
Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes – Maria + Mathieu
CONTENTS
She is Romanian, he is French and they both live in Switzerland. To celebrate their vows of love, Maria and Mathieu have arranged to meet their loved ones in France. From their meeting in Lyon on the benches of university, they realized the obviousness of a wedding in Burgundy with the sublime Château de Varennes. A sunny summer day tinged with elegance and romance.
With the beautiful images ofAlyna Photographer, Maria tells us more…
The initial meeting
"We were classmates in college, but it took us almost a year before we started dating."
The marriage proposal
"We were on vacation in Hong Kong. One night, we were looking at the horizon and Mathieu told me he had spotted a nice rooftop bar. We went there one night, then at 19:50pm he told me he had a surprise and that I should close my eyes and follow him.
When we arrived, I was in front of a huge glass wall where you could see the whole city and a light show had just started in the city (at 20pm sharp). Then I looked at Mathieu, he was holding a blue Tiffany box in his hands and he popped the question. I don't remember much of what he said or what I said, but I know for sure that I said yes.
We were actually in a suite in one of the highest hotels in the world, until the next morning we were literally in the clouds. I found out later that he hadn't planned this in advance."

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer
Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes
“It was a long process. First we had to choose the country in which we wanted to hold the celebration. I come from Romania, Mathieu from France and we live in Switzerland, but after exploring all the options, we thought it would be more logical to get married close to where we met, Lyon.
Then I saw a picture of the Varennes castle, which is not too far from Lyon, and we went to see it. From the first visit to the place, we both knew that it was here, we did not visit any other place after that.

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer
Wedding planning
“We didn’t have anything specific in mind before we started planning the wedding. We just knew we would like something simple and elegant. It was also important to have an atmosphere conducive to sharing.
We were keen to make the most of it. That's why we decided early on that the wedding would be organised in France over 3 days. It would probably be the only opportunity in our lives to bring together all the people we love together and we wanted to enjoy it for as long as possible.
Our guests came from so many different countries and there was no common language for all of them. So we had to have everything translated into 3 languages (Romanian, French and English). But it was not a problem at all, people managed to understand each other and we were all able to dance together until sunrise.

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer
Wedding decoration
Wedding flowers
“We wanted something that would inspire joy, happiness, youth but would also be delicate, so we opted for pastel colors with peonies and carnations. For the ceremony we wanted something original instead of the classic ceremony arch, The Dautel House So created a very beautiful cloud of flowers to match the rest of the decorations."
Their favorite detail of the decor
" The small olive trees which doubled as place cards and guest gifts. We thought it was a strong symbol for our union: Mathieu comes from the south of France where olive trees are everywhere, and the olive tree itself is a longevity symbol. And it makes us so happy every time we get a photo from guests with the trees growing."

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer
Choosing the wedding dress
“Years before the proposal, I dreamed of a dress Galia Lahav. It was therefore naturally towards this fashion house that I carried out my first fittings. I tried on many others afterwards and when I tried on ma Galia Lahav, my mother, who was accompanying me, became so emotional, I knew it was the one.
I wanted different looks during the day, so we made the sleeves detachable and I took them off for dinner and dancing. Then I had two more dresses for the rest of the night, both made by a Romanian designer, the brand Spitz"

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer
Their most moving memory
"From afar ceremony. To say that you want to share the rest of your life with your chosen one in front of everyone you love, to see the emotion and happiness in the eyes of the most important people in your life, it was pure happiness and the most intense emotion we have ever felt.
Advice from the newlyweds
“Start very early, have a plan for everythingMore be very flexible. The most important thing is that you two are together in front of all the people you love, the rest doesn't really matter."

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer

Wedding in Burgundy at the Château de Varennes © Alyna Photographer
Wedding addresses in Burgundy
Venue - Château de Varennes
Caterer – Nathan Muir
Wedding cake – Kika and Co
Wedding dress - Galia Lahav et Loulou the brand
Bridal shoes – Manolo Blahnik
Make-up - Annette Thorton
Hairdresser - Ciara Costenoble
Hair ornament - Vivi Embellish
Groom's outfit - Paris River Banks
Wedding rings and jewelry - Tiffany & co
Bridesmaids dresses – JJsHouse
Flowers - The Dautel House
Stationery - Cotton Bird
Furniture rentals - Jolibazaar
Photographer - Alyna Photographer
Cinematography - Cristi Coman
Second shooter - Jeremy Bertrand
DJ - Victor Fabre ak DJ Elyk
Orchestra – Cornel Otel romanian band + G&J DUO
Marriage organizer - Lucy Till French Weddings
TO BE CONTINUED…
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A WORD FROM THE EDITOR
Congratulations to the happy couple for this beautiful sharing. We wish them a lifetime of happiness!
Special thanks to Alyna Photographer for submitting this report! Check out his work on the blog's address book.
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