress codes were : “De l’Orient à l’Occident, une élégance qui vous sied” (1st night) ; “Libres & épanoui·e·s, comme une fleur dans son Jardin” (Pique-Nique) ; “Rayonnant·e·s et lumineux·ses, pour nous éblouir de votre beauté” (Ceremony & Party) ; “Un été dans le Sud” (Sunday Brunch).

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

We wanted to do a “Fête de l’Amour” (Love Celebration). We didn’t want a formal wedding, nor a seated dinner. Our ideal was to have a huge party in a field, with a relaxed, chill and joyful vibe with our loved ones. We then realized the technicalities involved, in terms of possible bad weather for example. We almost dropped the idea of organizing a wedding at all, and after long discussions, we decided it was important for us to celebrate it with our families and friends. We also realized the formalities attached to such an institution. We adapted the format to fit the constraints that we had. But we still wanted something that felt right. We were very clear in our desire to plan something that was aligned with us, and not follow conventions that would feel later like it didn’t belong to us. 

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

We wanted the wedding ceremony to be conducted by our friends and loved ones (« cérémonie laïque »). It meant a lot to us that our friends participate, because we are very well surrounded, and we thought that if they lent us their energy too, it would really be a moment that reflected us, that would resonate well, and that would correspond to what we wanted to share with our loved ones.

We wanted meals to be moments of sharing, where people feel free to move around. This is the reason for the picnic format, plus good local products, because we love doing that together. We knew the dinner should be like a cocktail party, because we thought it's the best moment at weddings and seated dinners that drag on, cutting off the energy that flows at that moment, right after the ceremony. 

Any tips for couples getting married?

Try to not lose yourself in the process. Out of the crazy million things that will happen that day (or several days), keep some moments entirely for you two. Identify the things that really matter to YOU and plan around them. It’s hard but it’s worth it.

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

So happy with the place we were at. They really understand what it means to host a wedding, what’s important for everyone involved, and they do it with their heart, every one of the people that work there. We’re very grateful they offered us this space and accompanied us for that moment (we talked to many places in search of the good location, and it’s truly rare). 

And Alia Paienda, our photographer, of course. Her artistic approach resonated straight away. From our first phone call, we knew that her vision matched ours. She was able to put us at ease at every moment, even though we were quite apprehensive about being the centre of attention. She anchored us in the present moment, when things were accelerating in a dizzying whirlwind. Alia Paienda was able to capture the spontaneous moments and guide us so that we could treasure all those memories.

Photographer: Alia Paienda @aliapaienda | Flora: L’Usine à Pétales / Les Fleurs Sauvages (Paris 18) @les_fleurs_sauvages | Ceremony and Reception Location: Château de Vallery @chateaudevallery | Hair & Make up: Juliette did her own | Catering, Cake & Beverages: Marie Julien Cuisine @mariejuliencuisine | Stationery: Juliette Baigné @juliettebaigne | Picnic Dress: Farm Rio @farmrio | Wedding Dress: Jacquemus @jacquemus | Samuel's Picnic Outfit: Acne studio @acnestudios | Shoes: New Balance @newbalance | Ceremony Outfit: Etudes shirt & APC pants @apc_paris | Shoes: Jimmy Choo @jimmychoo | Necklace: Completed Works @completedworks | Earrings: Alighieri @alighieri_jewellery