Vintage Wedding in Biarritz, Juliette + Alois

Work is always a wonderful excuse to travel and meet different cultures and traditions. In this case, thanks to Juliette and Alois I had the opportunity to work as wedding photographer in Biarritz. Something different to the wedding photographic shootings in Malaga and Marbella, l usually do.

Labourd, one of the province of the French Basque Country, was the privileged witness of this engagement. The day took place in a rural hotel called Ihartze Artea, that means “amid ferns” in Basque. The hotel had the typical structure of the buildings in the area, built of wood and stone and surrounded by a vineyard. This was the scenario where this couple decided to get married in.

The groom got ready in the hotel surrounded by all his friends. Alois was wearing a vintage retro look, with a very characteristic acetate glasses, a gray vest and a yellow tie.

The bride preparation took place at her grandparents´ farm. It started at around 12 o´clock, just after lunch. The house had been kept intact for years so it was still maintaining its sixties spirit 100% with vintage wallpapers, retro looking lamps and a backyard surrounded by greenery, where Juliette decided to get her makeup and hair done by her friends.

The bride dress was designed by Celestina Agostino. This French designer, has her atelier in Paris and she specializes in making clothes tailored to each client’s personality. Fabrics such as silk or lace are usually a must in her work. In this case, Juliette dress fit perfectly with the vintage bride concept she had. A rustic bridal bouquet in perfect tune with the rest of her outfit completed her look.

Alois arrived to the church in quite an original vehicle, a Volkswagen Kombi specially decorated for the occasion with hydrangeas and a handmade sign of “Just Married”. The Church, a spectacular limestone construction held the beautiful ceremony where the music was played by the bride friends, the same ones that got her ready for the occasion. When they exit the church, after the ceremony, they were received with soap bubbles instead of the traditional rice.

On our way to the venue where the dinner will take place, we stopped in a field nearby to shoot the outdoors wedding pictures. The setting was very representative of Biarritz typical climate, a bit cloudy and full of greenery. In the pictures, you can see in more detail the bride’s bouquet and Juliette vintage wedding dress.

The celebration took place in a typical rustic wedding venue, with stone tables, lanterns decorating the trees and plenty of yellow details, matching the groom tie. It was a typical Basque cocktail with champagne constantly being served for the guests, a pâté bar, food being cooked live and other curious details like the dictionaries that were displayed. The idea of this was for the guests to find a word for the couple, then write a personalized message to go with the word and tear off the page to hang it on a blackboard.

Another detail of this curious wedding was that the guests were allowed to bring their dogs. I am sure they enjoyed this day profoundly.

The tables were long and were matched with elongated banks. The centerpieces were glass jars, inside they had tiny lighthouses and flowers similar to the ones in the bride’s bouquet. The guests had to take the paper boats with their names that were holding from a rope to find out where they were sitting. The tables were named after famous worldwide lighthouses. As you can see, the wedding had a decided nautical thematic. Each guest had a present waiting for them at their tables as well: a jar of jam to thank them for their attendance.

When the newlywed made their entrance in the dinner lounge, all the guests lighted sparklers. The after party was filled with remarkable moments and all the guest had an amazing night,

As wedding photographer I had a great time in Biarritz, I want to thank my friend Thierry Joubert for letting me be part of it. I really hope you enjoy this wedding shooting.