Handcrafted Countryside Elegance at Chateau de Castellaras, Mougins

Melanie and Sebastien's countryside wedding at Chateau de Castellaras in Mougins, featuring hand-painted stationery, petal-strewn aisle, and loggia dining. Captured by Love Story.

By Elena Moretti | Published 2 February 2022

Handcrafted Countryside Elegance at Chateau de Castellaras, Mougins

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Melanie and Sebastien brought their shared design sensibility to Chateau de Castellaras in Mougins, where golden stone terraces and cypress-lined paths created a serene Provencal canvas. With guidance from Aava Wedding and imagery by Love Story, their countryside celebration paired handcrafted detail with quiet grandeur.

Photography

Love Story

Venue

Chateau de Castellaras

Region

Provence, France

Couple

Melanie & Sebastien

Getting Ready

A couple performs their first dance on an indoor dance floor surrounded by dramatic stage lighting and artificial fog or dry ice effects. The groom wears a white dress shirt with a navy blue tie and dark trousers, while the bride wears a full-skirted white ballgown with her blonde hair styled up. Multiple beam lights mounted on metal trussing cast purple, pink, and white rays across the scene, creating a concert-like atmosphere. A few guests or event staff are visible in the background. The shot is a mid-range portrait capturing the couple in motion, with the groom dipping or spinning the bride who is laughing and leaning back.

Close-up portrait of a bride smiling at the camera during what appears to be an outdoor ceremony or reception. She has blonde hair styled in a low updo with a small white floral hair accessory, and wears a pearl necklace and a strapless dress. Her makeup is natural with defined eyes. In the soft-focus background, a man in a light-colored shirt and at least one other guest are partially visible. The image has a light, airy feel with a shallow depth of field that keeps the bride sharply in focus against the blurred green background.

A couple portrait taken outdoors, with the groom lifting the bride as they lean in to kiss. The bride wears a strapless white lace gown with a pearl necklace and a hair accessory, her blonde hair styled in an updo. She holds a bouquet of white peonies and green foliage. The groom wears a navy suit. The background is heavily blurred, showing tall trees with soft backlighting creating a bright, airy atmosphere. The shot is a medium close-up portrait with a shallow depth of field.

Melanie prepared in one of the chateau's sunlit rooms, her strapless white ballgown and blonde curls catching the warm light. Both designers by trade, the couple infused every preparation moment with intention. Her father, an artist, hand-painted the stationery and crafted rustic wooden signs from a barn she played in as a child.

Ceremony

A close-up detail shot of a decorative wrought iron three-tiered hanging basket stand placed on a lawn at an outdoor wedding. The ornate dark metal stand features scrollwork detailing and holds three wire baskets lined with green moss; the upper baskets contain what appear to be small white paper or fabric favor packets for guests, while the bottom basket holds moss only. The styling is rustic-garden in theme, and the stand is positioned at the edge of what appears to be a ceremony or reception area on a grass lawn with soft bokeh background.

A female harpist performs outdoors at a wedding, seated on a wooden cross-back chair behind a large concert harp with a warm mahogany finish and gold-painted soundboard detailing. She is wearing a white dress and smiling while playing. A black music stand with sheet music is positioned to her right. The setting appears to be a garden or grounds of an outdoor venue, likely during a ceremony or cocktail hour. The portrait-style shot is taken at a slight angle, with the harp partially obscuring the musician, and the background is softly out of focus.

A newly married couple walks back up the aisle during their outdoor ceremony recessional, with approximately 20 guests on either side tossing white flower petals into the air. The groom wears a navy blue suit with a navy tie and light blue shirt, while the bride wears a strapless white ball gown with a layered tulle skirt and carries a bouquet of white roses and greenery. A circular floral arch made of greenery and white roses frames the couple from behind, positioned in front of a stone building partially obscured by trees. Guests are dressed in summer attire in neutral and pastel tones, and wooden folding chairs line the aisle. The image is a medium full-length portrait shot taken in bright, soft natural daylight.

Guests arrived to the sound of harp music before the outdoor ceremony began along a petal-strewn aisle flanked by white freestanding lanterns. The bride walked beneath trimmed hedges and broad tree canopy, accompanied by her father in a light beige suit. A unity candle ceremony brought a quiet, personal moment to the sunlit garden setting.

Reception

A bridal party portrait featuring a bride and five bridesmaids posing closely together outdoors in front of a stone wall with a wooden door. The bride wears a white strapless gown and a pearl necklace, while the five bridesmaids are dressed in matching blush/champagne floor-length gowns with cold-shoulder strap detailing. All six women hold round bouquets of white peonies with green foliage. The bride and several bridesmaids have small white floral hair accessories. The overall color palette is soft white and blush, giving the group a cohesive, classic look. This is a close-up group portrait shot from approximately waist height.

A reception table detail shot taken on an open stone arcade loggia with Romanesque arched columns, overlooking a wide landscaped grounds below. The round table is dressed with a taupe linen tablecloth and set for approximately eight guests, with white china, silver cutlery, and multiple crystal wine and champagne glasses per place setting. Each place setting includes a white linen napkin folded and tied with twine around a small olive branch sprig. The centerpiece is a low arrangement of white peonies and lush greenery, surrounded by small lit votive candles. The overall decor palette is neutral and white with green botanical accents, giving a classic French countryside feel. Potential venue feature image.

Dinner was served beneath the open stone arcade loggia with Romanesque arched columns overlooking the landscaped valley below. Round tables dressed in taupe linen featured white peonies, olive branch napkin ties, and clusters of votive candles. The evening concluded with a first dance surrounded by dramatic stage lighting and a haze of dry ice.

Design and Details

Close-up shot of a rustic wooden sign made from reclaimed pallet boards, propped against a tree trunk in an outdoor garden setting. The sign is painted in white hand-lettered text reading 'Flowers for HER hair & CANDIES for His Pockets,' directing guests to wedding favors or activity stations. The weathered, distressed wood and hand-painted lettering reflect a rustic, country-style wedding aesthetic. A second wooden sign is partially visible in the soft-focus background.

Wide exterior shot of a historic stone château or castle-like venue photographed in bright daylight. The building features medieval-style architecture including a prominent square tower, an arched stone colonnade gallery running along the facade, and rounded stone structures typical of southern French or Catalan heritage buildings. The grounds include manicured topiary shrubs and a sloped lawn in the foreground. No people, wedding party, or decor elements are visible in this image. Potential venue feature image.

Close-up detail shot of a round, scallop-edged shortbread-style sugar cookie in a clear cellophane favor bag, placed on a rustic wooden surface. The cookie is ivory/cream in color and has text stamped or embossed into it, partially legible as what appears to read 'avec amour' or similar French wording, suggesting it is a personalized wedding guest favor. The composition is a shallow depth-of-field detail shot with soft, natural lighting highlighting the texture of the cookie and the wood grain beneath.

The medieval stone architecture of Chateau de Castellaras provided a striking backdrop, its square tower and arched colonnade gallery rising above manicured topiary. Aava Wedding embraced the estate's natural character, letting the honey-toned stonework and panoramic grounds speak for themselves. Cypress trees and sloped lawns framed every outdoor scene.

Flat Lays

Close-up detail shot of a wedding seating chart or escort card display, where individual white paper tags with handwritten guest names are hung from strings or twine suspended from a tree outdoors. The tags are interspersed with small decorative crystal or acrylic disc accents threaded along the cords. The background is softly out of focus, showing green foliage and a glimpse of a building facade, suggesting a courtyard or garden setting. The overall styling is light and airy with a rustic-meets-delicate aesthetic, using natural twine and handwritten cards.

Close-up detail shot of a ring exchange moment during a wedding ceremony, showing the bride placing a plain gold band onto the groom's finger. The bride is wearing a white dress and has coral-painted fingernails, while the groom is dressed in a navy blue suit jacket. The background is softly blurred, revealing light neutral tones consistent with an indoor or covered outdoor ceremony setting.

A close-up detail shot of a wedding reception tablescape featuring multiple clear crystal wine glasses arranged around a cream-colored stationery card with handwritten-style script reading 'Viens on s'aime, mais genre toute la vie!' The card is decorated with watercolor botanical illustrations of green leaves and branches. In the background, soft white floral arrangements and warm candlelight create a blurred bokeh effect. The overall decor palette is white, green, and gold with a modern romantic styling theme.

Close-up detail shot of a bride holding a round bouquet composed of white peonies and olive branches with silver-green foliage. The bride is wearing a white lace dress, and a groom in a navy suit is visible in the soft-focus background alongside a guest wearing a white sun hat. The image is taken outdoors, likely during a ceremony, with bright natural light. The bouquet styling is classic and restrained, with a white and green palette.

Kraft paper stationery, hand-painted table names, and ribbon-tied floral cones reflected the couple's artisan sensibility. A nine-image collage revealed the cohesive palette of ivory, blush, and taupe that connected every element from ceremony aisle to reception table. Homemade cookies and lemonade greeted guests on arrival, setting the handcrafted tone.