Surfy Wedding in Le Havre – Jahrita + Stéphane

For these surf enthusiasts, the atmosphere of their wedding was obvious. Expatriates in Australia, it is in Le Havre that they chose to celebrate their union with their closest friends. A ceremony just awesome, ultra relaxed bride and groom and a surfy atmosphere in their image.

With the complicity of the happy team Mr + Mrs, Jahrita and Stéphane take us today to their great big day.

The initial meeting

"We met when we were studying in Lille. I liked his nonchalance, he liked my strong character and it's been going on for 7 years now!"

The marriage proposal

"It was the day before we were going on holiday to France, the fridge was empty and he subtly suggested going to a little restaurant near our home in Sydney...a jazz band was playing and suddenly the pianist announced "a gentleman would like to make a special announcement""

Industrial wedding in Le Havre

"We decided to have a secular ceremony. The setting of the Jardins Suspendus du Havre was idyllic. It is a botanical garden located in a former military fort with several large greenhouses on the heights of Le Havre with a view of the English Channel. The reception took place at the Régates de Saint Adresse with a lovely view of the sea."

Wedding preparations

“We have been living in Sydney for a few years now, so the preparations were done remotely! It was quite a challenge. Our families and friends helped us a lot, it was crazy…a big thank you to them.

For the decoration part, it's the Monsieur + Madame agency. We had contacted them initially just for the photography, we really liked the photos of their Klein blue wedding and Julien seemed cool. After some thought and after studying their book, it seemed obvious to us to ask them for their help for the decoration part and the coordination of the big day so as not to overload our loved ones with work.

We had some random ideas, surfing, retro spirit – Stéphane surfs every weekend at Bondi or Maroubra (Sydney beaches) and I am a fan of the surfing universe – the history of surfing, the lifestyle, the world of surf photography. Our expatriation in Australia, our recent trips to Indonesia, Hawaii, Byron Bay with memories of colors, yellow, pink, pool blue or purple like the jacarandas in bloom in Australia, the Mulberry 2012 spring-summer campaign with a northern beach and retro spirit, the Sun video by Two Doors Cinema Club, a group we like (video filmed in Le Havre!).

They managed to use them on our Save the Date and all the decoration. The photos speak for themselves, they exceeded our expectations without overloading the decoration. Real craftsmen with real thought and a sense of listening, it was crazy to see our (vague) ideas materialize under their magic fingers! We communicated a lot by email, via Skype with a 10-hour time difference between France and Australia via Pinterest and via their Instagram account.

The wedding day

“The big day took place over three days. On Friday, the civil wedding in a small group with close family and friends who came from far away. It was super relaxed with a couple photoshoot on the beach. I was able to have a last drink with my witnesses and my friends who came from abroad by the sea in the middle of the Dixies days jazz festival before going to bed.

The secular ceremony took place the next day in one of the military vaults of the Hanging Gardens of Le Havre with a raw but beautiful decoration, created by Maëva and Cédric and a coordination of the day by Maëva, perfectly calm and controlled.

A lot of emotion during this ceremony led by our friend Clément who married us, with the interventions of our parents, a song by Katie Melua interpreted by my sister-in-law with my father-in-law on the guitar. A song by Moldy Peaches interpreted by my brother and my cousins. Our vows of love in our own words.

Lots of love between us, from our guests, from our friends, present, despite the distance and the years that have passed. The Sunday brunch was also perfect to extend the party.

The wedding budget

“Quite a bit of savings in 1 years of engagement ;-)”

An anecdote ?

Three anecdotes:

• I almost forgot to write my vows on paper…luckily Julien the photographer reminded me before we left the hotel. I would have looked smart during the ceremony reading my vows saved in my email box on my iPhone…
• The giant flashmob organized by my little sister with a tutorial on Youtube sent by email to all our guests months in advance.
•  My witnesses who filmed the video for Cindy Lauper's "Girls wanna have fun" frame by frame with our relatives and friends as extras.

What if I had to do it again?

Maybe the bouquet toss that I completely missed.

Their advice

Do

• Hold the wedding over 2 or 3 days to fully enjoy it if you have a lot of guests.
•  Delegate as much as possible if you can.
• Trust a wedding event designer if you don't see yourself stressing out until the day before about your decoration and let go, if you have chosen her well, she will deliver!

Do not

• Feeling self-conscious when you see photos of wedding blogs… (not easy, I know…)
• Don't hesitate to express yourself if there is something to say about the service of your providers. For example, we didn't get along with the initial DJ and finally the manager of the venue allocated us another DJ with whom the communication went much better.

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Wedding Suppliers

Electronic Save the Date : Mr + Mrs

Location of secular ceremony :  The Hanging Gardens of Le Havre with cocktail organized by Naty's Delights
Reception location : The Regatta Palace from Saint Address
Catering : Honfleur TRAITEUR

Flowers : Blue Flowers from Le Havre

Bride's outfit : Rime Arodaky
Groom's Attire : Topman Topshop
Hair & Make up : Alexandre Hairdresser from Le Havre - Makeup: Kim from Printemps

DJ : DP Events

Photographer : Julien Pelletier from Mr + Mrs
Event design : Maëva and Cedric from Mr + Mrs
D-Day Coordination : Maëva from Mr + Mrs

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TO BE CONTINUED…

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A WORD FROM THE EDITOR

Congratulations to Jahrita and Stéphane on this beautiful wedding. We wish them a lifetime of happiness!
And thanks to Mr + Mrs for submitting this report!

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A WEDDING ON THE BEACH IN CAMARGUE – FANNY + BENJAMIN
A WEDDING IN CAMARGUE ON A WILD BEACH – CLÉMENCE AND THOMAS
INDUSTRIAL WEDDING IN BEAUJOLAIS – CLEA + FRANCK

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