A Modern Fairytale at Chateau de Vallery, Burgundy

Madeleine and Guillaume's fairytale wedding at Chateau de Vallery in Burgundy, with vaulted ceilings, candlelit dining, and photography by Sylvain Bouzat.

By Elena Moretti | Published 4 April 2023

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Chateau

Chateau de Vallery

Burgundy / Île-de-France border · Yonne

Up to 300 guests

From €18,000 4.8 (640)

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Chateau

Chateau de Vallery

Burgundy / Île-de-France border · Yonne

Up to 300 guests

From €18,000 4.8 (640)

Madeleine and Guillaume, whose love story began on a flight from Stockholm to Copenhagen, celebrated at Chateau de Vallery, a historic venue that can seat 300 guests in Burgundy. Captured by Sylvain Bouzat in Burgundy, the day merged romance, history, and heartfelt intention beneath the chateau's vaulted ceilings and across its formal grounds.

Photography

Sylvain Bouzat

Venue

Chateau de Vallery, Yonne

Region

Burgundy / Île-de-France border, France

Couple

Madeleine & Guillaume

Ceremony

A classic black Citroën Traction Avant wedding car drives along a narrow village lane toward the camera, with a French rural church featuring a pointed slate steeple visible in the background. The setting is an outdoor French village, with a rendered stone boundary wall running along the right side of the lane and a brick outbuilding to the left. The vintage black car serves as the wedding transport, adding a retro styling element to the day. Wide shot composition capturing both the vehicle and the village architectural context.

A bride in a white gown with a long cathedral veil and train is walking across a large open lawn toward an outdoor ceremony in the distance, accompanied by two bridesmaids in navy blue floor-length halter-style dresses who are carrying her train and holding white bouquets. The ceremony setup in the background includes rows of white chairs filled with approximately 100 guests, with the groom visible at the altar flanked by an officiant. The setting appears to be the grounds of a French chateau or estate, with historic stone buildings partially visible through the trees in the background. The wide-angle shot is taken from behind the bridal party, capturing the full expanse of the lawn and the procession in progress.

The bride stands outdoors on a gravel driveway in front of what appears to be a French chateau or manor entrance with stone gate pillars and brick outbuildings, holding a bouquet of white flowers. She is wearing an off-the-shoulder white ball gown with a long train, which two bridesmaids dressed in floor-length navy blue gowns are crouching down to arrange. A third bridesmaid in a matching navy dress stands to the left also holding a white bouquet. A classic black Citroën Traction Avant vintage car is parked prominently to the right of the frame. The image is a wide shot taken in natural daylight, capturing a pre-ceremony moment as the bridal party prepares for departure.

Inside the chateau's historic ceremony space, Madeleine and Guillaume exchanged vows before guests who had traveled from around the world. The architecture, steeped in centuries of French history, added gravitas to the couple's modern love story, one that began on a flight from Stockholm to Copenhagen. Sylvain Bouzat captured the interplay of emotion and heritage with clarity and warmth.

Cocktail Hour

Between ceremony and dinner, guests gathered in the chateau's grounds for a cocktail hour framed by the estate's grand facades and formal gardens. The atmosphere carried the emotional energy of the ceremony into something lighter, with laughter and conversation filling the open air. Patrice, the chateau's warm and welcoming owner, set a tone of genuine hospitality.

Reception

A getting-ready scene taking place in a rustic attic-style room with exposed wooden beams and large floor-to-ceiling steel-framed windows. A bride seated in a chair is having her hair styled by a male hairstylist wearing a white and grey polo shirt and yellow trousers, while another woman in white sits nearby having her makeup done by a second attendant. The room has a casual, lived-in feel with makeup bags, a Louis Vuitton tote, and styling tools spread across wooden furniture. Through the large windows, a classical French chateau is clearly visible in the background, along with a courtyard below where white-clothed reception tables and guests are already gathering around a pool area. The composition is a wide interior shot that uses the window as a framing device to simultaneously capture the getting-ready moment and the venue exterior. Potential venue feature image.

A nighttime outdoor couple portrait showing the bride and groom facing each other in an intimate near-kiss pose, backlit against a dramatic professional light show featuring radiating beams in gold, blue, and purple shooting upward into the dark sky, with atmospheric haze enhancing the light rays. The groom wears a white suit and the bride wears a white strapless embellished gown with long auburn hair. Two lit torch flares are visible flanking the couple on either side, positioned along trimmed hedgerows, with faint event lighting visible in the background suggesting a reception setting. The composition is a wide environmental portrait that places the couple as silhouetted figures against the large-scale lighting display, creating strong contrast between the dark foreground and the illuminated sky.

The couple stands together on an ornate patterned rug during what appears to be a reception entrance or first dance moment, framed by two cold sparkler fountains on either side. The groom wears a white dinner jacket with black bow tie and black trousers, while the bride wears a strapless hi-low white gown with beaded embellishments on the bodice and layered organza skirt. The indoor venue features a dark ceiling with gold ornamental molding, a crystal chandelier, large arched French windows, and deep red draped curtains to the right, suggesting a classic, formal ballroom setting. The composition is a wide portrait shot with the sparklers creating dramatic framing light against the dark room.

Dinner in the chateau's grand reception hall brought together international guests beneath vaulted ceilings and soft candlelight. The evening flowed from heartfelt speeches through to dancing, the historic interiors adding a sense of occasion to every moment. Madeleine and Guillaume's joy was infectious, filling the room with an energy that carried well past midnight.

More from the Day

A group portrait of eleven people posing outdoors on the grounds of a French chateau, with the classic brick-and-stone facade of the building visible in the background. The bride stands at the center wearing an off-the-shoulder ivory satin ball gown, and the groom beside her is dressed in a black tuxedo with a white boutonniere. The group includes men in black tuxedos and women in a variety of formal dresses: a light blue gown with ruffled shoulders, a red deep-V halter gown with a gold waist accent, a dusty mauve halter-neck gown, a short white floral-print dress, and a navy dress partially visible. The shot is a wide, evenly-lit daytime group portrait with all subjects standing in a single line facing the camera. Potential venue feature image.

Wide exterior shot of a French château taken from an elevated vantage point, showing the full façade of a grand 17th or 18th-century classical building with cream and red brick stonework, tall arched windows on the ground floor, multiple dormer windows set into the steep slate mansard roof, and several chimney stacks. The château is partially surrounded by mature trees and shrubs, with a small French village and rolling countryside visible in the background. No people are present in the frame. Potential venue feature image.

A bride and groom stand on an interior balcony or mezzanine level, photographed from directly below in a dramatic wide-angle upward shot. The composition is dominated by a large octagonal glass and dark metal dome structure overhead, with radiating steel framework and a circular skylight at the apex revealing blue sky and clouds. The bride wears a white gown with a long flowing veil that drapes over the railing, and the groom is dressed in a dark suit; the two are holding hands. The architectural setting appears to be a historic or industrial-style building with a converted interior, lending an urban, modern-classic aesthetic to the portrait. Potential venue feature image.

A black-and-white portrait of a bride and groom kissing in the back seat of a vintage car. The groom wears a classic tuxedo with a bow tie and a small floral boutonnière on his lapel, while the bride wears a white satin gown and a long veil that billows across the frame. The image is shot through the car window, creating soft reflections and lens flare effects that partially overlay the couple. The composition is a close-up portrait with high contrast black-and-white tones, and the veil movement adds a sense of texture and depth to the frame.

Aesthetic

VintageRustic

Guest Count

Budget Range

Bride's Dress

The Wedding Team

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The Venue

The couple chose Chateau de Vallery, a chateau in Burgundy / Île-de-France border.

Premium

Chateau

Chateau de Vallery

Burgundy / Île-de-France border · Yonne

A Renaissance masterpiece designed by Pierre Lescot (architect of the Louvre), Chateau de Vallery is a historic monument offering exclusive use for weddings of up to 500 guests, with 28 on-site rooms sleeping 56, no curfew, and total freedom over suppliers and celebration style.

Up to 300 guests

From €18,000 4.8 (640)