A Château Vineyard Wedding in the South of France
There's a particular feeling you get driving up to Château Les Carrasses for the first time. Vines on both sides of the road for what feels like miles, the Languedoc countryside doing its shimmering green June thing, and then the château itself appearing over the trees, all turrets and pale stone, like it's been waiting for you. We looked at each other in the car and said, right. This weekend is going to be special.
And it was. Saturday 13th June 2026, 80 of Cecilia and Chris' favourite people flown in from America and France, three days of wine, sunshine and some properly excellent dancing, all wrapped up in the quiet luxury of a 19th-century wine estate in the South of France.
When Cecilia first described the vibe she was after, she gave us three words: "natural beauty, joy, family." Understated elegance, wild flowers and potted plants that looked like they'd simply wandered in from the landscape and decided to stay. And honestly, that's exactly how the whole weekend felt.
About Château Les Carrasses
If you haven't been, let us save you a Google. Château Les Carrasses is a 19th-century winemaking château turned boutique estate, tucked into the vines between Béziers and Narbonne, with the Canal du Midi just down the road. Suites and villas scattered through the grounds, an infinity pool staring out over the vineyards, and that warm, dusty, lavender-and-wild-herb smell the South of France does so well. And it's a working wine estate, which matters, because it means the wine at your wedding was grown about fifty metres from where you're drinking it.
We've shot a lot of destination weddings in France over the years, and Les Carrasses has something genuinely its own. Grand without being stiff. Elegant without trying. The sort of place where quiet luxury isn't a theme, it's just what the building does.
The Pre-Wedding Days
We always arrive at least a day before a destination wedding. Partly as a contingency, partly because we genuinely love exploring somewhere new, and partly because it gives us time to scout the light, the angles, the little corners of a place that aren't on any Pinterest board. The Languedoc gave us plenty.
Friday Morning: Sunrise in Minerve
At silly o'clock on Friday morning, we met Cecilia and Chris for a sunrise shoot in Minerve. If you've never heard of it, Minerve is a tiny medieval village perched on a rocky outcrop where two gorges meet, officially one of the most beautiful villages in France, and at sunrise it is completely, ridiculously silent. Just old stone, swallows, and the first light pouring down into the gorge.
And this, honestly, is why we love pre-wedding shoots, especially abroad. No timeline, no guests, no pressure. Just us and the two of them, wandering empty medieval lanes while the village slowly woke up. By the time the wedding day comes round, we're not strangers with cameras anymore. We've already shared a coffee, worked out who laughs at what. It shows in every frame.
"A sunrise shoot in one of the most beautiful villages in France, with a couple this relaxed? It's cheating really. You just point them at the light and everything falls into place." - Dominic
Friday: The Wine Walk, Tasting & Luncheon
Late morning, everyone gathered for a wine walk through the estate's vines, glasses in hand, finding out how the stuff they'd be drinking all weekend actually gets made. Then a tasting, then a long, lazy luncheon in the afternoon sunshine. There's something about a wedding weekend that starts with wine in the vineyard it came from. It just settles everyone.
Friday Evening: The Welcome BBQ
Then at 6pm, the welcome BBQ. All 80 guests together for the first time, smoke rising, glasses clinking, old friends reuniting, new ones being introduced, hugs in every direction. And the speeches, a few of them snuck in early and scattered through the evening, which told us everything we needed to know about this crowd. They do not save their feelings for the main event.
This is the magic of multi-day destination weddings. By the end of night one, no one's a stranger anymore. Everyone's fed, everyone's had a drink, everyone's shared a laugh. Which means by the time the wedding actually happens, you're photographing a room full of friends.
The Wedding Day // Saturday 13th June
The Morning
Cecilia's morning kicked off at 8am in the bridal suite, with Larissa Beauty Paris on hair and makeup and a room full of the best people. Maids of honour Elizabeth and Angela, bridesmaids Melissa, Caroline, Stephanie and Natalie, junior bridesmaids Ellery, Alexia, Evangeline and Josephine, and flower girls Olympia and Sawyer keeping everyone honest.
The flat lay that morning was a proper storyteller. The wild flowers by Elk Creations, the invitations, the perfume, and then the detail that got us both. Cecilia's engagement ring is a family heirloom. Some rings are beautiful. This one has a whole history riding on it, and we photographed it accordingly. Gently. Like it was made of memories, because it is.
"You can always tell when a detail really matters to a couple. The whole room goes quiet around it. That ring had the entire bridal suite holding its breath." - Ruby
Meanwhile, at 1pm over in one of the estate's villas, Chris was getting ready with his best man Hugo, groomsmen Tommy, Danny, Rick and Nitin, groomsmaid Shirin, and page boys Xavier and Townsend, who took their duties extremely seriously for at least eleven minutes.
The Ceremony
At 3pm, the ceremony. Thirty minutes, in English, warm and personal and set against the vines, with petals ready and waiting for the walk back out. And when those petals went up at 3:30, honestly, there is no confetti in the world that beats South of France sunshine catching a sky full of them.
Cocktail Hour on the Terrace
Then from 4pm, cocktail hour, with a string quartet playing on the terrace above, the music drifting down over everyone while the estate did its golden afternoon thing. Two hours of hugs, champagne and that particular happy hum a wedding gets when everything is going exactly right.
Couple Portraits
At some point in the evening we stole the newlyweds away into the surrounding estate. Now, Chris had warned us. Posed photos, not his thing, awkward in front of a camera, the works. So we barely posed a thing. We just walked, let them talk, and waited for the light to do the heavy lifting.
"Give me a groom who hates posing and a beautiful venue, and I'll give you photos he'll actually love. You just let them forget we're there." - Dominic
And it worked. These two together are easy. The photos wrote themselves.
Dinner & Speeches
At 6pm, everyone sat down for the wedding breakfast on the back patio, overlooking the pool and the vines, as the evening light turned everything honey-coloured. The speeches were scattered through the meal (and as we knew from the BBQ the night before, this lot had form). Every single one landed somewhere between belly laughs and proper tears. That sweet spot you're always hoping for.
Cake, First Dance & The Party
Cake at 10pm, a beauty from L'Atelier des Desserts, and then at 10:30, the first dance. Wildfire DJs took it from there, and the dance floor did not empty. June nights in the South of France stay warm long after dark, and this one was used properly, right to the very end.
To Cecilia & Chris
You two. Thank you for trusting us with all of it. The silent sunrise in Minerve, the wine walk, the heirloom ring, the petals, the speeches that started a day early because nobody could wait. It was an honour to be there, it was a joy to shoot, and we genuinely loved every minute of our weekend in the vines with you both.
With all our love,
Dominic & Ruby xx 📸
YOUR SUPER SUPPLIERS
The Main Event
📸 Photography: @dominiclemoinegrams
🎥 Videography: @dominiclemoinegrams
💒 Venue: @lescarrasses
For the Bride
💄 Hair & Makeup: @larissabeautyparis
The Details
💐 Flowers: @elkcreations
🎂 Cake: @latelierdesdesserts
🎻 String Quartet: [add handle]
🎧 DJ: @wildfire_djs
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