What couples have said about our wedding event planners

Check out our latest couple testimonials and videos.
Just play the video or click on one testimonial in the list below.

Stephanie & Bradley

Elopement Church Wedding in Paris, France

August 17^th 2010

From Jane, mother of the Bride

 

Dear Caroline, 

It has been 10 days since the wedding and it all seems like a dream.  As we anxiously await the DVD,  I wanted to express my thanks to you.  From the moment I first met you in Paris in June,  your enthusiasm impressed me and I felt we would be in good hands.  We were so lucky with the weather (you said it would be okay!) and the day was magical.

From the magnificent church and charming minister to the unforgettable pictures all over Paris......all was memorable.  The "party bus" was perfect and you and David were wonderful to work with. I am confident we are going to be pleased with the pictures. Just the pictures my son took with his iphone were amazing.  The kiss in front of the Eiffel Tower is Stephanie's profile picture on Facebook. 

Thank you for all the follow up details and answers to our questions.  It could not have been a more perfect day to celebrate Steph and Brad's marriage. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!! 

Jane

Busola & Tunde

Catholic & Civil Wedding ceremony at the Majestic Villa in Old Celtic Village

August 1^st 2010

 

Hi Elena,

Good to hear from you. We really had a great experience with Chateau & Villa weddings. Everything was co-ordinated really well and we appreciated your quick response to all our emails during the planning stages. The Venue was absolutely gorgeous and all the service providers were very friendly and professional. We thought you were a brilliant wedding planner and so did all our guests. Everyone really had a good time.  We will be happy to act as references.

We'll send you a picture of the baby when he/she is born.

Speak soon
Busola

Vicki & Greg

Elopement Wedding in Paris, France

July 26^th 2010

 

Hi Elena,

We had a wonderful trip!  The flowers were gorgeous exactly what I wanted, the restaurant and hotel were wonderful, and Phillip was great! 

We have not seen any of our pictures yet so will be able to evaluate David better after that.  We enjoyed him he was very nice. 

All in all it was great and we would be willing to give good references for you if you want to list my email.

 

Vicki

Olga & Dave

Elopement Eiffel Tower, France

June 21^st 2010

 

Good morning, Caroline and David,

 

We got the disc with our wedding pictures last night! 

THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!!!!!  They are absolutely beautiful!!!!  We couldn’t be happier!  Both of you did an outstanding job, and made this day a magical, unforgettable experience for us.

Again, thank you very much to the both of you!

 

Olga and Dave 

 

Hi Caroline,

We just wanted to thank you for helping us have a WONDERFUL wedding day.  We wouldn't have changed a thing!

Dave and Olga

Karrie & Rusty

Elopement Eiffel Tower, France

June 17^th 2010

 

Elena,

We are now finally getting a chance to thank you for all of your hard work for our wonderful wedding.  Here’s an overview of our experience that day:

The flowers that arrived were so gorgeous and were remarkable in quality.  They turned out MUCH better than the picture I sent you.   The florist did not trim the flowers until she saw me to ensure that they stayed as fresh as possible, creating the most elegant bouquet right before my eyes.  I didn’t know if I would end up putting flowers in my hair, but they were so pretty (thank you for telling her to bring them!) that I absolutely had to.   The flowers stayed fresh until we left Paris 6 days later. 

I did not know even on my wedding day how I wanted my hair to look, so I just asked the Hairdresser to put it up for me.  WHAT an artist!  He created the most chic, unique, and lovely hairdo for me. I never got to thank him  properly because I was so distracted about getting ready.  He even was so kind to help Rusty fix his hair as well.   I only regret that he’s not our regular hairstylist here in Seattle.  J    Please forward the bottom photo to him to show how fantastic the hair turned out.  He turned me into a bride that day.

Our transportation, the Mercedes and chauffer, was a real treat . We did not expect to have such a sophisticated car and professional driver.  What a luxurious experience. 

We loved that Caroline communicated with us every step so that we would not be nervous.  She did such a great job finding a perfect spot for us at the Eiffel Park.  We were fortunate enough to have the weather cooperate, with just enough rain to clear the park.  

Having dinner at La Bullion Racine Restaurant was a wonderful way to end our wedding day adventure.  The atmosphere, food, and staff were all exceptional.   

And I am saving the best for last – our photographer.  I was not so easy to deal with because it got a bit cold.   He worked extremely hard, taking what seemed like a thousand pictures of us, patiently working with the crowd and weather, always looking for that perfect shot.   Every time we look at our pictures, we are still shocked by his talent.  He made Rusty and I look not only our best, but he captured us in moments that evoked all the love and excitement we felt for each other on that day.  The pictures still make me emotional, even though I’ve seen them a 100 times by now.   They made our wedding day real to us.  We have a hard time picking our favorite photos to frame.  We have never seen such astonishing or romantic wedding photos. I cannot wait to go back to Paris and have him take our anniversary pictures in a few years. 

We were very excited about our wedding, but we never expected such an impressive, classy, and overall beautiful experience.  Thank you and your team for the a day that was better than we could have dreamed.

 

Karrie & Rusty 

Rachel & David

Dream Renaissance Castle, Loire Valley, France

June 12^th 2010

 

Caroline,

 

Hello!!  David and I got back from our honeymoon on Sunday and have heard nothing but rave reviews about the wedding.  In fact, my brother said "thanks for ruining all future weddings for me, this was the best" -- it was without a doubt a fairytale wedding.

 

I'd be very happy to provide feedback on the various vendors:

• Overall amazing, amazing, amazing.....
• The Rehearsal Dinner restaurant was great.  Such a warm and unique atmosphere, we stayed until 11:30 that evening and had a wonderful time.  Great food, good service, very flexible.
• Florist - beautiful work, the flowers looked fabulous. I really loved the centerpieces with the use of the interesting cube vases and the chuppah came out beautiful as well. 
• Caterer was amazing!  Fabulous wedding meal, exquisite presentation & service.  The café service was also excellent.  The brunch was incredible – The setting, the service and the food. 
• Band - We loved the roaming players.  Many of our friends commented about how versatile the band was.  The music during the ceremony and the cocktail hour was excellent. Our friends raved about the music.  The singer was great, and the DJ was great.  The recorded background music during lunch on Saturday was a very nice touch, it was so nice to hear the music while I was in the room getting my hair done. 
• Hair and make up was wonderful.  The hairdresser was incredibly flexible and patient, really listened to my feedback, and was even willing to change my hair a bit after she finished when I felt uncomfortable.  It looked stunning in the pictures and I was comfortable all night.  They were also great with my friends.
• Fireworks -- The fireworks were far beyond our expectations.  The show was long, impressive and the music was great!  Really looked like a professional show.
• Photographer and videographer:  Obviously we haven't yet seen the pictures or the video, but I can already say that the engagement pictures were incredible.  As for the wedding day itself, David and I both really appreciated that they both blended in, never felt intrusive at the party.  They seem to have much more of a photo-journalist style and never interfered with the party.  We're so excited to see the pictures and the video!
• Hot air Balloon: I also want to mention that the hot air balloon trip was fabulous. It was the first time for all of us and sooo beautiful. It made for a nice ending to a beautiful weekend.
• General:  It was really nice that you collected everything and left them in our room in such an orderly way, we didn't feel like we had to think about any of our stuff.  It was also very nice that you took my parents' spare suitcase to Paris, and that you found a pharmacy that was open on Sunday to pick up bandages for my dad!  Those small touches make such a difference in allowing the wedding party to sit back, enjoy, and feel more like guests.  We LOVED the hot air balloon ride and appreciated all of your help in coordinating all of those details -- from the original trips we took to check out chateaux to letting us ship our boxes to you, it was such a smooth process.

I hope this helps.  We would be more than happy to serve as references in the future (though in the coming weeks I'll be changing my email for my new name!).  I can't stress enough what an incredible experience it was for all of us.   THANK YOU for everything and please stay in touch.

All the best,

Rachel & David, June & Fred

May 31^st 2010

Shelley & John

Catholic & Civil Wedding at the Ancient Hilltop Tuscan Villa – Italy

 

Hi,

 

So sorry I've not been back to you, the internet was broken when we got back..we're back on line now! Thank you so much again we had the best day ever and enjoyed every minute of it!

 

Shelley x

Yvonne (Mother of the bride)

Hi Elena,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you so much for the wonderful wedding and holiday you planned for us. It was an occasion second to none and will be remembered by everyone who was there for a long time to come. I know we could not have done it without you, so thank you again.

Yvonne

Shefali & Ajul

Symbolic Wedding at the Dream Reinassance Estate, Loire Valley - France
April 9^th & 10^th 2010

 

 

Hi Caroline! Thank you for your email! Ajul and I got stuck in Europe after the wedding bc of the volcano! We are finally back :) going on our official honeymoon next wk!

 

Our wedding was literally like a dream. The chateau was so beautiful and perfect, it was unbelievable. We had a wonderful time, and we were very happy overall!

 

I would say overall we were happy with the service, but as you know there are just some difficulties with price as things just do not cost the same there as they do here. The actual wedding was amazing.

It was a bit stressful with the train situation the next day, so I would suggest anyone doing a similar wedding think that over.

Anyways, I am just listing some difficulties but all in all it was really a beautiful and perfect day and we loved everything. Thanks!

 

S&A

Adrienne & Jim

Symbolic Wedding in Paris, France
April 2^nd 2010

 

 

Hi Caroline,

 

I've been wanting to email you sooner and I'm sorry it's taken so long, but I genuinely wanted to thank you for organizing our awesome wedding!  - Thank you!  It was really amazing that we were able to hold the ceremony in that beautiful church, especially on Easter weekend and on relatively short notice.  (Please tell the priest another hearty thank-you from us!)  

 

I'm a bit more happy than Jim, but seriously it was terrific!!  I love that we were able to have the ceremony as we wanted it - surrounded by friends and family who were all contributing in their own way.  Also, while we've been living in Paris for a couple of years, your insight, services, and suggestions were great and definitely needed!  The bus idea ended up being one of the major highlights (especially for some of our older guests)!  :)

 

Please feel free to use us as references.  

 

Again, a heartfelt thanks and we wish you all the best and a beautiful summer!  

 

Warmly,

Adrienne

Reiko & Fujita

Symbolic Wedding in France

December 27th 2009

 

This couple just asked CVW to book a few missing services they could not find on their own for their Wedding in France

 

Hi Caroline,

Thank you for your kind e-mail. Happy New Year to you too!! Sorry for my belated reply. I have been extremely busy after the wedding with the moving.

 

The wedding was lovely. Both the celebrant and musicians were so amazing!!. Thank you so much for recommending them. All of our guests were very impressed with the musicians in particular. They were very professional with very high quality performance.

Thank you! Please give our regards to both of them for us. We definitely would recommend them if any of our friends decided to get married in France!

 

Thank you once again.

 

Kind regards,

Reiko

Tina & Rick
Civil Wedding in Tivoli (near Rome), Italy and Blessing in Paris, France
September 26th 2009

 

Dear Caroline, 

 

We received the certificate from the Pastor and we want to thank you too.

I also wanted to tell you about bringing the flowers back.  I took a thick plastic container 11 inches high,10 inches wide, 14 inches long in my check in suitcase and both bouquets and the roses fit with room to spare. When we got back I hung them upside down in the basement for about two weeks and they dried beautifully.  I put them in seperate clear vases and wrapped the ribbon around the vases and they look wonderful. 

 

We are just now in the process of printing announcements to send.  Since I was sick we are so behind on things. We can't thank you, Elena and Ely enough for the wonderful weddings. 

 

Love, Tina and Rickie

Dear Caroline,

 

As I just told Elena I really want to tell you how wonderful the ceremony was in the garden. It was such a beautiful setting, which I already knew, and we were so happy to have our second ceremony there.  We were very pleased with Pastor, we liked him very much and I'm so happy he was from The American Church because we stop there every year. The acordianist couldn't have been better, I liked him just from seeing him.  I didn't have to hear his music.  I know I told you this before but everything about him was wonderful, I kept hugging him!!!!!!   I will write (like I told Elena) about different things probably at different times because it's hard to talk about everything at once. Do you know we never got a picture with you which was disappointing, I don't know how that happened, I'm very sorry about that. You couldn't have done a better job, really, it must be very hard dealing with people and planning things over the internet. Things could not have gone any better. I am missing all the correspondence and planning etc. we had.  I can't believe it's over!!!!! More later,

Tina and Rickie

Dear Elena,

 

I must apologize for not writing a complete letter about how wonderful our wedding was.   The wedding in Tivoli was so beautiful and the celebrant was wonderful.  We can never put in words what the experience was like. We wish we could have spent some time there.  We hope to come back to Tivoli next year at the same time to celebrate one year of marriage there. The celebrant  made our ceremony so emotional and meaningful. The building and the room where our ceremony took place is something we would never see here. It was a once in a lifetime event and I can't believe we actually did it. You will get little notes like this from us to tell you how wonderful things were because we can't say about everything at one time!!!!!

We can't thank you enough,

Tina and Rick

 

 

Dear Elena,

The cd arrived and we are really overwelmed by the wonderful pictures.  The photographer is extremely talented, we are very happy you had him for our photographer in Italy.  We really can't say enough about him.  He has a great manner, knows exactly what to do, did not waste any time with set-up and managed to get memoriable shots. Please tell him how happy we are. 

Love, Tina and Rickie

Dear Elena, 

I will write about our most wonderful wedding and experience with you in a few days, although I really don't know the words to express how surreal the time was. The longer we are home, the more we talk about it.

Love, Tina

Elena,  
We will write more about our experience, but just want you to know it was a most unbelievably spiritual day for us. Also we would be more than happy to share our experience with others.

Ciao Rickie

p.s.. Absolutely nothing could top the restaurant in Rome. 

 

 

Beckie & Kyle

Elopement blessing in south-west France

September 11th 2009

 

Bonjour Caroline!

 

It was an amazing trip and we cannot thank you enough for helping us pull it together and also your continued help once in France. We are both so happy that we decided to hire a planner. In the beginning, we were nervous about hiring one because we wanted something so small for just the two of us, that the cost did not seem justified. Looking back, every penny was worth it! You really eased our stress from planning the actual ceremony to when we got lost and needed to change our reservations. We loved that you were available to call during our honeymoon to help with reservations, and you have always been a pleasure to work with. I had looked into two other services and I knew when we chose you that you were the best one, and you exceeded our expectations.

 

Our impression of France is that it is a breath-taking country! Although we hear a lot about French people being rude to Americans, Kyle and I never once felt that way. In fact, most everyone was so super nice - from hotel employees, to boulangerie workers, to random people seeing we were confused and coming over to help! France was really a perfect choice. Our only negative thoughts were getting lost - I came prepared with all sorts of Google maps, but the lack of road signs (compared to US standards) really threw us off. In most cases, that just meant we saw more than we intended to

 

The event was what we expected (except the beautiful setting blew us away!!). The celebrant did a fine job. Sonia was so sweet and my hair was my favorite part!! I haven't seen all the photos yet, but the photographer really felt a part of the wedding which we appreciated a lot. The Abbey was stunning and we are so glad that the owner and his family allowed us to have it there. They gave us a great service, from checking in late to the private lunch after the wedding.

  

Thank you again Caroline for your help. It would truly not have been the same without you!

 

Beckie

 

Orla & Nima

Dream Renaissance Castle, Loire Valley, France

August 22nd 2009

 

Dear Caroline, Sharon and Elena,

 

Thank you very, very much for helping to make last weekend so memorable and magical for all who were there. We all had the most wonderful wedding and thanks to Sharon's strict supervision it all went better than expected.
 
The place itself was beautiful, the cocktail and the main meal were excellent and served by the most helpful and courteous staff, and the rest is history. Every single guest including the bride & the groom had a great time. I cannot recommend your service highly enough...you never know...I may be back in a few years for the wedding of my daughter.

Thanks again for the wonderful service provided.
 
Lots of love,
 
Ella & Kambizi

Sara & Lee

Paris, France

August 11^th 2009

 

Hi Caroline

 

Lovely to hear from you. Well as feedback from our wedding you have left us and our guests blown away with how amazing the day was. The hotel was perfect, the rooms were beautiful and we practically lived on the terrace!! The church was beautiful and the pastor was a true gentleman who conducted a beautiful service.

 

The boat cruise exceeded my expectations. The service we received and the food was so lovely.

Our reception on the hotel terrace was just brilliant. It was so relaxed and chilled out, exactly how I wanted it. The champagne and cake were delicious and everybody agreed.

 

I loved my car and the driver was such a character!!

 

It was a perfect day which exceeded all my dreams I had over the year of planning, I want to do it all over again and wouldn't change a single thing!!

 

Thank you so much for everything and I will definitely be a referee for anyone who is looking to use your services.

 

I can't wait to see the photos!!! I'm very excited!

 

Thanks again Caroline

 

Sara and Lee

Georgie & Kris

Symbolic Wedding in France

August 1^st 2009

 

Hi Caroline,

Sorry it has taken some time to get this to you.

 

Kris and I feel over all the wedding was amazing, everyone loved it and it was by far the best day of our lives. 

The band was amazing and so was the chateau - the cake was beautiful and tasted great and all the food was amazing.

 

The rain wasn't a problem, however I imagine for some guests this could have been especially as I was sat with my feet and bottom of me dress I a pool of water - if you have weddings in future and the head table here maybe that gap where the rain came in by our table could have been covered before.

 

Overall I feel you were great at reacting to things Caroline and helped enormously in the pre planning - I think as you are quite laid back also there were moments I could have got a little panicked but chose not to.

 

Kind regards

 

Georgie

Silvi & Tom

Civil & Symbolic Wedding

Panoramic Ancient Castle with Rose Garden, Friuli, Italy

July 17th 2009

 

Hi,

 

Thanks! We're currently on the other side of the earth and won't be back until September.

Thanks again for the wonderful event,

 

Silvi & Tom

Elisabeth & Bernard

30th Wedding Anniversary

Dream Renaissance Castle, Loire Valley, France

June 20th 2009

 

Très chère Caroline,

 

Vous êtes ma plus belle rencontre de l'année. Personne autre que vous n'aurait pu organiser ni orchestrer aussi bien notre anniversaire de mariage.

 

Nous avons passé, pour cette occasion, une excellente journée. Lors de notre premier rendez-vous vous avez su parfaitement capter et comprendre tous nos désirs et envies, ensuite nous avons fonctionné en osmose totale. Votre capacité de réactivité est fascinante et plus qu'appréciable.

Vous avez su choisir les meilleurs prestataires qui correspondaient à toutes nos exigences, et qui se sont révélés être d'une qualité exceptionnelle.

 

Le jour J vous avez su être là, en orchestrant l'ensemble des activités, en toute simplicité et sans que cela se voit. Vous êtes un EXCELLENT maître de cérémonie !

 

Nous pouvons dire que c'est la plus belle journée de notre vie, car avec la maturité nous apprécions beaucoup plus cette fête et le bonheur était total car notre fils était avec nous.

 

Nous vous remercions encore très chaleureusement pour avoir transformé notre anniversaire de 30 ans de mariage en le plus bel anniversaire au monde !!

 

Nous vous embrassons très fort ;

 

Elisabeth & Bernard

Lisa & Paul

Dream Renaissance Castle, Loire Valley, France

May 30th 2009

 

MUSIC

Church Ceremony - the Gospel Trio were fantastic! The female singer has a fantastic voice as does her fellow musicians, they were spectacular. I am so happy that they learned the song for the entrance. We were absolutely thrilled with the music for the mass and would highly recommend them for anyone who wants to make the mass that much more special and memorable.

Jazz Band - for the champagne reception I think it was a nice touch very classy and added to the laid back atmosphere they were great.

Band - for the most part the band were great, they sang all of our choices that we wanted and were very good with some of their ones. Our only recommendation is for the first dance - as a couple I think we would have preferred to dance to the CD version of our song then the live band version. It was a little hard to understand and get used to. In my opinion I would recommend to couples to have the original version of the song - it would have been that much better for us. I did appreciate that they sang while the cake was being brought out which was a lovely touch to the festivity of the cake presentation. It is absolutely a good idea that there is both a female and male singer to sing the songs that are sung by either a male or female it helps with the recognition of the song. I think it would be helpful for you to establish which songs have meaning for the couple and to ensure the band sounds the way they wanted them to. Other then that the singers were absolutely FANTASTIC and I would definitely recommend them again.

DJ - we were so happy with the DJ because he had the entire play list that we asked for so we were able to dance until the very end! That included the Bride and Groom we were two of the last few that were still up at 4:00 am. The one gentleman who sang at the church ceremony was there all the way through to the end of the night. If you can send me his name I would especially like to send him a thank you card thanking him for all the hard work. He was spectacular and so friendly an absolute joy to have as part of the band he had a beard and a moustache.

Brass Band - For Sunday this was absolutely unbelievable, it TOTALLY made the day,  I could not be more happy with the music that you helped select for the day. It fit in with the mood of the day that was joyful and a little more calmer but it added to the entire feeling of the day we were so happy with it words could not adequately describe. They even took requests, this was such a good idea, I would definitely think of hiring them again for a special party or event that would involve music thank you so much for such a wonderful idea, the guests thoroughly enjoyed them and sang their hearts out. This for many of our guests was even better then the day of the wedding.

 

CATERER

Champagne Reception - The food was delicious and our guests loved the selection. We were very pleased with our choices. The canapés could have been circulated a bit more on trays that were more pleasing to the eye a better presentation we feel would have made it that much more nicer. I don't think we would recommend the fois gras served cold or hot for that matter it seemed like an added expense that was not appreciated by the guests as much as we would have anticipated.

Dinner

1.  Vegetarian Starter - Ok this is where we had some difficulty with what we ordered and what we got. The starter was supposed to be vegetarian with the mielle fielle and asparagus but then it came with chicken was a mild disaster for those of the guests that were vegetarian. That being said, I think you should definitely suggest people to have place cards that way the caterer would know which seat the vegetarian was. I like the menus that we put on the tables but upon reflection I would put our guests name on the menu and then make a separate menu for the fish or vegetarian menus. 

2. We do NOT recommend the broccoli mouse as a side dish, although we tasted it during the trial on the day our guests in the end didn't enjoy it much.

CAKE

Cake was lovely and we liked the presentation of it but there was a pink decoration on the cake that did not go with the red theme of our flowers.

 

FLORIST

The flowers were beautiful very well done.

 

SPA/BEAUTICIAN

The spa that the bride and the maid of honor was more of a therapeutic salon for massages and for waxing. They did a wonderful job on the pedicure and the manicure but I would not recommend them for make up. I think it would be very helpful for future brides to have a good make up person available who uses familiar beauty products such as Chanel, Mac or Lancome. Caroline suggested we do our own make up because the local salons, that are also the less expensive option, usually never please her brides wherever in France they choose to get married, but for Canada and Ireland a bride doing her own make up for her wedding is absolutely unheard of and it would not go down well for future brides from the west. I would recommend that future brides confirm the professional hair and makeup artists that come to the venue that Caroline can hire for bride and bridal party, although the more expensive option, it is definitely a worthwhile expense. This would also avoid steering brides away from the chateau on the morning of the wedding but rather to simply stay put and have everyone come to her to finish her hair, makeup and dressing.

 

Chateau

Just a couple of items for the chateau overall the family and guests were well treated. It was an absolute disaster not to have breakfast served on the morning after the wedding. Despite the early brunch date and the temporary brassiere I would definitely not recommend the wedding party not to have breakfast for the guests the morning after the wedding. This was a bad decision and was terrible especially for people with children.

The Chateau really needs a restaurant or bar of some sort to be able to serve food and drinks to people who are visiting the chateau or staying at the hotel. We would highly recommend them to put in some sort of restaurant. The one we set up temporarily through Caroline's recommendation worked for the weekend. That all being said the venue was spectacular and for the most part the manager and the workers were delightful and very helpful.

 

PHOTOGRAPHER

I cannot stress how great this photographer was - I agree with Caroline that the photographer is the most important hire for the day. The photographer Caroline suggests is fantastic and I would highly recommend Maria to anyone and everyone who is thinking of getting married in France. The pictures were the best of any wedding I have ever seen she is truly talented and gifted. We are so delighted with the result of the day.

 

Chateau  & Villa Weddings

We could not have pulled off this spectacular wedding as smoothly and as elegantly without Caroline and Sharon. Both the ladies worked so hard and looked after ever detail. We are sincerely grateful for their hard work, attention to detail and very cordial correspondence. As they say Trust the Experts and they are most definitely experts. We would recommend to prospective couples that they should take the full planning package because it is extremely difficult to plan and prepare a wedding from abroad. You most definitely need the full planning package.

 

Alessandro & Theresa

Wedding in Friuli, Italy

May 23rd 2009

 

Dear Elena

 

I just want to say thank you so much for your great great great effort with our wedding. It truly would not have happened without you! We both really appreciate all what you did for us thought the past months during the preparation and also during the wedding weekend.

All those emails trying to figure out about people's logistics and trying to plan ever detail of the party. It would never have worked without your help.

There were so many things about a wedding that not Ale nor myself ever though you would have to think about, so it would have been a very weird wedding without your competence and great ideas to things like the ceremony and  the lunch etc.

 

It was such great party. It was the happiest day of my life and I have been reliving the whole weekend again and again.

Furthermore, so many of our guests have come back to me to let me know what a great relaxed and nice party it was. They all seem to really like the relaxed atmosphere and the good food etc. So It has made us very happy to receive all their compliments, and I want you to know how the whole party was praised by everyone

 

We have had a great honey moon in Java and Lombok. So nice to just be with Ale and enjoy the beach and the food:-) We spend a lot of time talking about the wedding and reliving it by discussing all the details and share the moments and what we both felt about it.

 

It is a shame that we can only get married once, because if we were to marry each other one more time, Ale and I would for sure use your help again:-)

In my opinion it would be nice to have a anniversary party every year similar to the wedding, but Ale thinks it will be a bit too expensive, so I will just have to live with all the happy memories from our wedding.

 

Take care of yourself and all the best,

 

Theresa

 

Comments of the Italian mother of the groom

 

La scorsa estate mio figlio, che vive e lavora ad Hong Kong con la sua ragazza che è danese, mi ha comunicato la sua intenzione di venire a sposarsi in Italia.

Voleva organizzare una grande festa, in una villa sulle colline del Friuli dove viviamo, voleva invitare molti amici provenienti dai quattro angoli del pianeta, oltre ai parenti a gli amici danesi di lei e ovviamente a i numerosi parenti e amici italiani, friulani e non.

Ci siamo messi alla ricerca del luogo adatto, mio figlio è rimasto in Friuli solo pochi giorni, giusto il tempo per scegliere il posto e poi è ritornato a Hong Kong, lasciandomi con l'incombenza di organizzare tutto, e senza più rientrare fino al momento del matrimonio.

Io mi sono chiesta come ci sarei riuscita, da sola, e ho subito concluso che non ce l'avrei fatta.

Tramite amici comuni ho conosciuto Elena Piemonte che mi ha offerto il suo supporto e la sua esperienza come  "Chateau and villa wedding"agenzia specializzata nell'organizzazione di matrimoni per stranieri.

Non avrei mai immaginato quanto preziosa sarebbe stata.

Senza di lei non avrei saputo nemmeno da che parte incominciare per mettere in piedi tutta l'organizzazione che è stata necessaria per la riuscita di un evento che non è stato solo una celebrazione,ma una vera festa, sentita e vissuta da tutti come tale. Sono arrivate più di cinquanta persone dall'estero, Danimarca, Inghilterra, Stati Uniti,compresa la lontana California e da svariate parti di Italia.In tutto c'erano 105 persone, ma gli invitati iniziali erano più di 150 di cui più della metà stranieri.

La cosa più difficile per me sarebbe stata la gestione logistica degli stranieri: prenotazioni alberghiere, trasporti, collegamenti e comunicazioni con loro in inglese via email per tutte le decisioni a riguardo.

Nell'ultimo mese Elena sbrigava una corrispondenza molto corposa quotidianamente con un nutrito e molto complicato gruppo di ospiti. A me girava la testa solo a leggerne l'elenco. Lei li conosceva già uno per uno senza averli mai visti. Devo dire che è stata di una precisione ed affidabilità assolute.

Oltre alla gestione degli ospiti, mi ha affiancato per nove lunghi mesi, proprio come per un parto, per tutto quello che concerneva l'organizzazione della cerimonia. Dal catering alla scelta dei fiori, dalla logistica del luogo alla scelta dei musicisti e delle musiche,alla scelta dei brani da leggere e dell'impostazione del rituale che gli sposi hanno voluto molto personale.

Su ogni cosa, su ogni particolare i suoi consigli e la sua esperienza mi sono stati preziosi. È stato indispensabile potermi confrontare con lei costantemente. Sono arrivata al matrimonio fiduciosa e rilassata, mi sono appoggiata a lei durante tutta la festa per coordinare i tempi e le persone nei diversi momenti della giornata. Non c'è stato mai nervosismo, né imbarazzo, le cose sono filate via lisce ed eccezionalmente gradevoli. Si è creato un clima magico e sciolto fra tutti gli ospiti. Senza il suo lavoro questo non sarebbe successo.

Sia io che mio figlio dobbiamo a lei la perfetta riuscita del matrimonio e le diciamo un grazie di cuore.

                                                                                             Barbara Vuano - Udine

David & Jessica

Dream Renaissance Castle, Loire Valley, France

May 9th 2009

 

Thanks for everything Caroline.  We had a great time and everything turned out perfectly.  We couldn't have asked for a better wedding.  And thanks again for picking us up and driving us around on the last day.  It was above and beyond anything that we expected.  Let us know if you're ever in our area (Washington DC), we'd definitely like to meet up.

 

David and Jessica

 

Hi Caroline,

 

Just want to thank you for being so helpful in arranging the tour and train tickets for us.  You were most accommodating, starting from the irregular email delivery!  I checked the following email but don't find it in my inbox.  I have no explanation why some messages get thru and some don't.  Fortunately, all that is over; and the important thing is everything worked out and we had a great time.  You did a great job with David and Jessica's wedding.  The venue was lovely, the food superb and the fireworks (and the cake) just took the wedding over the top.

 

Thank you for arranging our guide.  She was excellent.  She's very knowledgeable about the chateaus, history of the royal families, and of Leonardo Da Vinci.  We learned so much from her and I am inspired to do more reading about Leonardo.  She was also very generous with her time and dropped us off at the Amboise train station which saved us a few euros.  We did follow your instructions and took the taxi to the Hotel where we spent a relaxing evening.  

 

Wishing you all the best in developing your business,

Katharine

(Bride's Aunt)

 

Anya & Jeremy

Wedding in Annecy, France

October 17th 2008

 

Dear Caroline,

 

Firstly we would like to thank you and your company for helping us to plan and execute such an amazing day! Jeremy and I could not have been more pleased, every detail perfect (the flowers all over the room were simply beautiful!!) and the location was beyond expectation. Planning a wedding in a country I had never visited with a language which was completely foreign to both Jeremy and I, was certainly at times a nervous experience and we could not have done this without your help.

 

If I am to be brutally honest, the beautician's make up style was not to my taste, with the language barrier making it a little difficult at times, however this is not a bone of contention, just very different from the application style I am used to in Australia. However, as I have said this did not detract from the day at all.

 

The musicians, florist and photographer (pending viewing the CDROM) were simply fabulous, and the accommodations in Annecy were lovely and in a wonderfully central area of Annecy. The Wedding Location was an experience I would eagerly recommend to any couples looking to be pampered in five star style, all elements combined to provide a wonderfully lavish experience, oozing 'old world' charm.

 

Please also pass on our regards to our barman, who did a brilliant job keeping the drinks flowing and who also caught the eye of my mother!

 

Caroline, your service in particular was both professional yet personal, and your presence on the day ensured the we did not have to think of a single detail throughout the day.

I would be more than happy for you to use our comments above for any future couples looking at this location as their wedding venue, however we are not interested in having our email address available on your website. However, if there is a couple specifically interested in the location, I would be happy for you to pass on our email at your discretion.

 

With our warmest regards,

 

Anya and Jeremy

Kirsten & Anthony

Symbolic Wedding ceremony in Brittany, France

September 20th 2008

 

Caroline,
Overall our wedding experience was absolutely fabulous.  We know everyone enjoyed the day/night tremendously, even calling our wedding 'as those only seen in the movies'.  Everyone has raved about the musicians and what great musicians they are, what a good mix of music & fun gentlemen.  I have not seen our professional photos as of yet but I am sure we will relive the day over and over everytime we view them with family and friends.
 

Kirsten & Anthony

Pat & Lorna

Abbey of Walbourg, France

September 12th 2008

 

 

Bonjour Caroline,

 

Yesterday was incredible.  The flowers were great.  The photographer was exceptional and very easy to work with.  Norbert and the family were so welcoming and wonderful.  When we arrived and turned ourselves over to Norbert for the ceremony, we were directed with surprise into the Abbey for the ceremony.  Lorna and I sat while Norbert read the program in English echoed by two other family members reading in French.  Then once the ceremony was finished, the 20+ family and friends attending sang a song for us.  It caused both Lorna and I to weep at how beautiful, thoughtful, and wonderful. 

 

Afterwards, the family had prepared a reception with all traditional foods and wines of Alsace as well as plenty of information about the family.  Oh, I failed to mention that Le Mairie also attended the ceremony and the reception.  He is a very kind and warm leader of the village and it was a great honor for him to share his time with us as well.

 

In our wildest imaginations, Lorna and I could never have dreamed so beautiful a day.  In Lorna's first visit to France, she has found a family and village that we could easily both call home.  In fact, in all seriousness, I asked Le Mairie to let me know if the former Benoit home is ever for sale again as Lorna and I would like to consider purchasing it for ourselves.  Walbourg is an amazing place with the kindest people we have ever met. Thank you for all of your help. 

 

Please consider us as good friends and certainly a business reference for you with anyone considering a wedding in France.  As we offered to all at the ceremony and reception, you are all welcome and have a place to visit with us in Texas if you ever are in our neighborhood.  We will talk more upon our return to Paris on Tuesday.

 

Merci Beaucoup,

Pat

Thomas & Hanane

Symbolic Wedding in France

July 5^th 2008

 

The ceremony was wonderful, thanks to the great work of Caroline!

Shelley & Nathan

Symbolic Wedding in France

August 28^th 2008

 

Hi Caroline,
 
Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you, we only got home last week..
 
I would like to say Thank you for every thing it was just like I expected. The Video and Camera People, were great and so was the celebrant. The photos and Video are great.
 
You can add my email address to your reference list.
 
Again Thank you for everything, kind Regards
 
Shelley

Ari & Elena

Dream Renaissance Castle, Loire Valley, France

June 8th 2008

 

 

Hi Caroline,

 

As you know very well, everything was wonderful.  We are very grateful for your efforts to make it a success. Given the number of activities and entertaining that you did over 3 days, I think everything it worked out very well.

 

France turned out to be a perfectly destination for the event - relaxed, pretty, sunny, historic and regal.

 

You can always use my e-mail address as a reference for potential couples.

 

Best regards,

 

Ari

Karan and Ben

Symbolic Wedding ceremony, Loire Valley, France

June 21st 2008

 

 

Overall: Our wedding at the Chateau was like a fairytale - the place is just beautiful, serene and very cosy. Alain and his team were so helpful at all times, and very organised, making our day and whole wedding weekend, stress free and lots of fun! Caroline and her team were fantastic throughout, listening to our needs and always helping us to get what we wanted, and at the best cost, helping us to stay within budget! I would definitely recommend Caroline as a wedding planner - we worked together for a year and ended up with the most amazing wedding day. She was patient, thoughtful and a pleasure to work with - thank you Caroline!

 

Ceremony: The celebrant who married us was lovely, and conducted a beautiful ceremony for us. We also had the enormous pleasure of M.me Mercier attending, representing the major's office, who said some beautiful words and made the whole thing feel very special. The layout in the courtyard was very stylish, with white chair covers which at first, we weren't going to have, and now I would recommend anyone to have them, as they are worth the money and make everything look very pretty! The fountain was filled with flowers and candles around the edge, the band played very well and all together, it was perfect.

 

Cocktail: Canapés were lovely, and disappeared very quickly! The band played jazz creating a great fun atmosphere for our guests - everyone was enjoying the sunshine while we went for our photo's. The terrace is a great location for the canapé's.

 

Reception: The food for our dinner was absolutely gorgeous - not that you would expect less from the Castle as their food and service must be famous in the Loire! The room looked so pretty, again the white chair covers made a difference. The waiters lit my candles before we came upstairs and served wine and champagne to everyone - no one's glass was ever empty! The band played light jazz which gave it a very relaxed feel and the hotel maanger was always attentive to our needs and managing his staff very well and make sure everything was perfect for us - and it was! Our wedding cake (we had a traditional piece montee) was out of this world - when it came out we couldn't stop laughing with fireworks exploding out of it, covered in flowers and decorations - the two most lovely and funniest memories of this moment was Eye of the Tiger played by the band as it came out, and the hotel manager with a blow torch, trying to keep the fireworks lit - we smiled a lot!!

 

Hair: My BIG thanks to the Hairdresser for my amazing hair style. At the trial we found it a little difficult as neither of us speak the other's language, but we got through with pictures and the haistylist was patient and understood exactly what I wanted. On the day it was such fun having hair done with the girls in the salon, with champagne that Caroline had arranged for us and the end result was better than I expected (in fact was almost the first time that day I cried!!) - I just felt like a princess!

 

Band: The band were the best choice and made the atmosphere of our whole day - from the classical music in the ceremony, to the dancing at night - one of our friends who loves singing even got up and did a set with them! Definitely choose this band - they are great!

 

Photographer: Our photographs are simply amazing - the most beautiful reminders of every moment of our special day. I had briefed Caroline on the photography style I wanted - not traditional, but modern, moody and romantic. The photographer delivered that and more - everywhere but nowhere on the day - it seemed she captured every special moment but we didn't even notice she was there - so the shots are very natural!  If you are trying to keep within budget, my advice is to spend the most money on the Band and Photographer - as this is what created people's memory of the day (the atmosphere) and what captured those memories to film.

 

Mother & Father of the bride wrote:[nbsp]

 

Hi Caroline,
 
A huge thank you from both of us for all your hard work in making the day go like clockwork. It was great and the weather perfect. The fireworks were spectacular-- it was Karan being difficult not Ben, but they absolutely loved them as did all the guests.
They are having a great honeymoon. Thanks so much for sending the photolink--The photos are stunning!!!! If there are more you can send please do.
Once again THANK YOU
 
KIND REGARDS
 
Judith & Robert x

 

 

Pamela and Anthony
Wedding in Friuli, Italy
Catholic ceremony
May 10th 2008


Dear Elena,

Sorry for the delay in replying - I only arrived home a few days ago. We had a beautiful honeymoon and we cannot wait to return to the Friuli region. It was unquestionably the most beautiful, hospitable and extraordinary of the places we have been.

The wedding was beautiful, and we are enormously thankful for all that you did. You put such a huge effort into this, and it showed, everywhere. All of our guests were singing your praises. We will be happy to act as a reference for other couples planning to marry in Italy. We were really thrilled with the way everything turned out - the flowers, and the food and the chuch and the villa, the reception band, the hair and makeup all were beyond our expectations!

I can't tell you how much we loved being in the Friuli region - my sister and I were both saying that we're actually pleased not to have seen more of Udine, as it gives a good excuse to return there. In fact, I will return to every part of Italy we saw too briefly before the wedding and during the honeymoon. (When we arrived for our one night in Cormons, I said to Anthony, let's skip Austria and just stay here! But we moved on...)

Elena, you were so wonderful about everything. There is no way in the world we could have done this without you and everything you touched was made better. I have been telling everyone about Gemona and all of the other wonderful places you shared with us. We were extremely fortunate to have worked with you, and when all of the various photographs are developed we look forward to sharing them with you.

I would really like to go on in more detail about how splendid everything was. I can tell you that we would not have changed a thing about the wedding or its setting.

I will happily provide more detailed impressions of the wedding - it cheers me to think of all that went so beautifully there.

Warmest regards,

Pamela

Chantel & George

Symbolic Wedding in Paris, France

May 14th 2008

 

E-mail sent from couple to a client asking for information J

 

Hello,

 

My wedding was in May and it was absolutely wonderful!!  All of my correspondence with Caroline was by email and highly convenient.  I would definitely refer her to anyone for their wedding planning.  Here is a little in depth information:

 

We started by contacting Caroline and giving her a budget we had in mind for our Parisian wedding.  With that, she was able to give us multiple options for locations. She emailed us pictures and a story for all of the locations.  She even gave us her suggestion, which we decided to go with.  Caroline was very quick to answer emails, offer suggestions and explain anything we didn't understand or anything we questioned. 

 

When it came to specifics like colors, food, photographers, and music, Caroline handled everything perfectly.  She emailed us the menu options, sound bites from the musicians, and pictures the photographers had taken so we could essentially point and choose which one we wanted.  I had given her our color palate and given her a sample picture of the flower arrangements I adored.  The flowers turned out exactly as I wanted.  The musical Trio we chose was also PERFECT!!  They were very entertaining and kept our guests dancing all night.  The photographer (though he didn't speak English) took the BEST photos and gave us two beautifully designed DVD's of our photos.  We also had a videographer who was also amazing.  He supplied us with four DVD copies of our video, which he had designed and placed music to as well.  It looked just like a movie. Caroline also set up an appointment for our hairdresser and the pressing of our wedding attire. I wouldn't go back to the hairdressers, but my gown and his suit were excellently pressed and cared for. 

 

I have told many of my friends and family members who asked about planning my wedding that this is the way to go!!  There is no headache, no worry, and especially no stress.  If you have any questions or concerns, Caroline is always available to contact.  Our friends and family spent a week with us in Paris and it was a really great way for the important members in our "groups" to bond with each other and us. 

 

If you would like to know any more, please feel free to ask. 

 

If you chose Caroline and Chateau and Villas Weddings I have no doubt that your wedding will be just as dream worthy and wonderful as mine was!!

 

Take care,

 

Chantel

Brian and Yamini

Indian Wedding, South of France

April 22^nd 2008

 

Dear Caroline,

 

Overall Impression:  As we've said time and time again, we have been so impressed with your services.  Indian weddings are known for their chaos, and your superb organizational skills helped the entire two days run very smoothly.  You addressed all of our concerns with the utmost patience and promptness.  Caroline, you were extremely efficient, thorough, calming, and most of all, so friendly - it was wonderful to get to know you as our coordinator and now as our friend.  We look forward to keeping in touch with you for years to come.

 

We loved the little touches of perfection that you added to the wedding - the beautiful fruit display for the Indian food, the guests throwing rose petals at us (we had so much fun with that!), the beautiful surprise decorations in our bedroom, and the beautiful marriage certificate.

We would highly recommend both you and Chateau and Villa Weddings to anyone and everyone.  We would be more than happy to e-mail or speak with anyone who would like to contact us - we've already been raving about you to all of our friends and family. 

 

Photographers:  Fantastic!  The photographers were a pleasure to work with.  Even for such a small wedding (31 guests), it was important to have two photographers providing different perspectives of the wedding.  The beach photos the day before the ceremony were so much fun.  In addition, we are so impressed with how well they captured the essence of the wedding.  We loved some of the close ups of the ceremony focusing on people's hands, the perfect emotional shots of our parents or us crying, and the small depth-of-field shots of Yamini's sari. 

 

Videographer:  Wonderful presentation and wonderful videography!  The editing for the highlights and clips on the beach was fantastic.  We had debated whether or not to get a videographer in the first place, and in retrospect, it was one of the best decisions of the wedding.  There are so many memories that we are so happy to have captured for eternity - our vows, the toasts and the antics of our wedding guests.  We have seen other wedding videos since ours, and they only served to highlight the excellent filming skills of your videographer.  The icing on the cake was the fact that the videographer made the time to drop off the video in person while we were in Paris, and brought a DVD player so we could watch it right in the restaurant!  We were so excited to see it and his kindness was greatly appreciated.

 

Wedding Day Caterer:

The food was delicious and the cake absolutely unforgettable!  The highlights of the meal were definitely the chicken and the crayfish.  We were already excited about the french wedding cake, but the sparklers and decoration made it such an event.

 

Indian Caterer:

Amazing!  All of the Indian guests were shocked to get such good Indian food in France.  The food was so good that our priest even mentioned it in the wedding video. 

 

Florist:

The mandap and draping of the flowers and fabrics was wonderful - it made the ceremony look so elegant - like we were sitting under a golden cloud.  The decoration of the tables and centerpieces were perfect - we especially liked the floating petals and candles and all of the lights in the bushes. At night, all of the twinkling lights made the evening very magical.  Beautiful job with the wedding bouquet - so many people have complimented me on how lovely it was! 

 

The location:

The villa was beautiful - Yamini's "princess home" was even more wonderful in real life than in the pictures we had seen beforehand.  We truly appreciated the planting of new flowers by the pool.  The caretaker, was a sweetheart to work with and immensely helpful the entire week. 

Advice for the future - the tomtoms or GPS on rental cars only recognize the address of the Villa if the whole street name is included. Our only major complaints were regarding the dying grass, previous guests who had overstayed their time, and the electrical problems, but the caretaker was incredibly helpful in trying to help us with all of our concerns. 

 

Hairdresser:

Yamini has gotten numerous compliments on her hair- it was absolutely beautiful.  The placement of the flowers was pure genius, and she felt so beautiful.  Furthermore, it lasted the entire night, even with the wind!

 

DJ:

The DJ was okay, but not great.  He did a good job of selecting music that we enjoyed and avoiding all of the cheesy wedding music that we didn't want.  He had some difficulty with the transitions between Indian bhangra music songs, most likely because he was much less experienced with this type of music.

 

Miscellaneous: 

Heating lamps were a lifesaver - they made the evening much more enjoyable. 

The cellphone you provided was invaluable!

 

In conclusion, you made our wedding truly magical and memorable.  We cannot thank you enough for all of your hard work.

Jill and Alex

Symbolic Wedding in the Loire Valley, France

April 9^th 2008

 

Dear Caroline,

 

Words cannot express our gratitude to you for all your help in making our wedding the most memorable and cherished milestone of our relationship together. Alex and I cannot thank you enough for providing us with the most suitable accommodations in the Loire Valley and Paris, the most skilled vendors, especially the incredible photographer and talented violinist, and the comfort of knowing that the entire wedding day was going to be just as we discussed and hoped it would be.

Our ceremony was so quaint and special and your presence there helped greatly to make up for the fact that our families were not present because it is so easy to think of you as family. I truly felt like I was going to Frace to visit a friend (you!) and that just made the entire experience more relaxed and smooth since I have never traveled outside the USA before.

Every part of our wedding day ran just as we had wished from the way the hairdresser, mastered my hair style, to the way the pastor made the ceremony so very personal and heartfelt.  I was quite pleased that the musician played my requested song so beautifully and that the traditional French wedding cake was so pretty and tasty, too!

We know it was a special exception for the hot air balloon to fly on our wedding day, but we are so appreciative to all of you for making it actually happen. In a nutshell, we couldn't have asked for a more perfect wedding memory and thanks to the photogarpher's great talent in photography our families were able to catch more than a glimpse of every moment of our special day.

This was a trip of a lifetime and thanks to you and Chateau and Villa Weddings we have memories to last a lifetime!

Please share our comments with anyone who may find them useful and we would be honored to be a reference for future couples!

 

Love,

Jill and Alex

 

ps We can't wait to go back to France to visit you someday!! Please call on us when you are in the US next time.

Natasha & Robert
Blessing in Montmartre, Paris, France
September 17th 2007
 

Dear Ms. Caroline Berthe,
 
Thank you for putting together the wedding of our dreams! Your advice, guidance, patience, and dedication made our wedding celebrations the most remarkable of events for us!  It is impossible for us to thank you enough for making our Parisian wedding a reality and giving our guests and family a truly unforgettable vacation with us.
 
When we wrote to you for the first time asking for help, your response was the most complete proposal we had seen, and you immediately understood the sort of wedding that would suit us.  You have guided us through the process, advising us and our affection toward you as a result is very real.
 
While we contacted you with a request to look into the Rodin Museum as ceremony site, and despite the little hiccup with double booking – the ceremony site you suggested was really the highlight of the day for us and has become one of our favorite places.  You put it all together and paired the sort of relaxed, romantic and intimate ceremony we had wanted with the best of formal dining. (We only wish that we had more time to enjoy the champagne and chocolates with the guests after the ceremony.) 
 
Our celebrations began with a rehearsal dinner. The guests and family joined together over fabulous French food.  There was no shortage of laughter! You and the staff were flexible, responsive and so very very kind.
 
We left the choice of a celebrant to you, and again – you outdid yourself. You were able to communicate our wishes to him prior to the ceremony, and his choice of readings were touching and thoughtful.  He made us feel at ease with his grandfatherly demeanor, sense of humor and genuine love of weddings. We really appreciate his taking the time to talk with both of us individually before the wedding. 
 
Special mention must be made about the trio whose enthusiasm and warmth touched all of us. Natasha's Mom had a great time teaching them some music and it seemed that the musicians had a great time encouraging everyone to dance. 
 
The flowers for the ceremony were perfect! The colors were vibrant and fitting for the ceremony site. The florist and you took the inspiration photographs I had with me and made something that was even better and more fitting to our personalities! We only wish we could have brought some of the flowers back with us to dry. 
 
As for the photographer … We recently received the 200+ photos on the CDROM and had the best time discovering the photos. The photographer was fantastic about taking unposed, intimate photos. Those are the truly priceless ones. He made us laugh, and gently guided us.  We are having a really difficult time selecting only a few to frame!
 
Our biggest regret was not having the traditional French wedding cake. It was important for Natasha to have a traditional wedding cake, and perhaps it would have been better to have both.  You added the fireworks to the cake and it was just spectacular!
 
Thank you so very much for your understanding and professionalism. You made an unbearable process melt away and allowed us to enjoy our wedding.  Even though this might be your first wedding with some celebratory rain, it made the day even more special and fun for us.
 
Please also thank the makeup and hair artists, chefs, waiters, florists, taxi drivers, bus driver, hotel staff and Elena for their patience, generosity, thoughtfulness and kindness.

David & Adrienne
Paris, France
25th Wedding Anniversary on September 11th 2007
 
 
Dear Ms. Caroline Berthe,
 
Thank you for providing such a wonderful service for our 25th Wedding Anniversary. We had a very special time in Paris, particularly our anniversary day that you helped shape for us. Adrienne told me that it was the best day of her life.
You and your company had a big role in making our dream day a reality. I had a few ideas about a day of pampering and a ceremony to renew our vows. I did some research on wedding planners and the first group I contacted was very rigid in what they offered. I was not comfortable until I approached you at Chateau [[[[&]]]] Villa Weddings.
You were very responsive and very flexible regarding the activities that I wanted to include in our celebration. We swapped ideas via email and you were able to communicate in a way that allowed me to envision how things would go. Your suggestions added to the enjoyment of the day and simplified the logistics.
The first part of our day consisted of the presentation of the program over breakfast, followed by a manicure/pedicure session, a shopping spree at Chanel with our own private shopper and lunch at a marvelous Restaurant from you suggested.
After lunch we dressed for the ceremony and you provided a hairstylist for Adrienne. A chauffeur driven vintage car drove us to Chapelle to renew our vows. You made it even more special by including flowers, an organist and a photographer.
The day ended with a photo tour of Paris, a romantic champagne cruise on the Seine and a 7 course dinner at the elegant Restaurant.
It was a complete success and perfectly arranged! You helped me keep it a surprise and you trusted me enough to work with my ideas and mold them into the final production.
I also wanted to express my appreciation for your selection of all the participants. Each person that played a role during the day was very pleasant, professional and prompt. Because of you and your associates, we were able to completely relax, enjoy the many wonderful sites and each other.
Thank you again, Caroline, for making our 25th anniversary in Paris something that we will remember and appreciate forever.

Sincerely,

David

Janet & Mark
Les Invalides an iconic venue, Paris - France
Symbolic Wedding on August 31st 2007
 

Dear  Ms. Caroline Berthe,
 
We  are  happy  to  give  feedback  on  our  recent  wedding. We  had  a  fantastic  time  as  did  our  guests.
 
We  were  generally  very  happy  with  our  experience  and  had  a  fantastic  venue. The  caterers  were  fantastic!  The  canapés  and  our  wedding  meal  did  go  down  very  well  and  we  particularly  liked  the  wedding  cake. The  celebrant  was  great  and  we  would  like  to  write  to  him  to  thank  him  very  much  as  the  ceremony  was  excellent. The  hairdresser  was  very  good!
 
The bouquet  I  had  was  still  very  pretty. The  photographer  we  did  have seemed  very  nice  and  we  are  looking  forward  to  seeing  her  photographs. The  vintage  car  was  beautiful.
 
Overall  we  were  happy  with  our  experience   and  our  wedding  and  have  really  appreciated  all  your  help. Kind  regards
 
Janet  and  Mark

Chiara & Andreas
Catholic Wedding in Friuli, Italy
July 14th 2007
 
 
Dear Elena,
 
First of all I hope you are doing fine!
 
We would both like to say a huge thank you for the most fantastic day imaginable.  The small church in the middle of the countryside was absolutely lovely, the ceremony was wonderful and the words were lovely, as also commented by several of our guests.
 
I loved the flowers arrangements in the church!! My bouquet was simply gorgeous!
 
The restaurant was a dream…exactly as we wanted it! The courtyard, the gazebo, the whole atmosphere was simply amazing! The menu was soooo great and the wedding cake…well…I almost do not have words to express how great it was!
 
Thank You so much again for making everything come together!!! Elena you did a great job, I do not know how we could have done without you!! Did you also arrange for the wonderful weather we had? ;-)
 
Andreas and I would of course love to be a reference for your company!  I wish you all the best for you and your family and hope to keep in touch…maybe for a really long trip through Italy next year?
 
Take care!
 
Chiara and Andreas

Enya and John
Loire Valley Baroness Chateau, France
Blessing on May 21st 2007
 

Dear Ms. Caroline Berthe,
 
Well, we are finally starting to get moved into our new home after returning from a beautiful honeymoon in southern France and Italy.
 
We just got the pictures you sent from the photographer and they are wonderful.  We are still collecting and organizing pictures from our amazing wedding in the Loire Valley and each time we look at them, it's impossible not to smile and re-live what was one of the most incredible experiences of our lives.
 
It's hard to put into words how grateful we are to you and everyone who made our dream wedding a reality.  Everything was above and beyond anything that we had hoped for.  From beginning to end, EVERYTHING was perfect!
 
As you may recall, when I first contacted you via email, I wrote that more than just a beautiful wedding, what we really wanted was to create a unique and memorable experience for our closest family and friends.  Well, without a doubt, you delivered exactly what we wanted.
 
I'll never forget the first time we drove up the hill to our castle. It was hard to believe that we were really there after months of planning everything online without seeing anything in person until that moment.  It was incredible!  When you book things online, you always assume that the pictures have to be better than things really are.  We were shocked and ecstatic to find that this was definitely not the case with the Baroness Chateau.  Our rooms, as well as each of our guests' rooms were incredible!  Each one immaculate, unique, and absolutely beautiful.
 
The castle staff could not have been more helpful.  Their attention to each detail made everything go smoothly and made us feel completely at ease in what would normally be a very stressful time. 
 
We also loved each of the venues you helped us choose for our pre-wedding activities. Our guests particularly enjoyed the day trip to Amboise!
 
As for the wedding itself, what can we say....it was PERFECT.  We could not have asked for a more wonderful Celebrant...kind, fatherly, and humorous as well!  We loved the way he handled the entire service. I was especially touched by the reference he made to my late father and loved the way he explained the lighting of the unity candle. It was truly a blessing to have him there.
 
The flowers were gorgeous!  Every arrangement, from the men's boutonnieres to the altar and buffet arrangements were perfect.  And I never imagined that you would be able to get an almost EXACT replica of the picture of the bride's bouquet I emailed you!  What a wonderful surprise.
 
Everyone loved the musicians!  My new mother-in-law, who is a music teacher and former concert pianist was particularly impressed with both the classical music played during the ceremony as well as the jazz during dinner.  And being a musician myself, I especially have to thank you for finding such a talented group of artists for our big day!
 
We were all completely "blown away" by the reception dinner!  In fact, one of our guests, who travels extensively, remarked that he had "never in his life had food like [this] at a wedding"!  We realize that the French are particularly famous for their cuisine, but this went far beyond our expectations.  And we absolutely LOVED the traditional French wedding cake, especially the surprise fireworks!
 
Caroline, it goes without saying that we could not have done this without you.  Thank you so very much for your outstanding work and for helping us to create this absolutely magical experience.  We look forward to returning to the Castle again on our anniversary.
 
I would defintely recommend a destination wedding to anyone who asks would HIGHLY recommend they plan it with you!
 
Love and God Bless,
Enya & John

Mohamed and Elizabeth
Paris, France
Symbolic Ceremony
March 31st 2007


Hi Ms. Caroline Berthe!
We just arrived back in San Diego last night from our honeymoon in Spain and in France! I wanted to thank you so much for everything, it was such a wonderful day from start to finish!  It was far more than what I would have ever imagined.
First, the room at the Hotel you recommended was spectacular and the attention to detail you made with the decorations were just superb! Thank you so much for personally delivering my wedding bouquet, it was very thoughtful. The Celebrant was very very nice and really respected our wishes regarding our religions. The music!! Our family and guests completely loved the trio, they enjoyed it so much, they played all kinds of music for everyone and also played requests.  The food was delicious!! I was a little nervous because I thought our guests would not get full on a cocktail dinner but the waiters kept coming out with dishes continuously almost non-stop!!  The photographer was very very patient and accommodating! Everyone wanted a picture with me and my husband and the photographer was more than welcome to taking as many pictures as he could.
The whole day and night was unforgettable!  Thank you so much for all of your assistance and patience, my parents send their sincere thanks as well, they were very, very impressed with the ceremony and reception.  Everyone had a wonderful time!
 
Caroline, Thank You Thank You Thank You for everything!!
 
Mohamed and Elizabeth

Tara and Douglas
Wedding in Paris, France
Symbolic Ceremony
March 27th 2007
 

Hi Ms. Caroline Berthe,
 
Again, I'm so sorry it took us so long to get back to you! As you know, our wedding was an absolutely perfect experience for us!  We never would have expected that things would go so smoothly, nor that the entire day would be so fabulous. Our wedding far exceeded our expectations!
 
First, you were an absolute pleasure to deal with.  We spent months communicating with various planners in France to see what everyone offered.
You were by far the most attentive person we contacted.  Additionally, you listened to what we said we wanted and made suggestions that were exactly on par with our thoughts.  Not only did you organize every last detail, but you were with us the day of our wedding to make sure that everything went well.
 
We didn't even have to worry about our dresses and tuxedo, as you made sure they were pressed and brought back to our room!
 
The church you suggested was gorgeous!  Even though you sent us pictures ahead of time (which was also really nice), it was hard to believe that the church would be as beautiful as it was.  We were speechless when we walked in and discovered that the church was actually more beautiful than the pictures you sent (which we didn't believe was possible).
 
The celebrant was so incredibly sweet!  The ceremony that he performed was perfect.  We had no idea what to expect and left most of it to the celebrant.  Even his readings that he chose were just what we would have picked out if given the choice. Also, he worked the special ceremony for our daughter right into what he had written. We were very happy with him!
 
The cars we had were also very nice.  We felt like celebrities that day as we drove around in them.  The cars were spotless and very classy.  The drivers were both friendly and knew a lot about Paris that they were able to share with us.  We were very happy with the transportation in general.
 
The flowers were also incredible.  I was sceptical about merely sending you a picture of the flowers we wanted, but my bouquet was a mirror image of the picture I sent you, and Doug's boutonniere was very nice as well!  We also liked the flower petals at the church--a nice touch that also made for great pictures!  Caroline also felt pretty special carrying around her bouquet.
 
The photographer was by far the best bargain of the wedding.  He was very friendly, and we liked the way that he took pictures of us being natural, instead of every picture being posed.  Again, we weren't sure what to expect from the pictures.  We liked the idea of getting a DVD with all of the pictures on it.  The finished product is unbelievable.  When we got home and looked at the disc, each and every picture was perfect!  He was not only an outstanding photographer, but his pictures were so artistic that they look like they should be in a magazine.  The locations that he took us to after the ceremony were also perfect for pictures--some don't even look real (it also didn't hurt that the weather cooperated and the sun was shining).
Everyone who looks at our pictures comments on how great they are. Suffice to say, we are SO very pleased with our pictures and thankful that we have them!
 
The ONLY part of our wedding day that did not exceed our expectations was the organist.  Although he played well, he did not play our last song that we chose. The organist was such a small part of our day, so it really wasn't a big deal.  We laughed when walking out of the church as he started to play the wrong song!  That is the only part of our day that we were a little disappointed with, but as I said, it was so minor that it was not important.
 
Finally, we really appreciate you videotaping our ceremony for us.  You did such a nice job!  We have watched the video a few times already and are very pleased with the way you captured both the 3 of us and also our guests.
You even caught one mom crying, which is something that we would not have known about.  It is very nice to have a video in addition to our pictures, so thank you again for volunteering to be behind the camera!
 
Caroline, thank you for being such an integral part of our most important day.  Without you, our day would not have been nearly as special! You're the best!
Thanks again,
 
Doug and Tara

Catherine and Howard
Blue River Chateau, France
Jewish Ceremony
February 18th 2007


Dear Ms. Caroline Berthe,
 
Our wedding was truly a fairy tale.  The grandeur of the chateau took away our (and our guests') breaths throughout the wedding weekend, and despite being planning taking place on both sides of the Atlantic, everything went seamlessly.
 
Working with Caroline was fun, professional, organized and easy.  From the beginning brainstorming discussion, she was thoughtful and experienced enough to know what issues needed to be addressed and in what order.  Communication was constant, and we are confident that she was always working in our best interests when communicating with the variety of vendors.  She also knew when to "shop around" for various services (i.e. rehearsal dinner restaurants, wine experts for tasting event), and when to give us one single (tried) option (i.e. band).
 
Only for the sake of giving some constructive criticism, there were a couple (minor - and not at all 'game-changing') glitches along the way.  The first is the costs we hadn't thought about. They weren't large in the scheme of things, specifically, meals for everyone contributing to our events (drivers of vans, photographers, musicians, etc) and shipping of photo album to us back in the States. Secondly, while all the preparations for the big weekend were well handled, we would have preferred that our coordinator be more visible during the weekend.  I know she was very busy behind-the scenes making everything (food, flowers, music, etc.) run smoothly. Again, these were extremely minor in the grand scheme of our fairy tale and haven't been thought considered since.
 
All in all, I adored working with Caroline Berthe, and would recommend her services to anyone.  I keep waking up wondering if the entire experience was in fact just a dream.  If so, it was a perfect dream.
 
Thanks so much for all of your hard work, Caroline.  We loved every minute of our Blue River Chateau experience!!
 
Cate and Howie

Sheri and Paul
Baroness Chateau, France
Legally binding civil ceremony
October 10th 2006


In October 2006, we had the pleasure of being married legally (civil ceremony) in a small village in the Loire Valley.

This would not have been possible without the efforts and expertise of Caroline Berthe.  Coming from Canada and neither one of us being of French origin meant lots of paperwork prior to leaving for the legal ceremony.  Caroline was so very instrumental in coordinating everything for us in order to ensure that our day was perfect.  Although our wedding party was very small (just the two of us!) it was apparent right from the beginning that Caroline Berthe was truly interested in making our every wish a reality.

Everything from the fairy-tale chateau, our beautiful accommodations, the flowers, the talented violinist, the fantastic photographer, the small gathering on the patio with champagne and hors d’oeurves, the intimate dinner, to the beautiful cake was exactly how we wanted it.

Caroline Berthe is a very professional, knowledgeable, and energetic person who demonstrates a genuine interest in her clients. We look at the pictures quite often and our friends love to hear the stories of our adventure.  You really did a great job for us.



Many thanks to you, Caroline – you made our dreams come true!
 
Sheri and Paul

Sabine and Jeff
Loire Valley, France Catholic Ceremony
September 30th,  2006
 

Dear Ms. Caroline Berthe,

We feel that their enjoyment and ours is due in large part to the attention you paid to every detail of the complex events we planned together, as well as to something extra only someone like you could provide:  We both felt that you genuinely love your work, and that you genuinely cared for us in helping us prepare for our wedding.  Your care was tangible in the way you worked with us, the way you interacted with our guests, the way you made our wishes real, even if we did not know you were working on them.

When we entered the church, we could not imagine how the grey, stony space we had seen the day before could have become so warm and beautiful so quickly and quietly.  After being showered with flower petals and rice outside the church, we never had to worry about who would sweep up the mess afterward.  When we made frivolous requests about violin music on the wooded route back to the château, we had nothing but support from you.  At dinner, when we discovered 20 more vegetarian friends than we knew we had, we knew we could count on you to work this out with the chef without any trouble on our part.  When we had that little pre-nuptial spat before going to the church (!), we admired your pushing on with preparations and keeping us in line!

On our wedding day, we thought about nothing else but ourselves and our guests…thanks to you.

The money you saved us through introducing less expensive service providers than we had found on our own was more than enough to cover your own fees, but please believe us when we say we would gladly have paid you over and above such savings—without you, our wedding would have never been as special as it was.  Your great sense of style was always an inspirational guide for us, but you were remarkably good at understanding our style and applying it to our choices.  Your professionalism is top notch, and your delivery record is better than 100%.

The other service providers you introduced to us were fabulous.  Here are some notes on each of them:

The hairdresser

Sabine, family and friends were all very pleased with their hair styles as designed by the stylist.  The salon you recommended did an excellent job preparing Sabine’s hair the day before the wedding, and then styling it on the day.  Even as heavy as it is, Sabine’s hair stayed curled perfectly through the Service, the Reception, and the whole night long.

The photographer

We were surprised and delighted to receive digital versions of the hundreds of pictures the photographer took, particularly as he was so discreet in taking them.  His reportage style made them as spontaneous and fun as they are beautiful and often picturesque.  We are extremely pleased with the final results, and look forward to the customised photo album he is assembling for us.

The florist
The compositions created by the florist were stunning. We were very impressed with his ability to respect the colour    sheme we had selected. Sabine had a wonderful surprise with the floral hair arrangement he prepared—it was a work of art!

The priest, the church and the ceremony
Father René François was a blessing, especially as we had originally expected a different priest—one whom we had met previously and liked. Nonetheless, Father René François and his wit made the ceremony enjoyable. We were both shocked that he delivered the majority of it in excellent English, and we appreciate how truly open and gentle he was with people of different languages and traditions. We were also delighted that he attended the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding, and also the Reception after the wedding. The church was lovely and a perfect setting, with the traditional features of a 15th-century church, with the strains of organ and violin music and with beautifully placed floral arrangements. So many of our friends have commented on how moving they found the ceremony.
 
Musicians and live band
 
The musicians seemed a risk for us, but how wonderful were they all! The music was sympathetic and well-timed, and we appreciated how well they considered our choices and proposed alternatives where appropriate. We gave very little steer to the jazz band before the day itself, but they hit the mark! Jeff was singing along with a lot of his favourite Brazilian tunes and Sinatra standards, and Sabine and her parents were so impressed with the band’s handling of rarer Edith Lefel and other Caribbean classics. The band contributed a lot to the champagne reception’s lasting one and a half hours longer than planned. Later in the evening, we were happy to see that their range of music got literally everyone onto the dance floor at some point!
 
The cutting of the cake and the fireworks
 
The fireworks show was our little surprise for our guests, but it was a surprise for us too. Was the show as short as we planned it? It seemed to go on a long time! We had never imagined the cake would be delivered with its own fireworks, and we imagine that every profiterole disappeared by the end of the evening. We loved the classical French presentation of the fireworks, very much in keeping with the château setting and with Handel’s music in the background. This was another part of the day about which we continue to hear favourable comments from our guests.
 
The chateau
 
We can only say ‘Bravo!’ to the director of the château, to the chef and to the staff. Although we could never understand everything they did behind the scenes to make our stay and our guests’ stays so enjoyable, we know that the outcome is nothing but positive. Bar none, the guests have let us know that their stays were fun, comfortable and even romantic. So many have said they felt their time there was like something from a fairy tale. The Château is nothing but high class, but in a simple and elegant way.
 
 
Coordination and planning
 
Overall, I was very impressed with Caroline Berhte's professionalism and her ability to adapt to unplanned requests and I would definitely recommend her to my friends. Caroline Berthe, thanks for all your hard work and patience
 
Caroline, thank you again so much for your amazing patience. Sabine’s bridesmaids and friends could not stop praising your ability to focus on their problems and to find ways to alleviate even the smallest challenges they encountered, all to make our day very special.
 
Thank you so much for organising and co-ordinating our wedding. The day and a half was fantastic, both for us and for our guests, many of whom have gone out of their way to let us know what a wonderful time they had. Many of them have told us that our wedding was the most beautiful, relaxing, and entertaining wedding they ever attended!
 
Sabine and Jeff

A little note from Sabine's Maid of Honor: Anjum

Caroline Berthe was great on the wedding day. The bridesmaids wanted to perform a speech in honour of the bride and needed help with downloading pictures and pulling together their idea's. Caroline was very resourceful providing us with useful tips on how to get our speech together as well as organising the session.. She expertly faciliated three prefessional project managers (the bridesmaids!!!) whilst keeping her cool and sense of humour throughout. In addition she made the whole process seamless; she arranged for our slot during the wedding dinner and even helped us to present. The speech was a huge success.

Sabrina and Steve
Normandy, France
Symbolic ceremony
September 1st 2006


Dear Ms. Caroline Berthe,
 
We are now in the south of France on honeymoon so this is just a quick e mail to say thanks for all your help . The day was totally perfect and there was not one thing that I could say went wrong . The caterer you supplied was excellent and also the celebrant . Also the other providers, the florist, the band, photographer etc were brilliant too . I will forward some photos when we get home.
 
Sabrina and Steve

Hannah and Damian
Central Brittany, France
Symbolic ceremony
August 5th,  2006


Dear Ms. Caroline Berthe,
 
Just got back this weekend after a fantastic trip around France.
 
Thank you so much for all your hard work and support organising our wedding. It was so perfect and we truly had the best day of our lives. Everything was amazing from the flowers, the food, the cake, the musicians, the celebrant. There is nothing we would change. We have spent our honeymoon glowing with the memories of the day. We have received countless cards and photos from friends and family who have all said how amazing they thought it was. We all loved how different it was to weddings in England, so nice and relaxed and everyone was in the holiday spirit.
 
I also felt so reassured to have your support throughout the planning process and on the day itself too. You were always helpful and approachable, without your help it would not have been possible to achieve our dream wedding day.
 
We returned to the ceremony location and restaurant. to say thanks again to them both, who both did a great job.
 
I wish you every success.
 
Thanks once again.
 
Hannah x

Anja and Bau
French Alps, France
Catholic ceremony
May 26th 2006


Dear Ms. Caroline Berthe,

It’s been crazy, I am sorry that I have not been able to get back to you.

So, some feedback:

First, you were fantastic, we would not have been able to do it without you. I was so nervous and I did not have to do anything the day of the wedding and felt that I could completely trust you.

Musicians: Even though I barely had time to enjoy them: They were really good. Everybody complimented me on them. They sounded lovely – in the church and in the castle garden during the cocktail time. And they looked professional, well dressed and all of that too.

DJ: He was really good as well. He played exactly what I asked him to play, he made a really good mix out of it. And everybody had a blast dancing the night away. He stayed as long as we needed him, he was fantastic.

Florist: I really liked that he came the day before and talked to me. That somehow put me at ease. I loved the bridal bouquet, the bouquet for the bridesmaids, and the flowers for the guys.

Hair: I absolutely loved him and the hairstyle.
We had so much fun during the time. All four girls went together with some glasses and a bottle of “champagne” and we had a blast.

And I thought my hair was stunning!

Caterer: First of all, thank you for being so flexible and dealing with a caterer that we picked. I wish we would have contacted you sooner and gone a 100% with your suggestions. The food was on the tables fairly fast, it was not the best, but not bad either. I liked the flowers on the table and, thanks to you, the candles. I think he did not even look at the pictures of the cakes that we sent. But the taste was pretty good.

But I just should have gone separately with a bakery, if you want special order items. …

AND one big thing: I am regretting not going with your suggestion of photographer and instead listening to my family.
Please advise every bride on going professional, no matter what!

I think this covered pretty much everything.

Anja