All-White Peonies and Candlelight at Chateau de Sannes, Luberon

In the chateau's upper rooms, the bride's gown, a sculpted silhouette in duchess satin by Emma Beaumont with a detachable overskirt, was laid out beside pearl-drop earrings and a trailing veil. Bridesmaids moved around her in blush satin, their pale rose dresses catching warm southern light filtering through tall shuttered windows. Alban Pichon caught the moment just before the final zip: downcast eyes, a half-smile, hands clasped.

The ceremony unfolded in the formal gardens, rows of white chairs framing an aisle of scattered ivory petals on pale gravel. Pearly White Weddings built a dense, architectural column of garden roses, white ranunculus, and trailing amaranthus at the altar. Stone balustrades framed the arrangement, and low golden light threw long shadows across the geometric parterre.

Between the ceremony and drinks, the bride stepped alone into the kitchen garden, where espaliered pear trees lined a stone wall. Her duchess satin gown pooled on the gravel path as Alban Pichon worked around her, the late sun coming in at an acute angle, grazing stone and lighting the fabric from below.

At golden hour, the couple walked the vine rows below the chateau, the Luberon ridge going purple behind them and the estate's cypress allee drawing a dark vertical line across the sky. Alban Pichon worked ahead and behind, catching the bride's cathedral train in the last light. The stillness held nothing but gravel crunch and the distant sound of guests taking their seats.

Bridesmaids in dusty rose satin midi dresses and groomsmen in slate blue-grey suits lined up on the chateau's stone steps for the formal party portraits. The contrast, warm pink, cool grey, pure white, read clearly against the buff-coloured facade. Someone was caught mid-laugh in almost every frame.

Dinner by the bergerie ran deep into the evening, candlelight holding its own against the cooling air. Roland Paix's catering brought Luberon produce to the table, season-forward and unfussy in presentation. The white taper candles had burned low by the time dancing began, their wax pooling in the glass hurricanes, the scent of rose and sweet pea mixing with woodsmoke from the outdoor braziers.

Dinner tables near the bergerie were dressed in unbleached linen, with slender ivory taper candles in glass hurricanes, simple white ceramic tableware, and low arrangements of garden roses and white sweet peas by Pearly White Weddings. No greenery, no fillers, just flower heads packed close and fragrant. A petal-dusted white cake stood on a stone plinth without embellishment.