Perle and Baptiste's wedding in the mountains

Several months ago, Perle and Baptiste took us on a journey their engagement session in Scotland. For these lovers of nature and wide open spaces, it was obvious that their wedding would be held in the open air. They naturally chose the peaks of Serre-Chevalier in the Hautes-Alpes. A two-day wedding with a mixed atmosphere, reflecting their origins and their love.

With the beautiful images of Zephyr and Luna, Ambre tells us more….

The initial meeting

After 30km, 1600m of positive elevation gain, 2m of negative elevation gain, an extraordinary state of fatigue and pain in my legs that made me unable to stand up anymore, who could have imagined that I would meet, during my very first mountain race, the gaze of the man who would become the man of my life. However, it was on the first step of the podium that I was able to see his first smile.
But how could he have run so fast?
Not having been able to stay longer on site to try an approach, on Monday I rushed to my computer to check the times and results of the runners and that's how after some research on social networks I allowed myself to send him a little message of congratulations... Since then we have never left each other ❤️

The marriage proposal

From the first dates, we realized that our relationship would be more than a short fling. After only a few months of dating, we had shared so much and already had so many plans. Getting married, starting a family was obvious but when?
It was then that during our summer vacation, almost a year and 3 months after we met, it was on a boat that Baptiste took the plunge and knelt down under the most beautiful sunset of all time, improvising a wonderful declaration of love that completely blew me away. After that moment, nothing was the same, we were on cloud nine and we felt bound by love, complicity and unfailing trust...

The Memorial

Both crazy lovers of nature and mountains, we obviously wanted a wedding that reflected us and it was not easy to reconcile the practical side with the dream of getting married at the top of a mountain. So even if the access road worried us a lot for the 150 guests, we do not regret having organized our reception in a magnificent chalet Le pi-maï, perched at an altitude of more than 1m and located in the heart of the Serre-Chevalier ski area in the Hautes-Alpes. An idyllic setting that we love very much and which gave us a lot of joy and emotion.

Regarding the second day, we wanted to have easier access and for the ceremony we chose to celebrate our spiritual union in a field facing a mountain and it is in this same town where I was born. The whole day was orchestrated at the Frog, a restaurant ideally located at the foot of the slopes. Typically Scottish (the country where we joined our brilliant photographer a few months before for a most adventurous engagement session and God knows we love that!!!) in a style as we like them, rustic and very warm. We will never thank enough Jaimi my childhood friend, his Mom Die, Elodie, Fabienne and the whole team who did a fabulous job!!!

Preparations

The preparations were long and tedious. In all honesty, when I think about it I always say to myself Phew, that's behind me!!! Baptiste wasn't as involved as I would have liked so I often felt desperate, telling myself that I would never succeed. I have to admit that I wanted to do a lot of things. Organizing a wedding over 2 days and in 2 different places and themes is quite a challenge!
Being a little too detail-oriented, I had a lot of trouble taking a step back and I spent my time hesitating and changing my mind about everything... so it took me a crazy amount of time and energy!
Fortunately I was able to count on our respective families and our loved ones who helped us a lot! Obviously I don't regret this short year of preparation because even if it wasn't always easy it's what partly made this day so special and unforgettable. Always tell yourself that if you get through the preparation stage, it's because you're ready for what's to come 😉

D-day

It's not a myth, these were really the most beautiful days of our lives, having the people we care about the most in the world with us to celebrate love with a capital A is an indescribable happiness. We completely let go and tried to enjoy our guests as much as possible. Our families, our loved ones and service providers really ensured that the days went smoothly, we just had to let ourselves go and for that we will never thank them enough!

The weather was beautiful, we were in a dream environment, in terms of catering we were delighted, service, aperitif, meal, everything was really up to our expectations. The music groups and DJs were sensational, the atmosphere was there!
For the first day, we dreamed of a rustic, hipster and mountain wedding and for the second day, a bohemian atmosphere with some oriental touches to represent my Algerian origins. For 1 hour the DJ played dance music from the country, it was a must and I was looking forward to it in advance. I had treated myself to a superb Sahara princess dress that I loved wearing. It was a fabulous moment, with all these different atmospheres, there were several outfits to plan and it was really a treat to see that the guests had almost all played the game, they were SO beautiful!

We had incredible surprises: video montages, sketches commissioned by our loved ones, magnificent speeches, lots of nice touches and not to mention all those words in the guestbook that touched us so much.

The wedding budget

I stopped counting at €20! BUT I think we were closer to €000 (over 25 days).

Your best memory

Without a doubt the Ceremony! Just thinking about it gives us chills, it was an extremely emotional moment that will remain engraved more than ever in our memories, yesterday we had the great and pleasant surprise of receiving our Ceremony book, we were so happy and moved to reread the texts of our loved ones and to see the photos of this magical moment.

What if I had to do it again?

ALL THE SAME
Except that we would certainly have hired a service provider for the decoration and for the vintage dishes because it goes without saying that rummaging, washing, storing, transporting, setting up and putting away more than 700 pieces was a huge job, especially on the big day mixed with the stress of the preparations. Quite frankly, I could have done without it. Fortunately our florist, our families and our loved ones helped us a lot. But that will never replace the intervention of a professional who allows the bride and groom to approach their beautiful day with complete serenity. Taking a step back from the stress of the preparations on the big day is very important, the priority is to feel rested, more beautiful and relaxed 😉 than ever!!!

Do

• Do it over 2 days It's really great, it creates a more friendly and relaxed atmosphere, on the second day the guests have almost all met and are much more comfortable.
  We often hear newlyweds say that the big day was absolutely amazing but that the day went by way TOO quickly! So yes, don't hesitate to treat yourself to the luxury of making the pleasure of being surrounded by all these people who mean so much to you last twice as long...
• Making room for the unexpected, you won't really have a choice BUT know that this will in no way detract from the success of your wedding!!

Do not

• Don't let yourself be too influenced by those around you, don't forget it's YOUR wedding!
• Not wanting to have control over everything and wanting to control everything!!!

Wedding professionals

Vintage Decoration and Tableware: Rosewood creative
Reception day 1: the Pi Mai
Reception day 2: The Frog, the Alps room
Secular ceremony: CK ceremony
Groom's Costume: The Kooples
Bow ties: Colonel Mustard
Dress day 1: Kaa Couture
Dress day 2: Sandro
Wedding rings: A piece of happiness
Group day 1: Myla Duo
Group day 2: Consortium
Florist: There was a flower
Bridal hairstyles: Dolce Vita Hairstyle
Bride's sunglasses: The eyewear maker
Groom's Sunglasses: Julbo

Photographer : Zephyr and Luna