Today we’re making our way to a French chateau nestled in the beautiful Provence countryside – a place which manages to be spectacular and historic, but cosy and welcoming at the same time.
I’m so delighted to be sharing the wedding of content creators Victoria and Alex Magrath of award-winning fashion website Inthefrow, and on their first wedding anniversary, too. Congratulations! Victoria and Alex were married on the 31 August 2019 at Chateau du Bijou, and their celebration was planned to perfection by Annabel at The Lobster Collective.
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Award-winning photographer Lyndsey Goddard’s natural, narrative style lent itself perfectly to Victoria and Alex’s relaxed house (well, chateau!) party wedding, and the story of their day unfolds beautifully through these emotive and romantic images.
“I found Lyndsey Goddard on Instagram, and her style of photography was exactly what I was looking for. Alex and I are creatives, and Alex is a photographer, so we needed someone that was genuinely exceptional, and we found Lyndsey. The best wedding photographs you could possibly dream of.”
“Papertwin were absolutely unreal. I couldn’t recommend them more. The nicest people, and the most incredible videos.”
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For the rehearsal dinner the evening prior, Victoria wore a sharply cut trouser suit by Pronovias.
After excellent pre-wedding celebrations, with al fresco feasting and partying by the pool, which included live music from James Bradshaw (whom Victoria says was ‘the best’ and ‘the star of the show) Victoria and Alex went their separate ways the next day to prepare for the ceremony.
Victoria’s hair was styled in a soft and elegant chignon by Larry King, and her beautiful make-up – berry pink hued lips and subtly shimmering and smoky eyes – was by Nikki Makeup.
“I fell in love with Phillipa Lepley’s dresses right at the beginning of looking for a dress. I was part of a photoshoot for Mine magazine, and got the chance to try on a number of Phillipa’s gowns for the shoot – meaning that Phillipa’s dress was the first wedding dress I ever tried on. That meant so much to me, so I felt destined to wear a PL piece for my wedding day.”
Victoria’s daytime dress was an exquisitely tailored and fitted creation with delicate shoulder straps and a sleek, corseted bodice, and skirt with a beautiful long train. To see Victoria’s wonderful couture experience, do watch her vlog all about it.
“Phillipa is the most incredible woman. A heart of gold, the warmest smile and such a visionary. I couldn’t have loved the experience more. It was just wonderful; every single fitting, of which I had around 8 or 9. I would recommend Phillipa forever and ever.”
Victoria wore ivory ankle-strap heels by Jimmy Choo, and her lovely floral inspired jewellery was by David Morris.
The bridesmaids wore gorgeous Pronovias gowns in a dreamily romantic shade of rose pink, and on their feet, shoes by Sophia Webster.
“I wore Dior – Rose Gypsy, and there was Dior – Sauvage for the men. Dior was the scent of the whole wedding. The candles were Fève Délicieuse, of which we had 80 dotted around the wedding. My favourite candle scent in the world.”
Loved ones gathered in the golden late summer sunshine for the couple’s outdoor ceremony, shading themselves with pastel-hued parasols.
Alex wore a blue three-piece suit by Ted Baker, and all his accessories, including shoes, tie, and pocket square were also by Ted Baker. He and his groomsmen also wore classic Ray-Ban Clubmaster sunglasses.
Victoria’s bridal bouquet was an elegantly undone creation filled with creamy roses and sprigs of sweetly scented lavender, and was made for her by florists All For Love, who are based in London, and travel worldwide.
“I adore lavender anyway, but I wanted a lilac grey and white colour scheme, and with us being married in this region of France, it seemed totally appropriate and perfect.”
“My Dad walked me down with my seven bridesmaids in front. Our entrance music was Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springsteen, covered by Daniela Andrade – just beautiful. My brother married us in France as we had gotten legally married in Wigan three weeks previous.”
The couple made their specially written vows in front of the most spectacular flower arbour by All For Love. What a creation! Roses and greenery, and cloud-like puffs of pink and white gypsophila trailing downwards and along the aisle.
“My brother then finished off the vows by having us recite the chorus to Bon Jovi’s In These Arms – the most hilarious ceremony. We had also all just been singing the chorus to Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on Prayer too before this, too!”
Alex chose the couple’s wedding rings with the help of a close friend at a Hatton Garden jeweller – apologies, we don’t have the details. As a surprise during the ceremony, Victoria’s Mum read the Apache Wedding Blessing.
“We met when we were 16 and had mutual friends in Wigan. We started dating at 20 and became inseparable thereafter really. We got engaged in Vancouver in August 2018, and married August 2019. This is all on my YouTube channel if you need any more details – I document pretty much every moment of my existence, ha!”
“I wore a bespoke silk embroidered veil with custom embroidery. It was exquisite.”
Victoria and Alex’s stationery was modern minimalist perfection, including a stylish acrylic seating plan, and even door hangers for the chateau’s rooms – designed and made by Luxury Stationery (formerly Design by Pye).
Gilded, transparent charger plates were adorned with pink linen napkins, and sprigs of dried lavender, and running the dining table’s entire length was a magnificent wooden pergola, brought over from the UK and constructed by The Lobster Collective team.
“We also had Dior candles and hurricane jars everywhere, plus the floral displays were everywhere, too. There were grey linen tie backs on each chair with each guest’s name in calligraphy down the ribbon.”
The pergola was then decorated with more incredible flowers, which also found their way up onto the chateau’s balcony, too. Favours were Rouge d’Armani lipsticks monogrammed with Victoria and Alex’s initials.
The sunshine and heat of the day melted into a beautifully languid summer evening, and the couple and their guests enjoyed a wonderful dinner by candlelight, in the shadow of the old chateau.
Catering came courtesy of the Bijou team, and the wedding cake was a French classic – croquembouche from a local patisserie.
“The pastries were filled with vanilla custard cream. It was just wonderful and my only regret is not eating more of it. We brought it out on the balcony of the chateau whilst everyone watched from below. It was true princess moment.”
“I do wish I had made sure everyone was eating the cake! Due to the rain it got placed a little further away from the dancefloor, and so no-one ate it and I chose a profiterole cake because it’s so easy to eat!”
After the speeches (with that added extra rain shower) Victoria let her hair down – and it was styled beautifully once again by Larry King. She also changed into her second Phillipa Lepley gown, with a sparkling, sequin embellished sweetheart bodice and full, frothy tulle skirt, which she wore with Christian Louboutin shoes.
“Our first dance song was Lookers by The Menzingers. A song me and Alex both adore, and means a lot to us. We also arranged a little dance routine, too.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“Planning a wedding can be a stressful experience. I tried to enjoy it from the word go, but honestly I found it a really tough 7 months. I wish I had found my venue before telling everyone to save the date, as that only inflicted more pressure to find the venue – and we had a few fall through at the last minute.”
“I would say that a smaller wedding is actually incredible, because you really can speak to everyone. We only had 75 guests over 3 days, and still didn’t find enough time to spend with each person.”
“Remember that your wedding is about you – don’t start to worry too much about that person cancelling last minute, or whether you decided you do or do not want children present. This is your wedding day, and I feel you are allowed to make it the event of your life, so plan it how you always imagined it. People will understand.”
“And everyone is right when they say you don’t get enough time with your other half on the wedding day, so make sure that you get that time together even if it’s five minutes in the middle.”
“Oh, and the photographer and videographer are definitely things that require that higher budget, if you can – they’re worth it.”
Victoria and Alex, happy anniversary and huge congratulations. This has been a dream of a day to write about, from the beautiful couture creations by Philippa Lepley, to the dreamy flowers, and everything in between. Many thanks to photographer Lyndsey Goddard, who we’re delighted to see back on our pages once more.
Until next time!
Love,
Laura
Laura Callan
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Laura is a freelance writer and content creator who loves telling stories. She has keen eye for photography and art, and lives with her husband, cats, and huge amounts of books.