Sandra + Vincent – ​​A lovers’ session in the Luberon

It's been eleven months since we had the pleasure of supporting Sandra and Vincent in the organization and styling of their wedding. From our first contact, it was love at first sight. Simplicity, good humor and unwavering trust. Living in Congo, they have arranged to meet their loved ones in the South of France on August 15th. A day that will obviously be joyful and colorful!

With the beautiful images of Neupap Photography, I let you discover their story… Yes, I even had shivers of emotion!

The initial meeting 

Vincent and I met in Congo, during our VIE (Volontariat International en Entreprise). Vincent had been in Congo for almost 2 years when I arrived to spend 1 and a half years there. We met during a drunken evening, through one of his friends with whom I was in contact via a professional social network from France. Vincent and I immediately clicked with each other.

The day after that evening, he sent me a simple message to suggest that we have dinner together at La Pyramide, the nicest restaurant in Pointe-Noire, which is on the seaside under the coconut trees and where all the local surfers meet. Suspecting that I was going to be late, he offered to pick me up by car a few minutes before.

Once we arrived, we walked towards each other, him getting out of his car, and me getting out of my house. We each had about fifty meters to cover and he walked with a confident step. He came up to me and kissed me as if it was obvious. It took me a few minutes to realize what was happening. He told me that a friend of his would come and have an aperitif with us. He had called his best friend who is very sociable and whose sense of humor immediately put me at ease.

Then we both had dinner, in all simplicity, in this place so representative of the Congo, a little messy but full of charm. It was at that precise moment that I knew that Vincent was not like the others, and that something special was happening to me. Being together was obvious from that day on, to the point of moving in together the next day, quite naturally, and to the great surprise of those around us who had known Vincent as a single man for a long time, and who hardly knew me at all.

Since then, we have never left each other and have never left Congo either. We have been living together in Pointe-Noire for 4 years now. Vincent proposed to me on the 1^er July 2014, after 3 years of living together.

The marriage proposal 

Vincent was looking for the perfect place to propose, where I would least expect it, knowing that we both travel a lot. So it was in Paris, the city where I grew up, that he knew I would not have any suspicions. A good friend of ours who was returning from vacation in France made me believe that he had taken a great cruise on the Seine, on a small private boat with his partner, and that the activity was offered by the CE of the company where he and Vincent work.

Then Vincent suggested to me that it would be nice to do this same cruise sometime. Later, once in Paris, a dinner with friends “mysteriously” cancelled at the last minute and so it was the perfect evening to do this cruise.

That same day, he made me believe that he also wanted to give me a birthday present that was a few days later. He then offered to give me a beautiful dress. After shopping around and finding the perfect dress, it seemed natural to me to wear this new dress for our romantic evening. So we then arrived at the banks of the Seine where a small private boat was waiting for us with the captain and his sailor, a bottle of champagne in hand.

Despite a gray day that would have depressed the pigeons of the capital, the sky suddenly decided to clear to make way for a superb sunset over the Seine. Vincent put on some music, as he always does, and played a song that I was listening to a lot at that moment: hey you from London Grammar. After a bottle of champagne, during this very romantic moment spent together in this city that I love so much, I began to have tears in my eyes thinking about how lucky I was. It was at that moment that I saw Vincent get down on one knee and present a box with a ring in front of me. He then said these few words that I will remember all my life: Sandra, do you want to be my wife? I answered Yes in a torrent of tears that I couldn't contain, while hugging him tightly.

The evening was only just beginning as Vincent surprised me by taking me to dinner and spending the night at the legendary palace of Versailles for the rest of our evening: the Trianon Palace.

Preparations for this photo shoot

We didn't really prepare the photoshoot with Didier, our photographer. We had a Skype meeting with him a few months before, when choosing our photographer, and we immediately had a good feeling with him. He suggested we do this engagement session during one of our trips to the south, we immediately said yes, but above all because we thought it would be nice to meet before the big day.

On the day of the session, Vincent and I simply made a small effort with our clothing to avoid being him in apple green and me in fuchsia pink and we met up with Didier in a charming Provencal village that he had spotted, called Bonnieux.

The session

We met Didier in Bonnieux at the beginning of April on a lovely sunny day. He quickly put us at ease, telling us to stay natural and to chat about everything and nothing, without paying too much attention to him. At first, it's not easy to get comfortable in front of the camera but thanks to Didier's tips on the postures to take and the places in the village to exploit, we quickly got into the game. The shyness gave way to a really nice moment, spent together, telling each other a few jokes between two sweet words.

Didier sent us the photos shortly after. The result was great, he knew how to put really natural and nice effects on the photos in lots of different landscapes, all as beautiful as each other. This day will remain a very good memory, with as a bonus, beautiful photos of the two of us, taken by Didier, a passionate and adorable professional. In short, a great training for the big day which, we are sure, will go super well.

How do you imagine this upcoming wedding?

We are looking forward to our wedding! We really think we had good ideas and prepared this event in our image. All the ingredients we wanted will be there, but especially all our loved ones.

We believe we made an excellent choice by being accompanied by Made In You, especially when living abroad. This will have allowed us to avoid a maximum of stress and often unjustified worries, just because we are far away. We feel supported from the beginning but never constrained. We had the choice of everything without the stress of finding the service providers.

We hope there will be a great atmosphere, that the guests will be pleasantly surprised by all the little things we have planned. And most importantly, we hope to have everyone on the dance floor until the end!

Upcoming wedding addresses

Location

Guard Castle – Beyond the beauty of the castle and its gardens which is indisputable, Maxime, the owner is adorable, open, concerned for his brides and grooms and very accessible. It is a real pleasure to be received by an owner like him.

Bride-to-be's outfit

Creator Amarildin : she is the only dress designer I have ever had a crush on. Her creations are sophisticated, with original touches but still very romantic.

Groom's outfit

Creator Faubourg Saint Sulpice

Hair & Make up

MLS

I did a test with Lisa a few months before the wedding. Attentive, attentive, very attentive to detail, we had a great time during this hair/makeup fitting which reassured me a lot and gave me confidence for the big day.

Photographer

Neupap Photography

Organization and Styling

Made in You

Shops to recommend

Creator Claire from Divonne for jewelry. I will wear a head jewel of her creation on the wedding day, but all her jewelry is worth the detour! Her collections are superb, with variations of ranges that I like a lot. It is both refined and original, sometimes almost fantasy while remaining very sophisticated.