The ancient steps at Chateau Lagorce - a wedding chateau in the Dordogne

Chateau Lagorce is just outside the Dordogne area of France, but as it is a little closer to Bordeaux, there are certain benefits to not being in the 24 (Dordogne) postcode…

1. Possibly the most important in my view is the proximity of a major airport – Bordeaux airport is just 30 minutes away (using Sat Nav.), although Bergerac airport serves the Dordogne well it is not in the same league as Bordeaux. I even have horror stories of hire cars hired 6 months in advance not being there on arrival to Bergerac airport – sometimes the hire companies overbook an hire pre booked cars on a first come first served basis!
2. Estate Bordeaux Wines – Chateau Lagorce has its own vineyards so it is possible / more often than not served  for the wedding breakfast. With this comes the breathtaking views of the vines on the premier côtes of Bordeaux (France’s Tuscany).
3. Ease of access from the motorways – looking at the photo below you can see that Chateau Lagorce is easily accessible from the main motorways. This is an important aspect of choosing a rental chateau for a wedding, the last thing you want is your guests having a 2-3 hour drive on arrival at the airport.
   

   Dordogne Wedding

4. Lack of ex-pat community, although it is nice to be able to speak to English people about the local area, it can be a little off putting to feel like you are ‘followed’ by the local ex pat community, around Chateau Lagorce even in the larger towns it is rare to even hear English, as most English in the area are completely integrated.
5. There are lots of amenities within a few Kms of the chateau, and Bordeaux center is only 25 minutes away, but at the same time we are in the vine country.

This is not to say that the Dordogne is not a very beautiful place to visit, it is just that in my view the benefits of renting outside of the Dordogne (all be it by 30 minutes!) way out-way the benefits of the Dordogne post code!

To have a little better look into renting Chateau Lagorce for your weding please click the link below:

Dordogne Wedding Venue Chateau Lagorce

Follow this link to check out what dates are still available:-

Cheap last minute wedding packages in France

Or better still call Anna on  0033668653000 email: anna@frenchweddingchateau.com

Choosing the right wedding flowers is a difficult task , as so many things are to be taken into consideration .
First all will depend on the venue as some places will require a little decorations and others will need a bit more .

The seasons change and so do the flowers

You will not be able to have the same flowers in May as in October but a good florist will be able to advise you, and don’t forget some flowers are available all year round .
The flowers play a big factor in the wedding theme and for this you can have great fun as they finalise the look , and can help you keep the wedding theme / colours going.
Everything can be coordinated from the bridal bouquet , the bridesmaids bouquet , to button holes , table centerpieces etc
Also flowers decorations and compositions depend on the time and place that the ceremony is being held , if it is a mid-day wedding , a late afternoon , indoor ceremony, in a church, outdoor ceremony, down by the lake or by a nice archway.
Bridal bouquets vary is shapes and sizes but your choice is dependant on the dress. For example a round bouquet migh work better with a princess wedding dress and a tear drop shaped with a mermaid wedding dress but in the end it is all up to you .

Table Centerpieces

Table centerpieces do vary in size and shapes , from vases big or small to candelabras but dont we all agree a table looks so nice with even a rosebud .

The classic centerpiece above looks beautiful, but is not the cheapest and I know it is hard to say no when a florist suggests things but remember the suppliers can adapt and there are decorations for every budget .
Fresh flowers do make everything look nicer but if you have a smaller budget rose petals skatered on the tables will also look beautiful .

What does your choice of flowers mean about you?
But best of all the wedding flowers that you go for with say a lot about your personnality and what your wedding day means to you .
If you go for white flowers it symbolises innocence and pure love .

Pink is the colour of love and hapiness .

Red means passion and if you go for red roses it can also mean that you are very romantic .

If you do go for orange flowers it symbolises the desire but you also give a lot of importance to communication .

Yellow flowers can look beautiful , it symbolises joy , friendship but it can also mean jealousy .

Blue is the royal colour but it also the colour of power and determination .

Green and greenery in general does go with everything and it means optimism and it is a the most relaxing colour .
In the end it is your speacil day and there is nothing that will work better that the flowers that you have always dreamt of .
But one thing is for sure there are never too many flowers if they are well chosen .

Before we get started we will take out the high end wines, so anything costing over 15€ we will consider as being too expensive, not forgetting that here at Chateau Lagorce there is no corkage…. so 14€ spent on wine is 14€ in the bottle.

1) Sparkling wine for the reception after the Wedding / toasts

I’ll start in reverse on this one, and say if you go for a high priced Champagne, and if you are going to have toasts after the main, then I’d suggest a budget wine. There are 2 main reasons for this 1) most of the toasting wine is left on the table and thrown away, 2) with the best will in the world after a champagne reception and meal served with appropriate wines 99% of your guests will not know the difference between a good and ok champagne.

For the champagne reception I would go for a good quality well presented Champagne, you are not presenting anyone with the bottle, so it is more important what is in the bottle than where the bottle is from. In-fact the wine I’d suggest is actually produced just across the road from Chateau Lagorce – Anna Lagorce Cremant de Bordeaux, it is exquisitely presented in a unique bottle, under the method traditional Champanoise.

2) White wine

If you are eating an entree of fish then most of your guests would prefer to drink a dry white rather than a red or rose. Obviously you have the cliche of a Chablis (as Bordeaux is for red), but did you know that Bordeaux produces some great Sauvignons? In particular, once again excluding an expensive white (I class 7/8 € upwards as an expensive wedding white) I know of a great Bordeaux Sauvignon again within 1km of the chateau – Chateau Peneau II Sauvignons – recent winner of ‘coup de coeur’ of Guide Hachette, chosen first over around 100000 other Bordeaux whites with regards quality price ratio, so at 3.50€ you are getting a great white wine. I can tell you one of the secrets behind this great white wine – Sauvignon Gris, most white wines from Bordeaux have Sauvignon blanc and Semillion, but this Sauvignon Gris really does enhance the quality of the wine. Most viticulteurs in Bordeaux do not plant Sauvignon Gris as it does not have a long life, hence costs a little more, but the benefits really outweigh the cost.

3) Rose or Clairet

Depending on what you have on the menu / who you have invited to your wedding, rose wine may or may not be on the menu. If you are going for a rose then once again you have the choice of near or far…. far possibly being Provence, but near starts getting a little more complicated. Yes Bordeaux produces rose wines as well as white and red! But there is another wine rare outside France – Bordeaux Claret, some of you may have heard of Claret before and think “what is he talking about? Claret is a red wine”, Claret is in-fact a dark rose, and next to a Bordeaux rose you really would not notice much difference. There is however a difference in the processes, and if you were to taste a Claret next to a Rose from the same chateau then you would spot the difference straight away, a claret is more robust and almost heading towards a chilled red wine. Not going into too much detail about the process of producing a claret ‘you take the lighter wine off the top of a red wine tank‘. Starting mid 2011 Danny Douence of Chateau Peneau will be producing both rose and Claret, so any of you getting married this year should be able to taste the 2 wines, and see which one you prefer. Being a lover of red wine I shall head towards a Claret rather than rose, but this is wine, everyone has their own preferences.

4) The Red

With literally millions of wineries in Bordeaux you should find at least 1 or 2 wines you like, although you will not find Shiraz(or Syrah) etc you will find arguably the best blend of grapes in the world – Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc (along with a few other rarer grape varieties). as a very good friend of mine states “Its all about Merlot”. If you are looking for an older wine you need to pay for the age of the wine,so you need to add at least 2€ per year, so you will be looking at around 10-14 euros for a good wine of 5 or 6 years. Alternatively if you are looking for a younger wine then you need to make sure it is drinkable young, hence I’d suggest sticking with the Right bank (anywhere from Bordeaux to St Emilion and beyond), the problem with the Left bank (anywhere to the north west of Bordeaux, but not on the right hand side of the gironde estuary) is when they are young there is too much Cabernet Sauvignon / the wines are too oak-ed to drink. The heavy left bank wines need a few years to age before they are ready to drink. There is not much point noting any red wines, as everyone’s tastes are different and everyone has a different budget, one thing I will say there is a certain charm having the wine of the Chateau where you are getting married at, this is why I would say 75% of our clients choose Chateau Lagorce wines. One last very important point on red wines is that the same chateau can produce completely different wines from year to year, and although we can say recently that 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010 have been exceptional years it is also worth noting that 2007 was a washout and certainly a year to stay clear of (I have tried lots of different chateau, and the wines produced are never as good as the years either side).

If you need any help with wines for your wedding at Chateau Lagorce do not hesitate to contact me for a few suggestions.

Edward Holmes

Chateau Lagorce

Once a worthy knight has been selected (something we can not help you with!), possibly the most important element to a princess’ wedding is the venue. Here we have the history, the entrance – 100 steps down to the lake where the ceremony takes place, and that all important French castle and tower as a backdrop. Stood by an arch of red roses your knight will await his princess – dressed in a classic wedding dress with a tiara to die for and a tear drop bouquet of matching red roses.

Once the ceremony has finished, the princess and her new husband would never ascend the 100 steps back up to the second terrace. Her horse drawn carriage awaits for a quick tour of the local French vine-yards, for some oportune photo’s followed by a stunning arrival into the courtyard.

On the second terrace the princess meets and greats her suitably attired guests, to have the pleasure of champagne in crystal and silver service canapes. After a light afternoon snack and champagne the princess retreats to the refinements inside the chateau for the wedding breakfast. The chateau is suitably decorated with large candelabras on every jewel dashed table, and red roses stratigically places around the room.

After the meal the princess would waltz her fist dance away on the old stone terrace. Later on overlooking the valley her guests would be shocked by an array of splendid fireworks whilst the princess makes her way to her bedroom in the top of the turret.

• Location: 25 minutes from Bordeaux, 40 minutes from Bordeaux Airport.
• Sleeping Capacity: 15 en-suite Bedrooms 40 (as of November 2010-watch this space!).
• Venue capacity: 200.
• History: Chateau Lagorce History
• Nearest towns: Langoiran (2kms), Creon (5kms), Cadillac (10kms)
• Wiki Page:Chateau Lagorce
• Pool size: 25m x 7m
• Lake size: 3 acres
• Airconditioned: Yes.
• BBQ: Yes.
• Chateau Rates / availability: Rental Chateau rates
• Extra Local Accommodation: Accommodation near Chateau Lagorce

Back in 2008 we had the pleasure of arranging a wedding for a Norwegian couple called Astrid and Ivar from Trondheim Norway. They wrote what they thought about the chateau in Norwegian, lets hope its good!!!……..

Vi giftet oss på dette slottet i Frankrike og det var en fantastisk opplevelse. Familie og venner var samlet i en uke før vi avsluttet oppholdet med bryllup. Edward som eier slottet hjalp oss med alt det praktiske som kaker og utsyr til den store dagen. I tillegg fikset han vin- og cremantsmaking i for oss i gåavstand fra slottet.

Vi følte vi tok en sjanse da vi leide dette stedet etter bare å ha sett det på internett, men vi kunne ikke ha vært mer fornøyde med resultatet.

Dette er et perfekt sted for en ferie sammen med venner eller storfamilien. Bassenget er supert for både store og små og det var helt nydelig å sitte å nyte de varme kveldene i hagen. Det er det ultimate sted for å slappe av. Og hvis det skulle bli for rolig er Bordeaux bare en halvtime unna. Det er viktig å disponere bil hvis man drar hit, ellers kommer man seg nok verken fra eller til slottet.

Dersom noen skulle ønske å gifte seg her og synes det er litt lite med femten rom til alle gjestene, finnes det rimelige alternativer for gjester i nærheten.

Vi håper vi får muligheten til å reise tilbake. Det er et ubeskrivelig bra sted:-)

Astrid & Ivar

Norway

I quickly came to the conclusion that the best suited theme for the chateau would be vintage. As I mentioned above we have had hints of themes, and they have always been around the vintage theme, with sun parasols, banquets on table, old oil lamps etc etc

Taking the step to a fully themed wedding would be a massive decision for a bride, but I’m confident that we could pull it off in a classy way here at Chateau Lagorce, incorporating some of the themes I’ve already arranged for people along with some more Ideas, all listed below…..

• Photography in Sepia
• A banquet on the table / suitably attired waiters
• old oil lamps dotted around, with candelabras on the tables
• sun parasols for the ladies
• A turn of the century styled wedding dress
• a period dress code for all guests
• lots of streamers on the top terrace, from the 1st floor to the cedar tree
• Tea in the park style canapes infront of the orangerie on the second terrace, and in-keeping food
• One long table, with rustic wooden cushioned chairs
• Certainly no fireworks, but maybe some plain Thai Lanterns
• Michel our celebrant wearing his Conitable du Vin gown
• Musicians suited and booted in suitable attire singing old English / French songs
• Maybe an old car parked in the courtyard (certainly all new cars banished for the day along with mobile phones!!!)
• flowers would have to be white roses, white orchids, lilies of the valley, or orange blossoms

So maybe I got a little carried away, but I was just trying to set a mood for how Chateau Lagorce could be for a vintage theme!

Well what can I say about 2010 wedding season….

We had a full season of 15 weddings this year, ranging from 30 to 150 guests! I helped arrange weddings for people from all over the world, including France, UK, Ireland, USA, Australia and South Africa.

For the first year I planned 3 weddings in one week, one would think that it would be a very hard / tiring week, but with 90% of the preparation completed in advance it was quite a comfortable week (apart from the late nights!).

Once again the micro climate at Chateau Lagorce was kind! We did not have one drop of rain on any wedding days whatsoever.

I’d like to thank our great team of suppliers, especially Michel at Chateau Peneau for celebrating most of our wedding ceremonies and David one of our trusted photographer (most of the photos on the site were provided by him).

I’d like to finish this blog entry with one of my favourite photos from 2010…..

Thai Lanterns in the valley at Château Lagorce

Hi I’m Anna Holmes,

If you have got this far you may well already know that I Plan weddings for clients at Chateau Lagorce, near Bordeaux France. my philosophy of my role as quoted on the site is…

I am here to ensure that you are able to relax during the planning process, while all the detail are personally taken care of locally. This is so that all your expectations are fulfilled on one of the most important days of your life.

You can find a little more about me on the Wedding Planner page, but my blog is not about me, more about you and making your wedding as special as I can.

On this blog I shall principally be picking up on some of the highlights of each wedding held at Chateau Lagorce. But also writing about Ideas, trends and developments at the château regarding to weddings, incidentally this winter 2010 will be an exciting pivotal development stage at the chateau (more to follow on this subject in my December posts).