MATHILDE

What impressed them:

" In fact, there were two moments that really stood out for me. The first was entering the Church. My husband discovered me for the first time at that moment. Nobody except my parents and witnesses had seen me before. I was hidden until my entrance and I was concentrating on looking straight ahead to make it across the aisle without crying, so I didn't see anyone! I also really enjoyed coming out of the church because I saw all our family and friends there in front of me, all at once! It was pure happiness!

The second moment was when we entered the reception hall for dinner. We hadn't prepared anything special, but the day before, Benoit (now my husband) suggested I hand out to our godchildren the magic candles we'd bought earlier but hadn't used, so that our guests could light them when we entered. We were thrilled! We ran into the room, the lights were twinkling everywhere, and that's when we felt all the enthusiasm of our family and friends. We felt a crazy energy, and we told ourselves that the evening was going to be a success!

Location:

" We got married in the Var region of France. There were quite a few of us (around 170 people) and we had quite a few children (around 30), so we wanted a spacious venue with room for the kids. We found La Toussane in the commune of La Cardière. The venue is in the middle of the owners' vineyards, with a large outdoor cocktail area, a large tent backing onto the bastide and a "children's room". We really liked the natural feel of the place. What's more, we were able to accommodate up to fifteen people on site, which came in very handy for our friends from abroad.

We chose a Provencal decor. I'm from the Var, but my family is scattered all over France, my husband is from the Landes region and his whole family is from the South-West. We really wanted to emphasize the local aspect for our wedding decoration. Hence a lot of lavender, olive and rosemary, along with gypsophila and lysianthus to add a little bloom to the mix and enhance the purple of the lavender. For the centerpieces, we opted for 60cm olive trees, but with a slender trunk that doesn't spoil the view when people are seated and allows everyone to talk to each other anyway. We also gave our guests personalized calissons with our first names and the date of our wedding, which we bought from Declaration Gourmande they're delicious, and a nice change from the dragées we never eat...".

Their inspiration:

So in terms of inspiration, I spent long hours on Google images and saved an impressive number of photos. I categorized everything in Word and printed it out so that Benoit and I could look at it and decide together. I also found a lot of inspiration on the wedding decorations website (http://www.decorationsdemariage.fr/ ) and on Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/)

The colors came naturally after we'd chosen the theme. As the colors were mainly lavender purple and olive green, we didn't force our witnesses or family to wear purple or green, which aren't necessarily easy to wear...

For my wedding dress, it was very simple. I was in Lille for a family party and my best man advised me to go to Promesse (http://www.promesse-mariage.com/). I booked an appointment thinking I'd just go in to see what style suits me and what doesn't... the 6th dress was the right one! Constance, the manager, is very professional and attentive. Great address!

For my civil wedding dress, I went to Galeries Lafayette in Paris and found one at Tara Jarmon (midi-length dress in pale pink ottoman and bolero).

Shoe design:

My creative process was very pleasant! I really didn't know what colors to make my shoes in the first place... I went from : I went from "I want white, to no bright colors, then white" then... In short, I didn't know... What's more, I don't really wear heels in general, and as I'm already rather tall, I didn't want to outgrow my future with 10 cm heels... In the showroom, I could see all the colors, on which heels I could dance all night... Being well advised, I opted for 8 cm chunky heels for stability. As for the color, there's a huge choice in the boutique, and Juliette brought out several samples and made suggestions. I wanted two different colors: one for the bow on the top and the heel, and another for the rest of the shoe. I opted for the round-toe slingback model, crossed straps at the front with the bow on top in an iridescent champagne color for the bow and for the heel, and I chose pale pink for the rest of the shoe. I got so many compliments on them! What's more, I was able to keep them on my feet until 4am, dancing and jumping around! I'm so proud of my shoes!

For me, it's really important to choose the right heel. I really recommend visiting the showroom for the kindness of the team and also to try on the different models. The choice of colors is really rich!

Mathilde's advice:

It's all about being organized... One of the things that helped us was to do a retroplanning exercise a month before the wedding that listed the tasks that remained to be done. Benoit and I assigned and shared the tasks. The main thing is to think of everything carefully, because this avoids last-minute stress, and on the big day you'll have something else to do than say, we forgot this or that!

The day before, we went to the venue to set up most of the decorations and talk to the owner, the maitre d', the DJs... It helps to visualize what the next day would be like.

On the big day we had a lot of help from our parents, siblings and witnesses! They were top notch! It's important to be able to delegate and to have people you can count on to take care of any last-minute problems.

I also think it's important to take your time getting ready. I was lucky enough to have my best man, my sister and my parents present during my preparation (hair, make-up...). I particularly remember getting dressed with my best man and sister. It was a special moment! It was the moment when the tension went up a notch, and it was very reassuring to have them with me at that moment.

You also have to keep things in perspective! As a very wise friend told me, a bride becomes selfish and loses sight of priorities... And it's very, very true, I was glad she made that remark! Something to think about...

Overall, my advice is to stay as zen as possible and make the most of every moment and every present guest.