Justine and Thomas met on the internet. Their similarities brought them closer, their desires made them join, and after several attempts of requests from Thomas, they finally celebrated their wedding at the Domaine du Marchais Bouchet near Angers in front of Dorothée Buteau‘s lens.
“We met in October 2011 via a famous website, I was quite reluctant about this type of meeting but I let myself be convinced by a friend and I had the chance to meet Thomas very quickly. However, it did not make a difference, but we continued to exchange by SMS because our personal schedules did not allow us to see each other again and that is where we really discovered and we felt in love. After all, everything has become very natural, we have a lot in common: a passion for cinema and series, a taste for decoration and culinary discoveries, a large family (I have five brothers, he has four sisters, it does not invent …) I dreamed of getting married since my youngest age but Thomas, a child of divorced parents, was not necessarily on the same wavelength. As and when of our history, I understood this was not an essential element and I gradually put the idea aside for other projects: we bought an apartment, we talked about the idea of having a child. So many things occupied my mind and made Thomas’s request even more unexpected. “
“We were at the weekend in the mountains in January 2017. Apparently, I had made several attempts without realizing it and Thomas had put a lot of pressure on this moment that I had probably too idealized. The weekend was coming to end and Thomas was scared, once again not being able to make his request so he started… in the shower I said yes, the head full of shampoo He offered me the most beautiful rings, in a very vintage spirit, designed by Benoît Joaillier, a specialist in antique jewelry.We are all 2 fans of the Arts-Déco period and Thomas had a very precise idea of what he wanted it. This outstanding jeweler knew how to reconcile what he had imagined, with his budget, and his approach surprised me as much as it did.”
“We decided to give ourselves a year and a half to prepare our wedding that we wanted, like many future bride and groom, in our image. No theme but rather an atmosphere, a spirit between country, bohemian and vintage. Our priority was to find the perfect place, originally from the North, but we did not find anything that matched our expectations. My parents visiting a house near Angers, I was curious to see the rooms and several places caught my attention.I am a region that I love, three hours from Paris, it could work. We had a crush on the Domaine du Marchais-Bouchet in Gennes. It is a perfect place for a country wedding, the owners are adorable, and there are many possibilities of different scenographies (a room, a large park, a hall, a courtyard …) They only had a date for summer 2018: Tuesday August 14. That would be the date of our marriage. “
“For the rest, Thomas and I were quite divided on the posts to focus on the budget we had initially set. He preferred to do without photographer because we have a lot of friends artists who could make us some pretty shots and personally, I doubted the importance of a DJ, preferring a playlist to a pro who turns the towels or who does not respect our desires.We ended up convincing each other by finding both good providers: they imposed themselves from the outset as obvious and it seemed impossible to make a choice, even to give up other things Dorothée Buteau, our photographer, caught our attention with his photos and we were definitely conquered during a skype to see if the current went by.We did a commitment session at his side in Nantes: it is rather a good way to get to know and I recommend it. Or, it was also the way to tame the device because we did not really feel comfortable and feared the mischievous poses or just the ridiculous side of the thing. When we received the result, it definitely confirmed us in our choice. On the day of the wedding, Dorotée was perfect, slipping quietly among the guests and immortalizing a lot of little moments that had escaped us. The result is beyond our expectations and allows us to have an unforgettable memory. “
“For the music, we looked for a particular type of DJ, we wanted someone who shared our musical tastes and knew how to respect our desires while remaining discreet (no question of a MC who takes the microphone). met Adrien of Music and Emotion, and the feeling was immediately obvious.In addition to his perfect performance on D-Day, which still gives us compliments today, he has been a real support throughout the organization We advised with sincerity and frankness, we chose their DJ truck, The Black Machine, which also had a lot of success with the guests and proved to be a real asset to the photos. “
“Our only real difficulty was to find the caterer, Thomas being a great lover of food and especially the street food spirit, we wanted a meal that made a wink without falling into the evident idea of the burger. After a wedding where we experienced the very friendly suckling pig, we found the right compromise: pulled-pork ie a pork cooked for eight hours and then frayed and served either in plate or sandwich with BBQ sauce or Asian sauce, except that finding the provider who would follow us in this project in the region was a real obstacle course. We had a real disappointment with a young couple who launched and who, while we said yes, finally changed their mind and in hindsight we realized that they would not have had the shoulders to provide a meal for 140. We finally had to review our desire of originality to go on a more classic caterer (Mets & Secrets) but who listened and complied with our requests a little special. We had our pulled pork and especially we could have the dessert buffet we dreamed of : halfway between Beauty and the Beast by Jean Cocteau, Alice in Wonderland and a cabinet spirit of curiosity. After the quick dinner served under the big hall of the estate, the guests were invited to leave the table and discover the buffet by candlelight. Two of our witnesses had imagined the decoration on boards of inspiration and objects that we had picked up here and there: the result in the middle of the night was just magical. That remains for us, one of the strongest moments of this day. “
“The three sisters of Victoire Vermeulen are another big favorite of this wedding, their creations that change a little of the bohemian bride, their kindness, their story of family brand and the fact that they came as me from the North convinced me to choose my dress there. A choice that I have absolutely not regretted. From the beginning to the end, their professionalism was perfect. I left with a model in mind but when I I tried the Coco dress, it became obvious. The skirt with the pockets, its couture spirit and at the same time retro thanks to the lace that we chose together made it the ideal dress. Thomas thought of it because he imagined me in a very bohemian dress but in a look, I understood that I had made the right choice! For the shoes, I opted for a pair of golden Jonak sandals including the retro spirit was perfect for the dress e t whose heel, not too high, was very comfortable. A choice that I appreciated even more when I discovered just three months before the wedding that I was pregnant. For makeup and hairstyling, I trusted Dessange in Angers. They were perfect ensuring a beauty that has remained very natural, in the spirit of what I wanted.”
“For Thomas, the choice was made on a tailor-made suit made at Atelier NA, we opted for the Saint-Honoré shop where the salesmen were very good advice. The harder being to choose an original fabric on a simple sample, without really knowing what it would give on a complete suit. But again, we have no regrets.
“Difficult to make a choice: the various surprises of our families and friends including my father and my brothers who set the mood by revisiting Johnny Be Good, the announcement of the arrival of our baby to our surroundings, the discovery of the buffet, the ball opening with my father and Thomas, the dance that lasted until the end of the night … Yes, definitely, it’s really too difficult to make a choice! “
“It is true that we can quickly be overtaken in the organization of marriage. It is important to define a budget quickly (which is likely to be exceeded) and priority positions. We quickly realized that if we wanted to focus on the music and the photos, it would be necessary to give up a florist for example It remains to know in which area(s) one feels at ease or those in which one can rely on the Some of our friends and families have taken care of the different spaces and the flower bouquets and floral crowns, and we must also be realistic: the couple are not very available on the day and it is better not to worry too much with the list of tasks to be done. Thomas really wanted to make homemade pieces for dessert (cookies and carrot cakes) and we finally had to ask for help to complete everything in time! “
“If the reception area is large, you also have to prepare to spend a lot of time moving between the different strategic points during the installation. We said afterwards that having a bike for example would not have been useless!
Finally, I would say that the feeling with providers is essential. And beware, to those who say yes immediately and promise you wonders: it is not always nice to hear yourself say no but it can be the mark of a true professional whose experience will make the difference. On the other hand, we must not accept everything either. For example, it was inconceivable for us to sign with a caterer without tasting upstream, even if its reputation is good. “
Photographer : Dorothée Buteau | Wedding dress : Victoire Vermeulen | Shoes : Jonak | MUA : Dessange Paris (Angers) | Suit : Atelier NA | Bow Tie : Zara | Groom Shoes : Bocage | Rings : Paulette à Bicyclette for him, Ventes Privées for her | Flowers : the bride | Caterer : Mets & Secrets | DJ : The Black Machine
