An Effortlessly Chic French Cathedral Wedding with a Bride in a Long Sleeved Cristina Tamborero Dress

One of my favourite styling choices for weddings is the botanical look – venues full of fresh, green foliage have such timeless appear.

Today’s wedding is the epitome of the botanical vibe, offset by a thoroughly modern cream and black colour palette. So settle back and enjoy today’s sumptuous French marriage between Jayne and Kris.

Jayne, an architect and Kris, an architectural technician, escaped to Quimper, France for their wedding on 7 April 2018.  The magnificent Cathédrale Saint-Corentin, Quimper, France was the venue for their Catholic ceremony, with a wedding breakfast and party in the grounds of the historic Manoir de Kerouzien, Plomelin, Brittany.

Photography Kalisterscope Photography

Inspired by the couple’s love of beauty and drawn towards a monochrome colour palette with touches of navy and blush pink, the couple worked with event planner Séverine Simpson of Sevz Events to create this stylish, luxurious French celebration.Hair and make-up artist Mary’s Glam was on hand during the morning to create the girls’ beautiful wedding look. Jayne opted for a sleek and elegant plaited up-do, studded with pearl and Swarovski hair clips from Etsy. Soft, pared-back makeup was glammed-up with a classic smoky eye.

I adore the bridesmaids’ exquisitely-tailored Self-Portrait gowns. They look so different with their high neck and cut-out detailing. The girls wore them with navy suede block heels from New Look and pearl drop earrings.

“I wanted black bridesmaid dresses as I love monochrome and wanted the simple contrast with the white. We developed a palette together which became the white, black, grey, navy and blush pink.”

Has your eye been caught by Jayne’s two-piece gown? Sumptuous satin with a long, dramatic train, it’s a wonderful choice for the Cathedral setting. Jayne visited Spanish designer Cristina Tamborero in Barcelona who worked with her to adapt an existing design to the bride’s personal taste and style. What do you think of the different shades between the bodice and skirt – a great way of making a classic style contemporary.

[JP-VIDEO]

“I was looking for a classic but modern style and a big skirt to match the scale of the cathedral. I like wearing clothes that are simple and tailored and I couldn’t find anything in the UK that was like this. Everything has lace or embroidery which just isn’t me so I started searching Pinterest for designers, rather than dresses, which is how I found Cristina. She’s based in Barcelona so I scheduled a day of appointments with Pronovias, Cristina Tamborero and Rosa Clara and made a weekend out of it with my mum and bridesmaids.”

“As soon as I met Cristina I knew she was going to make my dress. Her enthusiasm, style and simplicity is exactly what I was looking for and we based the design on her Annick dress.”

“The two-piece was perfect with a simple white crepe body, long sleeves with buttons at the wrists and back with a boat neck. The skirt is a champagne satin with a single bow tie to the front. The train is made of the same fabric and is cathedral length and I love the colour contrast between the top and skirt.”

The couple met through their work and became engaged on holiday in Kris’s native New Zealand.

“We both worked in the same building and met each other commuting on the train as the office was in Thames Ditton but we both lived in south west London. We share common interests such as rugby, architecture and travel. I’m half Kiwi so as soon as I heard his accent we hit it off.”

“As we were colleagues we took our time getting to know each other, meeting up secretly so we could have some privacy without the office gossips knowing! We had been together for  years when we discussed taking the next step into marriage. It was a joint decision.”

A white chiffon veil, also by Cristina Tamborero, echoed the shape of the gown’s train perfectly for a clean, dramatic finish; just look at how it flows behind her as she walks. Edgy black block sandals from Topshop added another modern touch. The bride wore family jewellery for its sentimental value, and statement pearl drop earrings.

“I usually only wear black so I had to have some black on the day, plus I wanted to be able to wear them again after the day.”

“I wore my grandma’s ring on my middle finger. It’s blue topaz and now belongs to my sister. My grandma couldn’t travel to France so this was a way I had her with me and borrowed it off my sister (and it’s blue).”

“It’s a serious commitment neither of us took lightly as both our parents are separated. We went window shopping for a ring in Hatton Gardens and had a loose plan that Kris would propose on a trip out to New Zealand so we could have an engagement party out there. Kris proposed in January 2017 on Omaha Beach in New Zealand at sunset and it was beautiful. We were engaged for 15 months before we were married.”

With a holiday home in Brittany, the couple wanted to have a ‘destination’ wedding there, a choice which inspired the feel for the entire day.

“We have a family holiday house in Brittany and have been going there since I was a child. It’s such a special place with beautiful beaches, culture and space. We looked at who we would be inviting and most are in New Zealand or Scotland so we decided everyone would be travelling anyway, so let’s go to Brittany. The coast and lifestyle are similar to New Zealand so Kris has always felt at home there also.”

“For the day itself we wanted to show our friends and family the essence of Brittany so focussed on an amazing venue mountains of food and drink. Brittany encompasses everything we love with its beautiful architecture, Celtic history and coast.”

“We used to take our boat out from Benodet up the L’Odet River to the city Quimper. The river is stunning with woodland dotted with chateaux and gardens. When Kris proposed I knew this was where I wanted to be for our wedding day. Kris was raised a Catholic which influenced our decision to have a religious ceremony. We visit Quimper Cathedral all the time (who wouldn’t) and we thought why not ask if we can marry there. As Kris is Catholic they said yes! We still can’t believe it, even today.”

The couple had officially married in London in March, and their local priest worked closely with his French counterpart to make the couple’s day perfect.

“Our official ‘marriage’ was in Camberwell a month before. Father Corentin was our priest in France as he was local and did the ceremony in English. Our priest Father Gerry from St Thomas’ in Dulwich prepared everything required for the Catholic church and coordinated this with the cathedral in Quimper.”

The couple memorised their vows to each other, and had three Bible readings; ‘Ecclesiastes 4:9-12’ read by Jayne’s mum, ‘Psalms 144; 8-10’ and ’15. 17-18′ read by the groom’s brother and gospel reading ‘Matthew 7:21, 24-29’ read by Father Corentin Sanson.

“As it was a Catholic ceremony there were certain protocols and readings required. I wanted to make sure the readings were fair and relevant with no words like ‘obey’ or ideas of what a traditional wife should be and our priest helped us choose with this in mind.”

Jayne and Kris chose their wedding bands at Finecraft in Hatton Gardens, London, where Jayne’s engagement ring was also designed.

“We went window shopping and this was the shop that stood out to us because it had the classic style I was looking for. I chose an emerald cut diamond with two baguettes and white gold. I wanted the band to be really thin and the jeweller, Tony, worked with Kris on the design choosing the diamonds to be in proportion to the scale of the band.”

“Our friend recommended a custom-made ring so that it would be totally unique and I’m so pleased it is and nobody else in the world has mine. I just love it and still stare at it all the time. Our wedding bands are rose gold by Finecraft. I love the contrast with my white gold engagement ring and the colour looks great on Kris also.”

The cathedral is such a wonderful backdrop for the portrait photographs, and the newly-weds look so happy as they emerge from its doors to a flurry of confetti. After family and friends photos, everyone headed to the Manoir. The reception marquee was set up in its grounds,  simply but oh-so effectively decorated with swathes of foliage. Relaxing with the guests here was one of the bride’s favourite moments of the day.

“Canapés! We could relax at this point and enjoy being with our friends on the terrace. It was the first mouthful I felt able to eat all day and it was so good.”

Jayne asked her close friend Suzanne Lister of Kalisterscope Photography to capture the day on camera, with wonderful results. She has captured the historic feel of the venues so incredibly well, and her eye for detail is second to none. Just gorgeous.

“Suz is one of my best friends from university and had begun her transition away from architecture into wedding photography before I was engaged. She took photos at my 30th birthday which were stunning and I could see she had the eye. With Suz’s background in architecture the way she frames her photos with a simple line in a building or landscape feature coupled with movement in the foreground had me certain I wanted her.”

Kris soft grey suit came from Charles Tyrwhitt, and he added a navy knitted tie and personalised, bronze tie-clip from Etsy. His finishing touch was a dainty buttonhole which combined thistles and ferns. The flowers were all styled by Chloé Le Berre, giving a nod to the couple’s heritages. The overall vibe is natural yet opulent with a lovely freshness for the springtime.

“We wanted the flowers to be wild and native to reflect the season and location of the day. We tied this with our palette so had white anemone, blush roses with thistles (for Scotland) and ferns (for New Zealand). My favourite flowers are peonies so I had these in my bouquet also.”

“We decorated the marquee with foliage from my dad’s garden in France. We used conifer, holly and ivy tied up with fishing wire and fairy lights. Camelias were used around the entrance for a pop of colour, including a little chandelier. We made all of this ourselves.”

“We made little blue houses out of card filled with Scottish tablet. These were tied with grey ribbon and dymo name labels. My mum made the tablet, and the wedding party made the blue houses with me. It was a mission!”

I love the couple’s approach to making sure all of their guests could relax and enjoy the day – hiring childminders and making sure there were plenty of activities for them.

“We had a couple of childminders for the day to keep the kids entertained. The kids were welcome as they had travelled a long way with their parents but we wanted both parents, kids and guests without kids to relax. The chateau had a dorm room we hired so they could be put to sleep while the party carried on into the small hours. We had a separate kid-friendly menu and stocked up with activities from Hobbycraft.”

The wedding breakfast was provided by Les Jardins Du Prieuré, and the fabulous stacked wedding gateaux decorated with sparklers was by Dessine Moi Un Cake.

“These are the best in the area recommended to us by our neighbours in France. The style of cake for a wedding is different in France so this was a gateaux with light sponge and mousse. We chose two flavours with the traditional chocolate praline of the region (first two tiers) and vanilla raspberry for the top.”

“It was a semi-naked cake so you could see the structure. In France they wheel out the cake with sparklers at the end of the night rather than leave it on the side like a traditional sponge in the UK because it’s so fresh.”

 

After the cake was cut and the couple had spent some moments to the enjoying the river-side sunset, the dancing began! Their first dance was to Finley Quay’s ‘Love Get’s Sweeter Everyday’.

“It’s a favourite of Kris’s and the lyrics are true.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

Jayne has some super-practical words of advice to share with you. Over to the bride…

“Make sure you mingle as a couple on the day. It’s really easy to get swept up and the time flies so you have to make a conscious effort to stay with each other.”

“Trust your entourage! They were absolutely fantastic and I couldn’t have done it without them. They exceeded the vision I had which is a pretty tall order as I’m an absolute perfectionist.”

“Don’t sweat the small stuff as things will go wrong on the day so let your entourage cushion you and support you as it really is the best day of your life.”

“Be literal in your brief. Don’t say a bit like this or maybe like that. Be specific about what you want and it’s much easier for everyone else to understand and meet your expectations. I had blush pink on the palette but I specifically requested blush pink peonies and roses rather than leave it to chance. Without this you will be disappointed if people are guessing.”

“Be decisive as the three months leading up to the wedding require a lot of decisions and you don’t have time or energy to waste. At the same time trust and listen to other people’s creativity as what my friends achieved for the marquee foliage was incredible.”

“Don’t be afraid to do exactly what you want even if you think it will upset people. It was really hard telling the family I wanted my twin sister to walk me down the aisle rather than my father. She has been by my side my entire life and in that moment I knew I would need her more than anyone to get me down that aisle to Kris. It’s an emotional rollercoaster!”

“Carry cash. Take out a few hundred and give this to the best man for the day. There are unforeseen events where some people wanted upfront payment having not said so and others needed cash for taxis. Anything not spent was perfect for the start of the honeymoon.”

Jayne and Kris, I’m absolutely blown away by your French wedding. Your gown is impeccable and I love the fresh foliage styling. Thank you so much Kalisterscope Photography and to Jayne and Kris for allowing us to share your day on Love My Dress.

If you’re inspired by this French celebration then please take a few moments to enjoy these chateaux weddings, which I’m sure will provide you with plenty more inspiration.

Ele x